Due to several reasons, pronunciation instruction had often been neglected in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes. Consequently, many EFL learners always find it difficult to speak confidently because of their poor pronunciation. This study is a three-cycled action research aimed at enhancing EFL students' pronunciation by using the…

This paper reports on the cognitive and affective benefits of data-driven learning (DDL), in which Korean EFL learners at the secondary level notice and unlearn their "overgenerated 'be'" by comparing native English-speaker and learner corpora with guided induction. To select the target language item and compile learner-corpus-based…

Positive relationships with teachers are important for students' second language motivation. However, little is known about how interpersonal interactions stimulate motivated behavior. Drawing on studies of teacher-student relationships, theories from positive psychology, and the psychology of unconscious self-regulation, this case study examines…

Student motivation is a multifaceted topic that English Language Teachers continually discuss and investigate. Differences of the learning environment and whether the student is in the ESL or EFL context are of special interest in the present paper. This paper presents the findings of a survey related to the topic of motivation that was given to…

The rapid development of society and economy is not only the opportunity but also the challenge of the college English teaching in China. Nowadays, traditional college English curriculum, with its monotonous content and musty teaching principles, can hardly activate learners' motivation, because the curriculum design neglects learners' needs.…

As we live in a world where English is a dominant language and the use of communication technology become part of our daily lives, we encounter many opportunities that deals with it. The studies on integration of translation-based learning activities in English as Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms is growing in recent years. But little known in…

This article argues that the concept of affordances as put forward by James J. Gibson can make a major contribution to our understanding of multilingualism. It can throw some light on multilingualism in general as well as on specific aspects like successful and unsuccessful transfer, the challenges involved in teaching for multilingualism,…

Given the implicit disincentive that the native knowledge of a global language poses to the learning of other languages, improvement in student recruitment in language studies is a key priority for educational institutions in English-speaking countries. This paper explores how a major Australian tertiary institution markets five European…

This paper examines the motivations of Chinese learners of Japanese across three different grades through Elicited Metaphor Analysis and semi-structured interview. Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 Japanese majors (55 in total) in a Chinese university were asked to produce metaphors that reflected their motivations to learn Japanese. The metaphor data…

There have been widespread concerns over the decline of modern languages and waning interest in learning languages other than English (LOTEs) around the world, thought to be partly due to recent political events including Brexit and Trump's aggressive isolationism in the United States. By contrast, governments in Greater China have energetically…

There is a growing interest in research on Directed Motivational Currents (DMC) that describes highly robust motivational surges in second/foreign language learning (L2). However, little is known about the validity of DMC as a construct in the Turkish EFL context. Besides, despite the alleged pedagogical significance of the construct, it still…

This contribution explores motivational factors from the perspective of students in order to design an effective approach to teaching. Its purpose is twofold. First, it pinpoints findings from a student needs analysis regarding their learning in relation to today's teaching reality. Second, the findings serve as the basis for proposing a…

The purpose of the current study is to determine main demotivating factors affecting Turkish EFL university students' English language learning process and to identify the ways they apply to cope with these negative experiences from their own perspectives. The participants were 469 first and second year Turkish EFL university students. Both…

Life-long learning requires that language learners be well prepared for the target situations they will be operating in. To achieve this goal and to improve education for sustainable development, language teachers and language educators need to motivate language learners to participate in the target language. The present study, therefore,…

L2 classroom is a place and process that undergoes an array of incessant and concurrent changes affecting its main agents, i.e. the teacher and students in a non-linear and unpredictable manner. Various aspects of their cognitive and affective potential fluctuate and intensify or weaken depending on what is going on in a particular L2…