In addition to the typical ups and downs of middle school (MS), many English language learners (ELLs) in the middle grades also grapple with learning English, straddling multiple cultures, and adapting to the realities of immigration. While school systems tend to focus on linguistic and academic development, MS ELLs exercise agency, creativity,…

Though essay writing is an essential part of postsecondary education, it can be challenging for second language learners, who are required to organize ideas coherently in a language which they have not fully mastered. The present study examined perceptions of draft-writing by students who speak Arabic as their first language and Hebrew as their…

This paper presents a comparative analysis investigating how cultural values are represented in two sets of widely used Chinese as a second language (CSL) textbooks published in mainland China (New Practical Chinese Reader, NPCR) and the US (Integrated Chinese, IC) respectively. Using an integrated critical social semiotic approach, we examined…

Effective communication is a fundamental aspect of human relationships and a key interpersonal skill to be considered and developed at an EFL Teacher Education Program. Yet, a variety of challenges are posed for those in the process of becoming (proficient) users of English in an environment where Spanish is the main means of communication. Our…

English Language Teaching (ELT) in Latin America and elsewhere in public schools and higher education and parts of the private sector has long been failing badly. The coronavirus pandemic should focus minds on changing that situation. Going back to Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) business as usual should not be an option. In this…

This article explores the construction of multilingualism in the semiotic landscapes of two kindergartens, one in Norway and one in Germany. Semiotic landscape is here understood as the visual linguistic environment, including various semiotic resources, such as texts, symbols, drawings or pictures. In kindergarten, semiotic landscapes construct…

Honoring the voices needing to be heard, the research investigated the lived experiences of six Syrian Muslim refugee women who resettled in the United States after the 2011 Syrian War. Data analysis was informed by qualitative research methodology and narrative inquiry. The stories of Syrian women in this study highlight the complexities of…

This experimental study, using pretest-intervention-posttest design, investigated whether or not teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) learners to use comprehension strategies when they read English passages, increases their self-efficacy in reading. The participants were 55 EFL learners in Turkey who were at lower-intermediate level based…

This study aimed at finding self-regulatory capacity and habits of 3 learners with differing proficiency levels at Translation and Interpretation department of a State university in Turkey. This is a multiple case study and longitudinal in nature in which the process of vocabulary learning was observed in three subsequent school terms. The…

Reading is an essential strategic and a life-long skill required for success in learning. The current study explores the knowledge and beliefs of Saudi students of English as a foreign language (EFL) about English reading comprehension strategies. It also intends to determine if there is a significant correlation between the students' foundational…

Research has shown that language and literacy skills in a first language (L1) are related to performance in a second language (L2) and that these relations are reciprocal. However, cross-linguistic skills related to word reading are influenced by numerous factors. These include linguistic factors such as the specific language and literacy skills…

Motivation in reading performance is important, as reading motivation facilitates effective learning. The decline in reading motivation that has typically been observed in Iranian universities is thus a serious concern for Iranian EFL learners. The aim of this study was to promote the reading literacy of Iranian English as foreign language (EFL)…

This study investigates second language (L2) interactional competence in Mandarin Chinese, with a specific focus on dispreference organization in refusals. Twenty-eight L2 Chinese learners at 3 proficiency levels (A2, B1, and B2) and 10 native speakers each participated in 3 role plays. We found that learners at different levels clearly differed…

An increasing number of studies have examined teachers' beliefs and practices regarding written corrective feedback (WCF) in recent years. However, the sample size in these previous studies tends to be small. Through questionnaires and teacher interviews, the present study explored the WCF beliefs and practices of 2,012 EFL teachers in Beijing,…

Although retrieval of lexical forms is a prerequisite for language production, research of L2 vocabulary learning has focused much more on meanings and form-meaning mappings than on development of detailed, accessible mental representations of forms. This is particularly true with respect to multi-word items (MWIs). We report an experimental study…