Private-sector institutions offering English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) in postcompulsory contexts are distinctive in terms of their dual nature: As businesses, their principal raison d'etre is to turn a profit for their owners and shareholders, but at the same time they are educational institutions that are expected, at least in…

This article reports an empirical study in which we explored the role played by two forms of feedback--error correction and model texts--on child English as a foreign language learners' reported noticing and written output. The study was carried out with 11- and 12-year-old children placed in proficiency-matched pairs who engaged in a…

Distance learning that incorporates technology-enhanced learning environments provides a solution to the ever-increasing global demand for higher education. To be successful in these contexts, learners must be self-regulated, or have the ability to control the factors affecting their learning. Based on the theories of transactional distance,…

The modern workplace is international and multilingual. Both white and blue collar employees are expected to be mobile, work increasingly in (virtual) teams (Gee et al. 1996) and to address complex organisational issues in a language that, often, is not their first language (L1). This results in a number of languages forming the ecosystem of…

This study presents an experiment that explores the patterns of answers to yes-no truth-functional questions in English and Korean. The answering patterns are examined from 12 Korean-English bilingual children and 10 Korean-monolingual children. Four types of sentences in relation to given situations (Wason in "Br J Psychol" 52:133-142,…

The purpose of this study is to assess the anxiety connected with target language of the high school students learning Turkish as a foreign language. In this study, descriptive relational screening model was used. Two scales were used for collecting data. First scale was FLCAS-Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale; it was developed by Horwitz…

Attitude is the most important element in determining one's achievements in learning the Arabic language either as a full or part-time student. This study is based on the Gardner's socio-educational model, and focuses on two types of motivational orientation, which are integrative and instrumental, and attitudes toward the learning conditions. The…

The growing interest in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has resulted in enthusiasm in and active pursuit of improved methods of foreign/second-language (L2) teaching in Europe. However, the definition and scope of the term CLIL both internally, as used by CLIL advocates in Europe, and externally, as compared with immersion…

Chinese migrants have been a rich source of influential international literature, represented by key works such as "Eat a Bowl of Tea" by Louis Chu in 1961 and "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan in 1989. Cultural differences and conflicts, stereotypes and other complex issues regarding the diasporic lives of the Chinese sojourners…

In this article we examine some of the omnipresent yet unacknowledged discourses of social and economic disadvantage and dis/ability within schools in the US. First, we document ways that social class, race, and dis/ability function within schools to further disadvantage and exclude already marginalized students. Next, we show how particular ways…

A nine-week empirical study of 25 adults in a second language (L2) Spanish phonetics course explored whether students' participation in service-learning language exchange sessions with native Spanish speakers outside of class influenced learners' (1) motivation for foreign language learning and (2) phonemic perception in Spanish. Divided…

This article reports on a questionnaire-based investigation of writing strategies used by Singapore primary school pupils. A sample of 1,618 pupils from two local primary schools participated in the study. A number of one-way ANOVA analyses were run to measure the relationship between the participants' use of writing strategies and their English…

Graduates with strong foreign language skills (FLS) have an advantage when applying for a job. Underpinned by the theory of planned behavior, this research aimed at examining influences on the intentions of tourism majors in a Korean university to acquire FLS. A first survey was conducted with 256 students who had completed two or more semesters…

Pragmatic competence is as an essential aspect of communicative competence. Does environment have an effect on developing pragmatic competence? Do levels of pragmatic competence differ between English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) students? Most studies have shown greater pragmatic awareness among ESL students…

The author as teacher educator and her students as teacher candidates conceptualized pragmatics, semiotics and aesthetics into literacy education by inviting students of diversity to watch movies, talk about movies, write movies, and act movies. Pragmatics is the study of how language is used for communication in various social and cultural…