As the construct of agency has generated considerable discussion among language educators recently and has become a buzz word, there is a need for it to be further conceptualized and operationalized in autonomy research. Drawing on Margaret Archer's theorization of "internal conversation," this paper theorizes language learners' agency…

This paper presents a case study of a course on academic writing for postgraduate studies within a collaborative and interactive information and communication technologies (ICT) based language-learning setting. It describes the structure of an academic writing course for PhD students, focusing on three ICT-enhanced course activities: collaborative…

For many centuries people who speak more than one language, that is to say second language (L2) users, have been admired. In the 16th century an advisor to Elizabeth I of England said: "For even as a hawk flieth not high with one wing, even so a man reacheth not to excellency with one tongue." (Roger Ascham, "The Scholemaster,"…

Using Bourdieu's forms of symbolic capital as the analytical framework, this article reports how a Taiwanese female university student, Huei, played out her linguistic, social and cultural capital in reading and responding to female-centred texts in a course entitled "Gender and Reading". Journal entries were used as key sources for data…

The main purpose of this study was to search for the occurrence of communicative and subcommunicative units and to identify the linguistic features commonly used by the authors to realize the communicative and subcommunicative units. Three groups of English RAs [research articles] by Indonesian speakers were chosen for this study: 10 RAs from…

Learning another language is very much affected by positive or negative connotations attached to the new language by the language learner. Entering Malaysian public universities there are many students with a low proficiency in English, despite spending eleven years studying English in schools. Could it be that the lack of progress among these…

Previous research has demonstrated substantially improved second language (L2) vocabulary learning when spoken word forms are varied using multiple talkers, speaking styles, or speaking rates. In contrast, the present study varied visual representations of referents for target vocabulary. English speakers learned Spanish words in formats of no…

Recent language testing research investigates factors other than language proficiency that may be responsible for systematic variance in language test performance. One such factor is the test takers' cognitive styles. The present study was carried out with the aim of finding the probable effects of Iranian EFL learners' cognitive styles on their…

This article provides an examination of the literature on issues surrounding the problems Japanese university students face in learning critical argument in their English academic writing courses. Japanese students' critical thinking skills are criticized as not fostered in their university education, perhaps due to Confucian education ideals,…

This study investigated the use of language learning strategies (LLS) and reasons for learning English among Iranian EFL students who began learning English at different ages. The participants (N = 33, both male and female) were divided into two groups of younger beginners (who began learning English before age 9; N = 16) and older beginners (who…

This paper explored perceptions of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) among a group of Iranian female learners. A sample of 88 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners participated in the study. A task-based questionnaire was developed to examine the perceptions of the participants. The results suggested a high level of understanding of TBLT…

The countries that use English as a foreign language need effective activities which propel students to practice skills of the language properly inside as well as outside classrooms. Debating is a practice that inspires learners to open their mouth, get into discussion, defend their own positions, place counter arguments and also conduct research…

The focus of culture in English language teaching (ELT) has traditionally been on the target culture of English speaking countries. However, the new status of English as international language (EIL) has led to significant changes in the practice of teaching and learning culture in ELT. Rather than relying on the paradigm of native speaker…

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) has been one of the popular pedagogical strategies these years. PBL is about students connecting disciplinary knowledge to real-world problems--the motivation to solve a problem. To recognize general elements and typological differences of language in translation is the motivation to solve real problems such as…

In Thailand, there has been much debate regarding what accents should be prioritized and adopted as models for learning and use in the context of English language education. However, it is not a debate in which the voices of English learners have sufficiently been heard. Several world Englishes scholars have maintained that being a denationalized…