Language teachers, as one might expect, are often confronted with the task of assessing and grading students' assignments, which should ideally be addressed with respect to not only reliability and validity, but also functionality. Based on Knoch's (2011) taxonomy features with regards to design and development of writing assessments, an analytic…

This paper is part of a larger project that examines some of the best-selling iPhone apps designed to learn English pronunciation. Informed by the literature on pronunciation teaching/acquisition, Computer Assisted Pronunciation Teaching (CAPT), Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and Mobile-learning (M-learning), it provides a critical…

A sizable body of literature has been established surrounding native speaker teachers versus nonnative speaker teachers of English. Presently, a paucity of research exists related to teachers working with languages other than English. In an attempt to fill this research gap, this qualitative research study presents the experiences of novice…

Insofar as effective instruction is contingent upon the degree to which it is tailored to learner understandings in situ, developing a firmer grasp of how understanding-checks work in the reality of the classroom is integral to educators' knowledge of teacher practices and, ultimately, their ability to implement effective teacher training. The…

This study investigates the differential effects of two learning contexts, formal instruction (FI) at home and a study abroad period (SA), on the oral production skills of advanced-level Catalan-Spanish undergraduate learners of English. Speech samples elicited through an interview at three data collection times over a 2-year period were…

This article explores what immersion English education means in South Korea (henceforth Korea) and examines various related educational practices. The proposal for English immersion from the Presidential Transition Committee of the Lee administration in early 2008 has highlighted immersion education in Korea. Ironically, since the committee's…

This article reports a case study that examined English as a Second Language students' peer response stances from an activity theory perspective. More specifically, the study was guided by the constructs of activity and motive/object in Leont'ev's theory. Multiple sources of data were collected from two native Spanish-speaking students enrolled in…

Recent data indicate that many adolescent English language learners (ELLs) comprehend English texts at only a limited literal level. The purpose of this research synthesis was to systematically identify and describe the research related to the English reading comprehension of middle grades ELLs while also making practical connections to…

To effectively address the needs of second language (L2) learners in college writing courses, many postsecondary institutions, especially those located in cities with high concentrations of immigrants, offer college-level courses for L2 students. Such courses include noncredit English language courses in an intensive English program, developmental…

This article reports on an explorative case study which, in the first place, aimed to ascertain different types of foreign language play in online role-playing in "Second Life," and which, secondly aimed to describe how various sources of contextual support can explain this foreign language play. Students' written conversation was…

The current study aimed at applying a broad model of cognitive functions to predict performance in science and language courses at school as well as performance in a science course at university. We hypothesized that performance in science courses was predominantly related to the cognitive function known as relational integration, whereas…

There are many reasons to believe that oral participation in the target language (TL) is beneficial for classroom language learners. In addition to the prominence current second language acquisition (SLA) theory gives to processes that assume learner production of the TL (e.g. negotiation of meaning), teachers often view oral participation as a…

There is a shortage of second/foreign language (S/FL) teachers in many parts of the world, and the rates of attrition are cause for alarm in North America. Canadian and US teachers' (N = 323) were administered the Self-Directed Search vocational interest inventory and the Coping in Stressful Situations scale. Results from this quantitative study…

Language learning strategies have been researched for more than 30 years yet there remain many unanswered questions. Some of these questions relate to the target language being studied, specifically Japanese, and the influence of learner variables on the choice of language learning strategies, specifically cultural background. This study seeks to…

The assumption underlying research on feedback is that, in writing, feedback is something provided for what actually shows up in the learner's text. However, a new dimension may need to be added to the debate in light of the Noticing Hypothesis, the Output Hypothesis, and the emerging evidence on what L2 learners actually notice as they produce…