This study explores the role of cognitive task complexity in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum development and its impact on learner engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes. A mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, was employed to gain comprehensive insights into the topic. The qualitative…

Language tests, including international high-stakes English proficiency tests widely used around the world, are to be viewed as ideological constructs connected with power relations and center-periphery demarcations at different social levels. In this paper, we examine the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) as an instance of…

Over the decades, extensive research efforts have been directed towards classifying and evaluating motivational teaching behaviours. Recent calls in motivational research, however, have emphasised the need to investigate teachers' perspectives on how they develop effective motivational strategies so that implications for motivational teaching are…

This study, taking into consideration of teachers' as well as students' judgments, explored the generalizability and consistency of the results of linking speaking test of IELTS to China's Standards of English Language Ability (CSE). Nine college English teachers and 81 undergraduate students judged the degree of congruence between the IELTS…

This study aims to examine the challenges that face EFL teachers in applying negotiation for meaning pedagogy in teaching writing skill. To collect qualitative data, classroom observation and semi-structured interviews were employed as data collection methods whereas for analyzing the data, a thematic analysis technique was used. The findings of…

The writing module of the IELTS has proven to be a challenging section for test takers. Part of this difficulty may stem from the divergence between what test takers expect to learn in such courses and what is delivered by instructors. To address this issue, a 24-item questionnaire (Student Questionnaire A) relating to IELTS writing preparation…

John Read is about to retire as Professor in Applied Language Studies at the University of Auckland. He previously taught applied linguistics, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at Victoria University of Wellington, the SEAMEO Regional Language Centre, the University of Texas El Paso,…

This paper investigates the attitudes of 246 English teachers from Outer and Expanding Circles (EC and OC) towards the global spread of English and the challenges underpinning international proficiency tests. Using a questionnaire, supplemented with interviews with a smaller group of teachers, this study explores how EC and OC teachers perceive…

This study investigated the influence of continued teacher education on the overall performance levels of local nonnative teachers of English in the Kutai Kartanegara Government Regency of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The study aimed to appraise teachers' overall performance levels by examining three perceived indicators (English teaching…

Teacher corrective feedback is widely recognised as integral in supporting developing L2 writers. The potentially high pressure IELTS test preparation classroom presents a context where feedback has not yet been extensively studied. Consequently, teachers' approaches to corrective feedback on Writing Task 2, the essay component of IELTS Writing,…

In the literature of second language teaching and learning, the use of students' first language (L1) has been an issue of debate for many years. Despite the changing state of teaching and learning aspects over the years, the belief that L1 should not be used in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms has stood the test of time.…

The challenge for many teachers teaching in academic English programs is, on the one hand, to actualize the objectives of their course and on the other hand, prepare their students for the important international tests such as IELTS and TOEFL. The current study seeks to reconcile this challenge by drawing on the relationship between the IELTS…

The current study aimed at investigating the status of Professional Development (PD) through examining teachers' perspectives over how effective they consider exam specific teacher training courses (IELTS in this case) which aim at increasing their PD. To this end, a group of EFL teachers, from different language schools in Mashhad, Iran took part…

Being driven by the hypothetico-deductive mode of inquiry, previous studies have tested the effectiveness of theory-driven interventions under controlled experimental conditions to come up with universally applicable generalizations. To make a case in the opposite direction, this data-driven study aims at uncovering techniques and strategies…

The paper looked at contextual factors that influenced the self-efficacy in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) of a group of university teachers in Vietnam. Very little empirical research on teachers' self-efficacy in EFL contexts has been done and self-efficacy quantitative studies heavily outnumber qualitative studies. The present…