In recent years attention has been accorded to language learners' affective factors and learning styles. Two of the significant learning styles are impulsivity and reflectivity which have not been studied as much as other styles such as introversion and extroversion. This study endeavored to find out whether or not impulsivity and reflectivity…

Adverbs require a great deal of effort to be mastered, and even the most advanced users of that language have difficulty in using them correctly (Narita & Sugiura, 2006; Peacock, 2010; Lei, 2012; Leedham & Cai, 2013). The purpose of this study is to find out to what extent relatively high proficiency level EFL learners use different types…

The present study focused on the analysis of listening sections of two international English proficiency tests, i.e. IELTS and TOEFL tests, and one local English proficiency test, i.e. TOLIMO from pragmatic perspective. An attempt was made to explore the areas of pragmatic knowledge presented, and to assess test takers' pragmatic knowledge. For…

A longitudinal study was conducted to assess changes in and contributing factors of learner belief for a sample of 70 Chinese foreign language learners. Foreign language proficiency and learner factors such as learner belief and learning strategy were measured four times at approximately fifty-day intervals. The results show that there were…

Speaking is a crucial form of communication in language learning settings. Through speaking skill, ESL/EFL language learners can communicate and convey information. Pictorial aids have been deployed as efficacious mediatory tools in teaching various disciplines such as language teaching. Still, to the best of the researchers' knowledge, a direct…

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 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…

Task-based planning can be conceptualized as the opportunity to work out task performance before the actual performance. It allows learners to process the content and language of their planned production at a deeper and more meaningful level. In the face of the wide range of research conducted on the effects of pre-task planning on L2 production,…

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of teaching some self-regulated strategies to Egyptian university students on improving their speaking proficiency and reducing their speaking anxiety. The design of the study was a one group pre-posttest quasi experimental design. Forty 3rd- year EFL university students were selected to form the…

The study investigated the effect of problem-based learning through cognition-based tasks on speaking proficiency of Iranian intermediate EFL learners in comparison to the effect of objective-based tasks. To this end, a true experimental research design was employed. Ninety five (N = 95) language learners studying at a language institute in the…

The present study aims to find out the relationship between English Language proficiency, self-esteem, and academic achievement of the students in Abu Dhabi University (ADU). The variables were analyzed using "t" test, chi-squire and Pearson's product moment correlation. In addition, Self-rating scale, Self-esteem inventory and Language…

Research in second language speech has often focused on listeners' accent judgment and factors that affect their perception. However, the topic of listeners' application of specific sound categories in their own perceptual judgments has not been widely investigated. The current study explored how listeners from diverse language backgrounds weighed…

Theories of second language acquisition such as the Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1996) and Pushed Output Hypothesis (Swain, 1995) emphasize that learners must actually communicate in order to bring about the conditions for language acquisition. Learners who are more willing to communicate may create more opportunities for interaction, and thereby…

Using an ex-post facto, non-experimental approach, this research examined the impact of English language proficiency and multilingualism on the academic performance of international students enrolled in a four-year university located in north central Louisiana in the United States. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire from 59…

This article aims to address the practical question of whether there is educational value to embedding second-language (L2) learning experiences in intergenerational contexts. In particular, a case study was conducted of a novel, university-based ESL program in Hong Kong in which a group of older adult volunteers with a high level of English…