This paper presents the findings from a study that examines the motivations of adult Australians of non-Italian origin to learn Italian in continuing education contexts in Sydney. The study embraces a view of motivation as a multifaceted phenomenon that is produced in a social environment through the interaction between the second language…

In the last five years or so, research has extensively explored the benefits and problems of flipped classrooms in helping improve the student learning experience. However, little attention has been given to the kinds of support that students would need in the process of mastering learning outside class. To address this gap in research and…

This article discusses the validity of the bonus for languages other than English (known as the Language Bonus) established in Australia to boost participation in language education. In subjecting this incentive plan to empirical investigation, we not only address a gap in the literature, but also continue the discussion on how to ensure that the…

Focusing specifically on the negotiation of commonality, this study explores rapport building (Spencer-Oatey, 2000) in online intercultural text chat, where Australian students of Italian interact with L1 Italian speakers. Although the initial purpose of the examined chat exchanges is to facilitate L2 acquisition, analysis of transcripts indicates…

Test-takers' voices in relation to high-stakes language tests have received growing attention in recent years. While the perspectives of this stakeholder group can be utilised to improve test quality, test-taking experience, and test impact, we argue that this goal needs to be achieved by considering a fundamental shift in our conceptualisation of…

Language teaching is a profession which is international in character. Language teachers often work and study in foreign countries, and distance education has become very important in the education of language teachers. Drawing on two international surveys, this paper explores language teacher education by distance from the perspective of students…

Digital media are beneficial for research of complex refugee issues, as they allow refugees to express their personal experiences of complex issues in ways that are not restricted by language barriers or limited in authenticity, while also offering researchers a way to systematically compare refugees' varied experiences. We used a computerised…

This paper reports part of a broader qualitative case study of Asian students "translation" (Agar, 2006) to study in an Australian university. The paper is concerned with the experiences of eight participants and their involvement in a training programme in the use of language learning strategies (LLS) to support their engagement with…

The article considers the role of qualitative research methods in CALL through describing a series of examples. These examples are used to highlight the importance and value of qualitative data in relation to a specific research objective in CALL. The use of qualitative methods in conjunction with other approaches as in mixed method research…

Over the last decade, research in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) has increasingly focused on the relationship between culture and learning. Researchers such as Kumaravadivelu (2003) have been vocal in their opposition to the practice of cultural stereotyping. In the current study, Holliday's (2005) model of…

Translanguaging pedagogy offers a way to differentiate between students' varying linguistic repertoires when embedding an additional language across the curriculum. In this article I draw on positioning theory to show the relevance of teacher positioning to translanguaging pedagogy and differentiation. Differentiation is discussed in relation to…

This study explores the potential contribution of Eggins and Slade's (2004) Speech Functions as tools for describing learners' participation patterns in Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC). Our analysis focuses on the relationship between learners' self-efficacy (i.e. personal judgments of second language performance capabilities)…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine Vietnamese international students' experiences with the campus learning environment by analysing differences in staff and student perceptions. Design/Methodology/Approach: Two focus groups (n = 12) and ten in-depth interviews were conducted with Vietnamese students and four in-depth interviews with…

This paper investigates the extent of electronic dictionary use by language learners in an Australian university. All students in the study are formally enrolled in language courses across ten languages at first, second or third year level. The study places a particular emphasis on gauging student perceptions of the beneficial aspects of…

Within applied linguistics, understanding of motivation and cognition has benefitted from substantial attention for decades, but the attention received by language learner emotions has not been comparable until recently when interest in emotions and the role they can play in language learning has increased. Emotions are at the core of human…