There are inevitable challenges standing in the way of the success of any approach to Instructional Design. Some are being faced up to. Some are not. Not least among them is the absence of empirically established principles undergirding Instructional Design prescriptions. The challenge it poses is to their reliability and validity. Nothing that…

This article describes a situative approach to studying motivation to learn in social contexts. We begin by contrasting this perspective to more prevalent psychological approaches to the study of motivation, describing epistemological and methodological differences that have constrained conversation between theoretical groups. We elaborate on…

To optimize the benefits of game-based practice within Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs), researchers examine how game features influence students' motivation and performance. The current study examined the influence of game features and individual differences (reading ability and learning intentions) on motivation and performance. Participants…

Although the role of individual differences in second language (L2) speech has been extensively studied, the impact of individual differences on the process of second language writing and the written product has been a neglected area of research. In this paper, I review the most important individual difference factors that might explain variations…

When problem based learning occurs in a social context it is open to a common social behaviour, scrounging. In the animal behaviour literature, scroungers do not attempt to find resources themselves but rather exploit resources found by other group members (referred to as producers). We know from studies of animal behaviour (including humans) that…

Postgraduates' English acquisition is an intriguing but complex process. A lot of factors have contributed to the outcome of a learner's acquisition, among them, motivation and strategy are playing a crucial role. Motivation is the driving force to encourage the learner to learn, while strategy being the techniques or devices for a learner to use…

This paper examines the relationship of age factor to second language acquisition. Age as an affective factor brings about different performance stages in second as well as first language learning. Traditionally, research in Critical Period Hypothesis and other variables has derived two major aspects of language learning--the younger = the better…

This review of research on the learning, teaching, and assessment of L2 German published or completed between 2002 and 2008 may be particularly timely due to developments from within the profession as well as recent political changes which continue to have a strong bearing on the way L2 German is promoted, learned, taught and assessed. Far from…

This paper examines how Piaget, Werner, and Gardner differ regarding the roles of cognition, intelligence, and learning in the developmental process. Piaget believes in the predominance of genetic factors. Werner stresses the influence of biological factors, while Gardner proposes that the environment plays a greater influence in how intelligence…

Background: Self-handicapping is an attribution-related process whereby individuals create performance impediments/excuses to protect self-worth in socially evaluative environments. Thus, the prevailing motivational climate would appear to be an important factor when attempting to understand the situational self-handicapping process within school…

The goal of this article is to discuss one of Paul Pintrich's more enduring legacies: the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), an 81-item, self-report instrument consisting of 6 motivation subscales and 9 learning strategies scales. The MSLQ has proven to be a reliable and useful tool that can be adapted for a number of…

The andragogical model of adult learning and education developed by Malcolm Knowles. the basis for much of "adult learning theory", is summarized and reviewed in terms of its assumptions, principles and recommended practices. By recasting the model as a theory with attendant hypotheses, it is then critiqued in terms of its theoretical adequacy and…

Previous research on interlanguage pragmatics revealed that, under implicit pragmatic instruction, some learners noticed the target pragmalinguistic features, whereas others receiving the same instruction did not. This suggests possible effects of individual difference (ID) variables on learners' noticing of pragmalinguistic features. Among the ID…

Although lifelong learning is being increasingly cited as one of the key principles in the fields of education and development, shared understanding of the term's usage at the global level is lacking. Lifelong learning is closely tied to the challenge of openness and the changes with which modern individuals must cope in their lifetimes. Lifelong…