This article explores a mentoring program for English language teachers at a university in China. At the end of the program, the teachers and mentor reported feeling transformed and set out to investigate what was transformative about their experiences by writing final reflections. Then, the teachers and mentor became the researchers, and using a…

Holistic assessment is an evaluative approach in which assessors work backwards from an overall appraisal of work to determine the criteria relevant to individual student responses. One of the strongest proponents of this approach in higher education is Royce Sadler, whose theoretical contributions over recent decades provide a strong conceptual…

The global expansion of English has raised a call for English-language teachers around the world to frame English as an international language (EIL). This is especially true in rapidly developing contexts such as China, where teachers are expected to prepare learners to engage effectively in intercultural interactions. As such, the present study…

Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) has witnessed an explosion of interest from consumers and researchers. However, consumers often complain about the limited functionality of MALL applications, which typically do not allow for critical self-reflection or for users to consider different aspects of their learning such as the task itself, the…

Saudi students studying English as a foreign language often do poorly in their English courses, and despite a growing number of studies on this issue the root causes have remained a mystery. To gain a more comprehensive perspective, this study investigated the underlying reasons for Saudi EFL learners performing poorly in English by including all…

Recently, researchers have called for more teacher education programs to embrace a practice-based framework for teacher education (PBTE) centered around core practices, but few studies have examined the impact of PBTE beyond coursework, particularly as it influences the instruction of emergent bilinguals. This qualitative case study follows the…

Fundamental to the hypothesis-driven approach to assessing the special-education (SPED) needs of English learners (ELs) is the awareness that behaviors often exhibited by ELs may mirror indicators of learning disabilities (e.g., difficulty comprehending text, difficulty following directions, lack of appropriate classroom behavior, lack of…

Acquiring literacy in English as a foreign language (EFL) is important for language development. However, many students enter middle school without adequate EFL literacy skills. This may indicate a gap between EFL literacy instruction theory and the classroom practice that is occurring in elementary school classrooms. The aim of this study was to…

Instructed second-language acquisition (ISLA) research endeavours to make positive changes in pedagogical practices. In this regard, there is a recent debate concerning whether teachers are (or should be) willing to engage with research. To investigate the research-pedagogy link, the current case study conducted interviews with 12 EFL teachers in…

Considerable resources are expended on the development of learner autonomy (LA), and in particular on the provision of self-access facilities as one of the most common ways in which institutions have tried to foster autonomy. Whether the intended outcomes are achieved depends in large part on teachers' agreement with and understanding of the…

To date, research on feedback in second language (L2) writing has primarily focused on feedback per se, with little attention paid to the teachers' professional development with regard to feedback in writing. This study aims to explore the ways in which two secondary teachers in Hong Kong attempted to implement feedback innovation in their writing…

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to introduce a digital thinking skills (DTS) theoretical model (DTSM) that could support and enhance digital instruction best practices in schools. Methodology: We have taken a mixed-methods approach. Our respondents represent diverse cultural, linguistic, pedagogical, and social heritages.…

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is an emerging field of research that focusses on how information and communication technologies (ICT) are applied in language teaching and learning. CALL lies at the intersection of several other independent fields of study, i.e. technology, education, and linguistics. The aim of this study is to…

Language is implicated in daily lives, and there are a large and open-ended number of activities (Cook, 2003), which involve language theories (Alkhaldi, 2011). This research analyses the language theories which are involved in the activities of Jordanian language materials. The researchers have chosen a sample from language materials used to…

A learner-centred approach puts students amidst the learning process and helps them become involved in that process. It provides an opportunity for students to choose and direct the course of the lesson. This approach is especially appropriate when dealing with ethical concerns that might be sensitive issues. When it comes to the sources for the…