ESL writing teachers face the challenge of providing written feedback that is both effective and motivating to students. Thus, many end up making use of praise (or positive feedback) before offering criticism. Only limited research has examined how students perceive praise, and few studies among the most recent have focused on praise above other…

Students face various barriers in learning English via distance education. The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to collect quantitative and qualitative data regarding students' emotional intelligence (EI) and the situational barriers (SB) they faced in learning English via distance education. In phase one, 238 students…

This case study aims to explore English language vocabulary acquisition experiences and conceptualizations of a single adult English language learner with mild dyslexia by drawing on metaphors and semi-structured interviews. In the study, we aimed to view the learner's perception through different lenses to gain deeper insight into her ulterior…

Many critical educational philosophies assume that learners are naïve and unable to critically read their social reality. Critical educational gerontology (CEG) aims to emancipate learners from oppression, to which they are oblivious. This strand of older adult education charges teachers with the task of raising learners' naïve consciousness, by…

This study investigated the extent to which an extended time limit in an argumentative writing test affects the quality of argumentation in L2 writing. Thirty-two adult ESL learners each wrote two essays on different prompts, one in 30 minutes and one in 45 minutes in a counter-balanced design. The 64 essays were analytically rated by four trained…

This study explored whether second-language (L2) less proficient adult learners can become skilled readers by investigating the effect on students' attitudes to strategy use when explicit instruction of metacognitive reading strategies is combined with an extensive reading approach. Studies have shown that proficient learners employ a wider range…

Studies comparing writing media typically compare different modes of writing (e.g., keyboard typing vs. writing, smartphone tapping vs. writing, etc.). The current study sought to investigate the cognitive outcomes of a more direct comparison: tablet- versus paper-based writing. Thirty-two speakers of L1 English were tasked with memorizing 20…

There exists cross-cultural differences in English classes regarding the factors that demotivate students and lead to dropout. The present study, following the guidelines suggested by Rowsell (1992), mainly aimed to design and validate a questionnaire for the reasons for dropout. To do so, the researchers, first, interviewed with 20 translation…

This exploratory study sought to understand the meaning of cognitive presence for graduate students in a blended learning course. Four research questions guided the investigation, which employed a qualitative instrumental case study approach as the research design. Several data sources were used including: semi structured interviews with graduate…

This article discusses the teachers' role in self-directed learning (SDL) -- a central concept in adult education. We explore the use of Socratic questioning to develop critical thinking, which is the outcome of SDL in problem-based learning (PBL). In particular, we analyse 11 adult learners' reflective journals in relation to a Socratic seminar.…

This research investigated students' perceptions of the Portfolio-Based Language Assessment (PBLA) model used in the government-funded Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program. A mixed methods approach was used in order to obtain results with a broader perspective of the students' perceptions of PBLA. Data were collected from 70…

This study aims to investigate viewpoints of the adult learners about the effects of the recorded motivational videos. The study was applied to twelve adult learners between the months of March and May in spring semester of 2019, at Mugla Sitki Koçman University. As to the research design, explanatory mixed methods design was implemented. The…

We describe a study on the motivation of trainees in e-learning-based professional training and on the effect of their motivation upon the perceptions they build about the quality of the courses. We propose the concepts of "perceived motivational gap" and "real motivational gap" as indicators of e-learning quality, which…

The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of task-based and topic-based speaking activities on improving the speaking ability among Iranian EFL learners. The study used quasi-experimental design. The subjects consisted of 60 male and female students who were selected from among 90 EFL learners by applying the nelson proficiency…

This chapter reports on a qualitative investigation on the development of adult Spanish language learners' intercultural sensitivity while using Web 2.0 technologies to explore living abroad. Comments provided by 33 participants on wikis, Pinterest, and journal entries were analyzed using a line-by-line interpretative approach (Charmaz, 2006).…