This mixed-methods study explores the language-related difficulties and ELT support offered in English-medium programmes at eight universities in China. Data included a student questionnaire (n = 394) measuring the difficulties of 45 academic tasks, organized around the four skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Results revealed…

An individual's mindset about the perceived malleability of ability or intelligence is known to strongly influence a person's other beliefs, behaviours, and motivation. This article seeks to provide justification for holding a "growth" mindset in the domain of foreign language learning. It discusses contemporary understandings of ability and…

The Storyline approach is little known in language teaching contexts although it has much in common with task-based education. Learners play the parts of characters in an unfolding narrative, collaborating on tasks in small groups, a method which combines the use of language skills with practical work. A word often used by participants in a…

Communicating and collaborating in online contexts can be quite different from face-to-face situations and requires students to acquire multiple literacies in addition to foreign language skills and intercultural communicative competence. This paper looks at how the development of multiliteracies can be included in the EFL classroom through the…

The use of blogs in EFL learning and teaching has recently attracted a great deal of research attention. Previous research has demonstrated that blogs foster development of EFL skills. This study, which takes a sociocultural approach, focuses on EFL interaction. Specifically, the study aims to identify the interaction strategies that bloggers…

This paper surveys some of the changes in teaching the four language skills in the past 15 years. It focuses on two main changes for each skill: understanding spoken language and willingness to communicate for speaking; product, process, and genre approaches and a focus on feedback for writing; extensive reading and literature for reading; and…

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) is a document launched by the Council of Europe in 2001 which consists of three sections: the Passport, the Language Biography, and the Dossier. It has two complementary functions: a pedagogic function (helping students to reflect on their learning and objectives) and a reporting function (providing a record…

An important component of second language programs is the skill of understanding and using the graphic structure of language involved. Inadequate handwriting, poor layout, and difficulties in reading are primary symptoms of students with a weak grasp of the graphic structure. (CB)

Examines the relationship between language competence and academic competence of students from non-English speaking countries and whether language training is actually the form of training they need. (Author/VWL)

Teenage foreign language learners can better benefit from reading target-language literature if the works include real teenage books instead of abridged canonical classics. Teenage pupils like and want to understand these works because they provide access to the colloquial language used by native-speaking teenagers and because they have themes and…

Describes the Speaking Test, which forms part of the revised First Certificate of English (FCE) examination of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. Discusses key revisions, including use of paired-testing format, and notes the role of the oral examiners. Considers why the new design provides improvements in the assessment of…

Activities which focus on form and communicative outcome are suggested for developing accuracy and fluency in second language students. Examples of such activities (with focus on the English as a second language learner) that vary the circumstances of communication in the classroom are presented. (Author/CB)

Focuses on two major applications of authentic materials: developing learners' language skills and orienting learners to the application of these skills in possible subsequent activities in the outside world. The article describes experiences in selecting and using authentic materials and in designing and evaluating tasks illustrating such…

Reports on English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) curriculum renewal in African secondary schools, where teachers identified student interests, posed problems for discussion, and used the language generated by the discussions to develop language learning activities. The article describes the steps in developing problem-posing lessons. (26 references)…

Considers the benefits of extensive reading, examines some of the reasons for its failure to take off, describes two programs, and offers teachers some leading questions to help them develop their own programs. (three references) (Author/CK)