The present study examined the relative effect of direct and indirect written corrective feedback (WCF) on L2 learning and the mediating role of language anxiety in the effectiveness of these two types of WCF. Forty-five Chinese L2 learners of English were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions: direct WCF (n = 15), indirect WCF (n =…

This paper tests a new method of teaching vocabulary to young second language learners through the medium of drama, specifically the effect of drama teaching techniques on vocabulary acquisition among primary school learners of Welsh. Vocabulary Acquisition via Drama (VAD) is based on principles derived from both process drama and communicative…

The present study examines the effects of cognitive-based metaphoric mapping instruction (MMI) on English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners' retention and awareness of figurative language at different levels of English proficiency. Ninety-one Taiwanese EFL learners participated in the study, and were separated into a control group that received…

The effectiveness of explicit instruction, within the context of strategy development in learners, has been widely accepted for several years. However, the methods used within explicit vocabulary instruction are varied and comparatively few studies have directly compared methods. This study investigates the type of instruction (in a visual or…

This paper reports on an intervention study with young Polish beginners (mean age: 8 years, 3 months) learning English at school. It seeks to identify whether exposure to rhythmic input improves knowledge of word order and function words. The "prosodic bootstrapping hypothesis", relevant in developmental psycholinguistics, provided the…

This study investigates the relative effectiveness of four types of input-enhanced instruction on the development of Iranian EFL learners' production of pragmatically appropriate and grammatically accurate suggestions. Over a 16-week course, input delivered through video clips was enhanced differently in four intact classes: (1) metapragmatic…

This article explores the second language acquisition of motion events, with particular regard to cross-linguistic influence between first and second languages. Oral narratives in Spanish as a second language by native speakers of French, German and Italian are compared, together with narratives by native Spanish speakers. Previous analysis on the…

It has been questioned whether students notice, act upon and, ultimately, learn from feedback if feedback about a task is received in conjunction with grades. If grades undermine feedback, it could be argued that it is a waste of teachers' time to add comments to students' written work if the students also receive grades. With reference to SLA…

This study was designed to investigate the effects of incidental unfocused prompts and recasts on improving English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' grammatical accuracy as measured in students' oral interviews and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) grammar test. The design of the study was quasi-experimental with pre-tests,…

The use of integrated skills tasks in language tests has been debated for many years and international English test developers such as Educational Testing Service (ETS) and Pearson Tests of English (PTE) already use such tests to assess English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' language proficiency. Empirical research has rarely investigated…

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a multifaceted educational approach which has emerged as a major innovation in improving language learning and subject learning in the curriculum. In order to analyse the effect of this approach, a number of studies (Dalton Puffer, C., T. Nikula and U. Smit, eds. 2010. "Language Use and…

Recent literature that examines the implementation of task-based language teaching (TBLT) in classroom settings has reported various challenges related to educational cultures, classroom management, teacher cognition and learner perceptions. To facilitate the smooth transition of TBLT from laboratory settings to classroom contexts, measures need…

This study investigated the impact of the interactive whiteboard on Egyptian medical students' achievement in essay writing in English as a second language (ESL). First, the writing micro-skills judged essential to help these students improve their essay writing were identified, using a questionnaire which investigated experts' views. This gave…

This article reports a small-scale study that investigated the effect of (1) an instructional method, viz. directing learners' attention to formulaic sequences (FS) in a text, and (2) typographic salience, i.e. bold typeface and underlined, on foreign-language (FL) learners' recall of FS and single words (SW). Twenty-eight FL learners read a…

To date, research results suggest that task repetition positively affects oral task performance. However, researchers have not yet shown the extension of the benefits of repeating the same task to performance of a new task. This article first provides an overview of the currently available research findings on task repetition and then presents the…