The current study examines the role of instruction in developing L2 learners' ability to comprehend two types of implicatures: indirect refusals and indirect opinions. According to Taguchi (2005), these implicatures differ in the degrees of conventionality involved in producing them, hence requiring different degrees of processing effort on the…

The present study utilised a sequential explanatory mixed methods design to explore the impact of rehearsal and strategic task planning on Iranian EFL students' L2 Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in English. Rehearsal and strategic task planning were introduced to groups of intermediate English students to examine their efficiency for enhancing…

Based on the assumption that learning is 'situated' and learning strategies are derived from a learning context, and using a grounded theory approach, this study examined how 12 students from two college English classes in Taiwan used strategies over time along the path of their EFL learning. The findings showed that the students' strategy use…

There is ample evidence that language learning strategies improve learners' outcomes. This is also the case in vocabulary learning. However, little attention has been given to students' language learning strategy knowledge. This experimental study assessed the extent to which keyword method (KWM) explicit instruction resulted in students' explicit…

This article expands upon research into task planning effects by looking at how the addition of planning prior to group discussions may positively and negatively influence performance. 24 Japanese university students performed three weekly discussions in groups of four. Prior to each discussion, they undertook either no planning, strategic…

Although much has been discussed about the use of reading aloud (RA) outside China, it has been one of the least investigated learning/teaching behaviours in ELT in China. The paper reports the results of a series of semi-structured interviews, in which learners and teachers were invited to identify the reasons and problems in the use of RA in…

Research on task repetition in second language (L2) learning has shown the benefits of this practice for subsequent L2 learning. However, as with much L2 research, most studies on task repetition have focused on adults and there is a dearth of research in this area involving young children. This study examines the effect of task repetition on two…

The acquisition of English language skills may be supported by instructing learners in the use of language learning strategies (LLS). Researchers have presented different taxonomies of LLS but evidence of their validity is controversial. The goal of the study is to test an Estonian version of Oxford's Strategy Inventory for Language Learning…

The concept of learner engagement has traditionally been examined in the field of education and it has been found to be associated with positive educational outcomes. While several studies in second language acquisition have looked at learner engagement with corrective feedback, there is a dearth of research investigating its relevance to…

This study investigated the relationship between language proficiency and negative pragmatic transfer from a first language (L1), focusing on the speech act of refusal as realised by American learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL) in Egyptian Arabic. Twenty American AFL learners (10 intermediate and 10 advanced) and 2 baseline groups (10…

This paper documents the identity negotiation and strategic language efforts of a female postgraduate learner of English from a rural Arab background. She needed to obtain a high score in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam as a prerequisite to getting an unconditional offer from a UK university. The narrative inquiry reported…

Case studies in lexical uptake suggest that some well reported language learning strategies, such as extensive reading and listening to songs, can be quantified accurately in terms of time spent on task and the nature of the vocabulary input they provide. These studies also show that these strategies can link very convincingly to growth in…

The study presents an investigation of the effect of strategic planning, online planning and rehearsal on the fluency, accuracy and complexity of oral productions at two proficiency levels. Forty EFL participants at low and intermediate levels performed picture story tasks in three different conditions: the online planning only condition,…

The present paper aims to shed some light on those EFL teachers' language learning strategy instructional practices which facilitate their learners' identification and selection of L2 learning strategies (LLS). To investigate the LLS which teachers promoted in mainstream and Muslim minority schools in Greece, we used data elicited through a 47…

This study of vocabulary comprehension strategies (VCS) is framed by the debate on L2-only instruction in the second or foreign language (L2) classroom where the teacher shares the first language (L1) of the students. Research has shown that some teachers switch to the L1 to explain lexical items while others try to explain them through L2…