This study explored the notion of flow, which refers to a person's sense of being completely absorbed in a task, as it applies to second language (L2) learning and use. Previously, flow has been mainly examined through researcher-generated descriptions to which learners reacted using Likert-type scales. In this study, we examined flow through the…

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…

This paper reports on a qualitative inquiry into Japanese students' self-regulated learning processes to improve their listening proficiency outside the classroom in an English as a foreign language context. Four Japanese university students with different levels of self-efficacy and listening outcomes were closely examined from a social cognitive…

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…

To date, research into vocabulary learning strategies has mainly made use of questionnaires about studying preferences in general or of interviews following a specific study task, focusing on finding out which strategies were most popular. The present investigation attempts to provide more insight into the effects of the parameters of timing and…

The study investigated the relationship among critical thinking, strategy use and university achievement. To this end, 76 English major students sat the California Critical Thinking Skills Test and filled out Oxford's Strategy Inventory for Language Learning. Participants' Grade Point Averages were regarded as their university achievement. The…

Watching foreign language programmes and films with captions (same-language subtitles intended for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) has been shown to assist learners in phonetic retuning, vocabulary acquisition and listening comprehension [e.g. Mitterer and McQueen, 2009. Foreign subtitles help but native-language subtitles harm foreign speech…

This article reports on a small-scale qualitative study aimed at exploring the listening process in a group of Spanish beginners in a UK higher education context. The specific aim of the study was to inform the development of materials for listening strategy awareness-raising activities. The exploration was focused on identifying (a) strategies…

Paired listening was originally developed as a research tool with the aim to understand the strategies used by L2 learners when listening to recorded speech in the target language. It offers researchers a useful combination of direct observation and verbal data, whilst avoiding the common drawbacks of subjective introspection. This paper examines…