Language instructors play a decisive role in adult language learners' learning and retention of vocabulary through planning, selection, and teaching of vocabulary and strategies. However, some professional language schools lack extensive teacher-training programs that prepare instructors with the skills required to select and teach vocabulary,…

This study compared children's (N=96, mean age 4;1, range 2;8-5;3) and adults. (N=96, mean age 21 years) tolerance of word-onset modifications (e.g., "wabbit" and "warabbit") and pseudo affixes (e.g., "kocat" and "catko") in a label extension task. Trials comprised an introductory phase where children saw a picture of an animal and were told its…

The dissertation outlines a framework for understanding variation in ultimate attainment and syntactic structure in second language acquisition by positing a distinction between competence-based and generalized learning processes. Within this framework, competence-based learning is theorized to employ inductive learning processes to acquire a…

The focus of this dissertation is a web-based, second language (L2) instructional resource called VVT (Virtual Vocabulary Trainer) designed to teach integrated vocabulary depth of knowledge and dictionary referencing skills to tertiary-level learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). In addition to evaluating the potential of online resources…

With the focus on how a sample of 25 Arab ESL learners respond to the TOEFL-iBT reading tasks, this study aimed to find out what strategies respondents tend to use, investigate if there are differences between high- and low-scorers in strategy use, and determine aspects of effective strategy use among respondents. Data were collected using a…

The problem: Many previous studies have pointed out that EFL learners tend to face communication breakdowns with native speakers because their traditional classroom and textbooks are not able to provide learners with sufficient pragmatically appropriate input (Bardovi-Harlig, 1996; Rose, 1994, 1997). On the contrary, they are exposed to rich input…