This paper is concerned with the modifications implemented in a second year foreign language (FL) reading program with respect to the problems students experience while reading in FL. This research draws on the sources of FL reading anxiety identified in the first year reading program with a motivation to re-design the second year program to help…

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) was designed as a tool that "supports reflective learning and fosters the development of learner autonomy" (Little 2009, "The European Language Portfolio: Where pedagogy and assessment meet". Strasbourg: Council of Europe.…

This study investigated the use of blogs in an intensive English program at a university in Lebanon. The paper reports on how blogs can contribute to language acquisition and the development of related literacy skills. Blogs were incorporated into the required curriculum as supplemental material over two semesters. The aim of the strategy was to…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of Iranian EFL learners' proficiency level on their self-related personality traits (self-esteem and self-efficacy). To this end, 141 English major students, male and female, studying at Imam Khomeini International University (IKIU) and Kar Non-profit University in Qazvin, Iran were…

The present study investigates the impact of training metacognitive strategies in reading comprehension and has been conducted among students from University Putra Malaysia. Forty eight subjects majoring in English including both males and females participated in the study. They have been chosen from first level of reading and divided into two…

Videos are very versatile. They can act as a tool for listening that enhances listening experience for our students. Other than that, the actions, gestures, emotions, settings, etc, that is observed by students in a video can provide significant visual stimulus for the practice and production of the English language. The study also considers the…

There is sometimes an assumption among language educators that students find the transition from school to university language learning a challenging process (see for example Busse & Walter, 2011; Chambers, 2014; Macaro & Wingate, 2004). In this research we set out to explore this assumption through a small-scale study of first-year…

To strengthen the professional competence and basic ability is the objective requirements of the Chinese higher vocational college English teaching, while the positioning of the teaching objectives is partial to a "prisoner's dilemma" in game situations that any party will result in. To get rid of the "dilemma", we have to…

This study aimed at evaluating the textbook used for teaching Arabic for speakers of other languages at the International Institute for Teaching Arabic for Speakers of Other Languages at the University of Jordan from the perspective of instructors who taught the book and the students who studied it. The study aimed at identifying the points of…

In this article, the author considers some of the issues addressed in the 2007 MLA report. The 2007 MLA report argues that the two-tiered literature/language configuration in post-secondary foreign language departments "has outlived its usefulness and needs to evolve," and even needs to be replaced. When proclamations are made that foreign…

Han's (2009, 2013) selective fossilization hypothesis (SFH) claims that L1 markedness and L2 input robustness determine the fossilizability (and learnability) of an L2 feature. To test the validity of the model, a pseudo-longitudinal study was designed in which the errors in the argumentative essays of 52 Iranian EFL learners were identified and…

Japan is known to be a country that manicures its socio-cultural borders. In this article I will examine discourses regarding openness, closedness and cultural diversity in relation to policies and practices that draw heavily on mythologies of English language as an inroad to greater openness and diversity. To do this I will examine two English…

This study focuses on exploring poor and good learners' language beliefs and their language strategy use in an attempt to see whether there is any significant relationship between the poor and good learners. This paper particularly seeks to examine to what extent language beliefs as a construct are reflected in learners' language behavior, which…

This article explores levels of proficiency in Chinese with reference to the new HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi) Chinese Proficiency Test and the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" (CEFR). Special attention is given to learning and teaching the writing of Chinese characters and the use of Pinyin, a phonetic Romanization…

This study analyzes a foundation year's language curriculum of a Saudi community college which uses English as a medium of instruction with the aim of improving its curriculum. First, both terms "curriculum" and "syllabus" are defined followed by a brief historical account of curriculum studies. Then, theories informing…