This study investigated the relationship between out-of-class L2 use and proficiency gains in learners of English as a second language (ESL) in an intensive English language program. In contrast to previous studies on this topic, which have found weak, non-existent or even inverse relationships between out-of-class language experience and L2…

This study examines the effects of explicit instruction and exposure only on ESL students' ability to recognize, use and recall phrasal verbs. Subjects included 55 intermediate-level ESL students in reading classes at an intensive English program. Thirty-seven idiomatic phrasal verbs were divided into two lists. In a repeated measures design, one…

Investigates the extent to which pedagogical intervention can facilitate the development of pragmatic competence in English. First-year Japanese students were tape recorded in group discussions at the beginning and end of a course in which attempts were made to increase their level of awareness of, and expand their ability to use, markers of…