This mixed-methods study investigates writers' task representation and the factors affecting it in test-like and non-test-like conditions. Five advanced-level L2 writers wrote two argumentative essays each, one in test-like conditions and the other in non-test-like conditions where the participants were allowed to use all the time and online…

There is little research available on the incidental learning of figurative language from reading (e.g., Webb, Newton, & Chang, 2013). This study looked at collocations with both literal and figurative meanings, that is, duplex collocations (Macis & Schmitt, 2017a) and whether reading could enhance lexical knowledge of the figurative…

The author in this study introduces an integrated corrective feedback (CF) loop to schematize the interplay between CF and independent practice in L2 oral English learning among advanced-level adult ESL students. The CF loop integrates insights from the Interaction, Output, and Noticing Hypotheses to show how CF can help or harm L2 learners'…

This article reports on a pedagogical project aimed at helping second language (L2) learners of English develop the ability to detect and appropriately interpret spoken sarcasm. The study used a pre- and posttest procedure to assess the development of learners' ability to both detect sarcasm and impute appropriate speaker intentions and attitudes…

This study was designed to investigate the effects of incidental unfocused prompts and recasts on improving English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' grammatical accuracy as measured in students' oral interviews and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) grammar test. The design of the study was quasi-experimental with pre-tests,…

The fact that L2 willingness to communicate (WTC) can fluctuate over different time scales is no longer disputed as numerous studies have proved a dynamic rather than trait-like character of the concept (cf. MacIntyre & Legatto, 2011; MacIntyre, Burns, & Jessome, 2011; Mystkowska-Wiertelak & Pawlak, 2014). The changes in the intensity…

The author in this study examines how advanced-level adult English as a Second Language (ESL) students' previous English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom experiences influence their perceptions of their teachers' oral corrective feedback (CF). It uses in-depth qualitative data to characterize the participants' prior English learning, and to…

A case study design was used to examine the experiences of female college students learning English as a Foreign Language in Saudi Arabia, where English is becoming an increasingly necessary skill and the culture is undergoing immense changes. Ten participants who reported experiencing moderate to high anxiety, five from the beginning level (Level…

The paper reports on a longitudinal multiple-case study that probed into four advanced university-level Chinese EFL learners' situated vocabulary learning experiences and explored the role of L2 motivation in their productive vocabulary development. In the study, Lexical Frequency Profile analysis and semi-structured interviews were conducted with…

While disagreements are often considered dispreferred choices and potentially face-threatening acts due to their oppositional nature, this perception does not adequately reflect the importance of disagreeing for many types of interaction, such as problem-solving and decision-making. Developing ability in performing this speech act therefore…

This qualitative study investigates students' perceptions about paraphrasing and their cognitive and meta-cognitive processes in paraphrasing. Four Indonesian advanced EFL students enrolled in Applied Linguistics course of a graduate program in English Language Teaching of a state university in Malang were voluntarily willing to participate in the…

This study investigated English-language writing instruction in Jordan at three levels, namely primary and secondary state schools, a private school, and a state university. To address this issue, the researchers used tape-recorded interviews and class observations as primary tools of collecting data for the study. It turned out that a host of…

Informed and inspired by neo-Vygotskian theory, this article outlines a study exploiting a contemporary conceptualization of Wells's (2002) joint activity system model as an exploratory framework for examining and depicting the social-cultural-historical contradictions in second-language (L2) learners' joint activity. The participants were a pair…

Many studies have explored the difficulties faced by foreign language learners when they begin the learning journey from survival to advanced level. Most of these investigations, however, tend to focus on what makes the road to fluency strewn with obstacles and challenges; no significant attention has been paid to what makes the journey…

This article reports on the results of a questionnaire and interview survey on Cantonese ESL learners' preference for bilingualised dictionaries or monolingual dictionaries. The questionnaire survey was implemented with about 160 university English majors in Hong Kong and three focus group interviews were conducted with 14 of these participants.…