Research indicates that investigation into the role of emotions during the process of second language acquisition (SLA) has lagged behind the work of educational psychologists. Experts in the area of achievement emotions have suggested that SLA researchers have limited their examination mostly to the role of anxiety and enjoyment. Consequently, an…

The present two-phased sequential explanatory mixed-methods research investigates first and second-year Japanese university students' perceptions of peer evaluation through self-reflection and its relation to learner autonomy satisfaction in English presentation activities. First, the qualitative data were collected through an open-ended survey…

Learner journals, diaries, and logs have been used in a variety of learning contexts, including foreign language learning. This paper investigates how diary writing can be used in the EFL classroom to encourage students to express their identities through the language they are learning; it is also a way of supporting them in their quest for…

The fostering of learner autonomy has become an essential element of modern pedagogy and an established object of research. There are many difficulties in providing evidence of learners' development towards autonomy, however, since it is not measurable in a traditional sense. As a learning advisor (LA) at a private language university in Japan, I…

I begin this article by briefly explaining why I think CercleS should encourage university language centres to align their courses and assessment with the proficiency levels of the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" (CEFR) and why they should use a version of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) to support the…

This article originated in a creative attempt to engage audiences visually, on a poster, with ideas about language(s), teaching and learning which have been informing language education at university language centres. It was originally locally grounded and devised to take soundings with colleagues and with participants at the CercleS 2014…

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has been increasingly used to inform language policies and teaching practices in Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Education proposed in 2011 that objectives of English curricula at the secondary education level ought to be stated using the "Can do" schemata of the CEFR and…

The demand for online teaching is growing as is the recognition that online teachers require highly sophisticated skills to manage classrooms and create an environment conducive to learning. However, there is little rigorous empirical research investigating teachers' thoughts and actions during online tutorials. Taking a sociocultural perspective,…

This article offers an overview of research strategies currently in use at the Language Centre of the University of Calabria and aimed at observing university students' learning habits when they are asked to use the European Language Portfolio during language courses. We present evidence of how experimental groups of students belonging to…

This study explores the effectiveness of guided reflective journals to improve intelligibility in a Japanese higher educational context. Based on qualitative and quantitative methods, the paper evaluates changes in speech over the duration of one semester. In particular, this study focuses on changes in prosodic features such as stress, intonation…

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.…

The CercleS version of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) has been used with language degree students at the University of Padova since the academic year 2002-2003. The courses into which it is embedded are generally blended: lessons take place in traditional classrooms and in the multimedia language laboratory, and students work online in…

Interest in learning styles has produced innumerable studies over the last three decades. However, the application of knowledge of learning styles in education is a controversial matter, particularly in instruction, where there is less evidence of the usefulness of learning styles tests. This article is concerned with the role of reflection in…