The academic performance of students has been a subject of interest for educational researchers for a while; however, most of the research in this area was done outside of Somaliland. Therefore, this study examined factors affecting the academic performance of students in Burao, Somaliland. The study aimed to investigate the influence of…

This study explores the identity positions that L2 English learners/users would take in case of hypothetical miscommunications. Based on positioning theory, at the time of L2 interaction, L2 learners assign themselves and others specific positions which are established through their learning experiences. It was hypothesized that their current…

Health professionals who come from different cultural backgrounds are required to interact competently and at the most acceptable communication level that meets the demands of the multicultural context in which English is the medium of communication. Lack of proper communication in such contexts can establish a hostile work environment. Thus,…

Many refugee children experience trauma in early childhood. Effective, tailored interventions are needed to improve refugee children's access to preventive mental health. We interviewed refugee-serving stakeholders and parents participating in an evidence-based preventive mental health and wellness intervention adapted for Afghan refugee children…

Second language (L2) international students are frequently blamed for miscommunication and even stigmatized and marginalized due to the way they sound. However, little is known about how their accent contributes to the L2 lived experience at foreign universities. Taking a mixed methods phenomenological approach, survey (N = 306) and…

With the growth of English medium instruction (EMI) on a global level, the number of multilingual students writing their master's theses in English is increasing. However, research on students' experiences of writing them in English in non-English speaking contexts is scarce. This paper reports on the challenges and strategic learning efforts of…

This mixed-methods study explored learners' perceptions of ten L1 and L2 English accents. These participants (n = 97) were bilinguals who spoke English as a first/second language. From the experiments, the findings showed that the L1 accents, although overall viewed more positively than the L2 ones, were not perceived consistently in: suitability…

The suspension of onsite classes from March to June 2020 as a result of COVID-19 posed many challenges for educators supporting LAL (Literacy, Academics and Language) refugee youth. This paper reflects on the practices of a collaborative EAL (English as an Additional Language) and LAL high school team. It also addresses the challenges of remote…

This mixed-methods study examined academic oral communication difficulties encountered by Yemeni postgraduate students in a Malaysian public university and how they overcome these difficulties. The study also examined the correlation between students' academic oral communication difficulties and their prior learning experience. Questionnaires,…

The ubiquity of smartphones and the growing popularity of smart speakers have given rise to cloud-based, intelligent personal assistants (IPAs), such as Siri and Google Assistant. However, little is known about the use of IPAs for Autonomous Second Language Learning (ASLL). Thus, the aims of this study were twofold: to assess Japanese English as a…

This paper examines the linguistic barriers that impede English language communicative proficiency of the students of English language in the college of sciences and humanity studies, Thadiq, Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia. The paper gives the specific linguistic problems that detain attaining a perfect English language communicative competence.…

The presence of Africans in China has been phenomenal since the late 1990s. In recent years, there has been a dramatic uptick in people from Africa coming to the major cities of China such as Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, Yiwu, Shanghai, and Beijing. They are in the process of building linguistic, cultural, and economic bridges between their source…

Communication strategies (CS) have been generally used to overcome oral communication problems in delivering the intended messages. While studies on CS mostly involved simulated communication contexts, the current study deviates from the past studies on CS by identifying the types of CS employed by candidates of real job interviews and examining…

In Malta, Maltese and English are learnt in school from age five. During Science lessons, teachers and learners normally use Maltese to talk about key concepts yet the written medium of instruction is English. This has been the practice adopted in Science classrooms for many years. The influx of migrants in recent years has yielded a multilingual…

Purpose: This paper aims to determine how quality assurance practitioners in Vietnam describe their levels of professional knowledge and related skills, as well as identifying factors that interfere with the development of these skills. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured were conducted with 22 quality assurance practitioners who were…