While language anxiety is known to be a strong predictor of the second language (L2) achievement for decades, there has been a relative lack of empirical attention to establishing which one - anxiety or achievement - influences the other. The present study, based on a cross-lagged panel analysis, examined the causal relationships between language…

Although the ability to speak is often considered a determining factor of learners ability in the target language, research has given scant attention to strategies that can be used to improve this skill. This study aimed to shed light on the speaking strategies that learners use to deal with problems they encounter when using the target language…

It has been long believed that students' learning techniques and strategies could distinguish between successful and unsuccessful student performance. Therefore, this study aimed to examine high- and low-achieving students' use of the most common learning strategies. For this purpose, 160 students (80 high achievers, and 80 low achievers) were…

The study examined the relationships between reading comprehension and measures of lower level comprehension skills (vocabulary, grammar, and word processing) and a higher level comprehension skill (inference making), to determine if these measures of higher and lower level comprehension skills predicted different levels of variance in reading…

High and low achievers' strategy use profiles in the speaking skill appear to be rare, with the few studies examining their strategy use profiles only in skills such as reading and writing. Another gap can be observed in the scrutiny of effective and ineffective strategy use in speaking tests. The study was carried out with thirty male and female…

This research was an investigation of the application of genre instruction to the unique purpose teaching Thai secondary students to write personal statements for undergraduate university admission. The goals of this small-scale case study were to 1) investigate the effects of genre-based instruction on students' writing abilities and 2) examine…

Inspired by appraisal theory, the current study looked into the effect of using evaluative language on high- and low-graded post-graduate students' academic writing in an EFL context across male and female groups. Participants were 60 MA students of TEFL who were randomly assigned to experimental (n = 30) and control (n = 30) groups. Attitudinal…

With the realisation of motivation being an essential factor that determines the successful acquisition of English as a foreign language (EFL) in China, there has been a proliferation of studies investigating Chinese secondary school students' English learning motivation. However, empirical studies addressing motivation differences are scarce.…

This study was conducted to identify the Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS) utilised by 36 Band 5 students as well as 31 Band 3 and below students. This study was vital to look into the similarities and differences in the VLS employed by high and low proficient students as well as to reveal the most useful strategies for vocabulary learning to…

The English General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT), a nationwide high-stakes college entrance exam in Taiwan, has commonly served as a placement test for streaming college freshmen into EFL classes. There has, however, been scant research reported on the feasibility of using an admission test for EFL placement. This study aims to investigate the…

This paper explores and compares the language learning strategies of high and low performing second language (L2) learners participating in peer tutoring. The participating learners were grouped into high and low performing learners based on their scores in English second language. The classification of strategies by Griffiths into base, core and…

This study tries to identify the possible differences in the types of strategies and their frequency of use in low and high achievers of English in a language centre in a university in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Data were collected using a mixed-methods research methodology. The sample consists of 27 students with a high score and 30 with a…

Blended learning is an increasingly prevalent trend in College English acquisition. This research seeks to study the influence of a blended learning environment to English acquisition, and the differences between the high-achieving learners and the low-achieving learners for Chinese minority preparation college students in English acquisition.…

In an effort to create enriched language learning environments, language teachers, program and course developers, and publishing companies have long sought novel ideas and alternatives. Thus, a wide range of information and communications technologies, which have manifested themselves in the form of virtual learning environments, web-based…

Cooperative learning pedagogy has been in place for more than 40 years. Nevertheless, there has been no consensus on the best grouping procedure for the cooperative learning activities. To shed more light on the issue, the present study examined the language achievement of learners at different ability levels in two heterogeneous and homogenous…