Directed Motivational Currents (DMCs) are highly intense goal-directed motivational experiences that are characterised by establishing new routines and having positive emotions. The present study aimed to identify the factors that triggered the launch of DMCs among EFL learners. An interview protocol designed based on the core dimensions of the…

Directed motivational currents, unique and intense goal-directed motivational surges lasting over a period of time, have received increasing attention recently. This article reports the first systematic review of this phenomenon. A total of 21 reports appearing between 2013 and 2020 were included in the analysis. The results show that the majority…

Scholars indicated that learners who are strategic with their language learning (e.g., selfregulated learning [SRL], cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies) tend to be more efficient, resourceful, and flexible, and thus have better language learning outcomes (Oxford, 2016; Heo et al., 2012; Plonsky, 2011). Besides focusing on the knowledge,…

English language learners (ELLs) lack academic vocabulary knowledge, an essential component that explains much of the persistent achievement gap between students who start schools as ELLs and their monolingual peers. This single-subject experimental design study addressed this issue by focusing on self-regulated vocabulary learning that helps ELLs…

One of the most recent developments in the field of L2 motivation is the construct of Directed Motivational Currents (DMCs). This novel motivational conceptualisation is characterised by its energising capacity to promote and sustain action in a multitude of contexts whenever an individual is determined to attain a goal/vision he or she regards as…

Willingness to communicate (WTC) research has focused mostly on identifying factors that influence second language (L2) WTC in ESL contexts. This study differs by examining the effects of a 6-week treatment aimed at enhancing WTC in a group of 206 Yemeni rural high school EFL learners. Classes were randomly assigned to a control group (n = 102) or…

This study investigated the impact of metacognitive pedagogical sequence on development of less-proficient Thai EFL listeners' L2 listening metacognition and listening comprehension achievement over a semester. Sixty-four university students who were enrolled in a listening course participated in a quasi-experimental study. Both the intervention…

As students' achievement is correlated with self-regulation, finding interventions promoting self-regulated learning (SRL) in online courses is a current focus of research. However, few studies have explored the potential of contract learning in scaffolding and developing SRL in non-traditional learners who have work and family and are at risk of…

Students' engagement and determination require the use of self-regulated learning strategies to facilitate adequate preparation. This article reports a research study that looks into how eight instructors, who were trained to promote self-regulation, interact with 18 students of a Bachelor of Arts program in English language teaching in Bogotá.…

This study investigated the effect of online summative and formative assessments on 30 Iranian English as foreign language teachers' teaching competences. Everything being equal in terms of participant homogeneity and classroom video-based teacher induction for 21 sessions, significant differences in teaching competence improvements on three…

In the 2011 census almost one in three Irish teenagers claimed to be unable to speak Irish (Central Statistics Office, Ireland, 2012), despite the language being taught daily in school. The challenges facing the Irish language in schools are complex and multifaceted. The research reported here attempts to address some of these challenges by…

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…

Based on Zimmerman, Bonner, and Kovach's (1996) academy model, an intervention consisting of seven weekly training sessions to increase students' awareness of and ability to plan and manage their study time was developed. Participant students reflected on the implementation of each phase of the learning model in their weekly journal entries,…

This qualitative action research study explored the interactions of young-adult learners carrying out self-reflection on their learning processes in an ESP (English for special purposes) course at an airline training-center in Bogotá, Colombia. Needs analysis revealed that learners had poor knowledge of technical English, and lacked strong…

This article reports the results of student preferences with respect to intervention studies integrated into college level Japanese language courses in two consecutive years. The initial study was entitled "Goal List Project"; the subsequent amended study was entitled "Self-Assessment Project". The former project required the students to set…