Language Learning Strategies (LLSs) assist learners to develop cognitive or behavioral competences to make the language learning process more self-directed and effective. In the current educational contexts, think-aloud methods are used to provide insights into the cognitive processes of individuals as they engage in enhancement of skills and…

Despite the widely recognized importance of metacognition in language learning, relatively few empirical studies have investigated the role of metacognitive strategies with a cross-linguistic perspective. Drawing on the mixed-method design combining questionnaire and interview data, this study systematically investigated the effects, the transfer…

Approaches to learning a second/foreign language can be affected by such individual differences as personality traits, motivational variables, and task difficulty. Personality traits have been proven to influence academic achievement, but their effects on motivation and language learning approaches remain unanswered. The first purpose of the study…

While research into various dimensions of language learning strategies has been thriving over the recent years, grammar learning strategies (GLS) have largely remained under-explored. The present mixed methods research aimed to explore GLS in the three stages of classroom grammar tasks, while striving to determine the sequence of GLS and their…

Task-based language teaching research has investigated the impact of planning on task performance, but little has been reported on the processes that take place while planning is undertaken. This study builds on previous planning research by providing a detailed analysis of four Japanese university learners' collaborative pre-task planning (two…

This study examined the impact of learner proficiency on the occurrence and resolution of language-related episodes (LREs) in rehearsal of interactive speaking tasks and on the subsequent use of language items from LREs during performance of the same tasks in front of the class. Forty-eight learners from six intact English as a foreign language…

Previous and current research identify Metalinguistic Awareness (MLA) as a possible cause of the positive effects of bilingualism on cognitive development and Third Language Acquisition (TLA). Although it has been acknowledged that MLA is strongly affected by literacy and grammar-related activities, only a few studies have focused on the context…

This study investigated the effects of two types of classroom instructions on EFL learners' oral proficiency by implementing teachers' judgment. Two intact classes of EFL university students studied a compulsory subject of their department under two different types of classroom instruction. The first group of students was trained with explicit…

Lexical inferencing is considered a listening strategy that is commonly employed by advanced EFL (English as a Foreign Language) listeners and a factor that contributes to successful listening comprehension. However, investigations of the factors that influence inferencing success in listening as well as how much each factor contributes to success…

The benefits of task-based interaction in Second Language Learning (SLL) have been made increasingly evident in the literature. However, unlike adult studies, only recently has interaction research on EFL children grown in popularity. Most children-based research has focused primarily on Negotiation of Meaning, while other age-related aspects,…

The present study aimed to examine the effect of proficiency on the pragmatic comprehension of speech acts, implicatures, and routines, as well as the way learners of different proficiency levels employ strategies when comprehending a pragmatic task. Thirty-three high-proficiency and forty-one low-proficiency Chinese learners of English completed…

This article expands upon research into task planning effects by looking at how the addition of planning prior to group discussions may positively and negatively influence performance. 24 Japanese university students performed three weekly discussions in groups of four. Prior to each discussion, they undertook either no planning, strategic…

The language learner strategies research field has often tried to identify the good language learner (GLL) by distinguishing more proficient from less proficient learners. However the notion of 'good' may be problematic without taking into account an individual's linguistic knowledge (LK). This article foregrounds LK in relation to strategy use in…

This study examined learner perspectives of the benefits of communication strategy training by analysing strategy diaries written by low English proficiency learners enrolled in an English for Occupational Purposes programme. The communication strategy instruction involved 23 students who were taught 13 lexical, negotiation, and discourse-based…

Since Ecuador has determined that it wants to be fully bilingual in ten years, this paper describes the experience of a Fulbright Scholar at a university Language Center in Quito; one helping language teachers improve the language learning skills of their students. The theoretical framework for this work comes from Learner Self-Management (LSM) or…