This study designed and pilot-tested a learning path in Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) to facilitate learners' Self-regulated Learning. 122 postgraduates who joined an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) course at a comprehensive university in China were evenly divided into two groups. The experimental group used PLEs with…

Test preparation has been shown to affect educational test scores to varying degrees. In language testing, however, there are no cross-regional studies that consider the effects of gender and age on test preparation practices. This study represents an attempt to remedy this situation. Questionnaire respondents to a global survey were tasked with…

Personal Learning Environment (PLE) represents a shift of learning paradigm towards learner-centered pedagogy, where users become masters of their own learning. PLEs are best used by learners with Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) abilities. Previous research showed that learners felt lost or socially isolated in PLEs due to their limited SRL…

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…

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of listening strategy instruction on second language (L2) listening comprehension ability, listening anxiety, and listening self-efficacy of Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. To this end, a sample of 52 English major learners of two intact classes from a university…

Mapping multivariate influence of learner characteristics on behavior highlights models in learning. To this end, we explored the relationships between strategies and learning characteristics and used regression analysis to understand how learner characteristics predict learning strategy choices. A cross-sectional research design with 175 students…

As an attempt to shed more light on the effectiveness of strategy instruction in second language (L2) learning, the present study was set to investigate the contribution of listening strategy instruction to improve listening comprehension of English as foreign language (EFL) learners in Iranian context. In so doing, a number of 52 English…

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of instruction of self-regulatory strategies on the L2 reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners on the one hand and improve the students' self-regulated learning on the other hand. In this research, the experimental group (N=35) received instruction on self-regulatory strategies whereas the…

Making inferences about a test taker's language ability has been a concern for language testers. Defining language ability in a speaking test is made difficult because the construct involves factors within and beyond the test taker. One underlying factor is the use of strategies. This study probes test takers' strategic processes and their use in…

With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, online education has been embraced as an instructional delivery mode to ensure continuity in all levels of education including higher education. Given the fact that the success of online learning heavily relies on the learner's ability to autonomously regulate their learning, this study focuses on…

A considerable amount of studies has been done on the relationship of L2 vocabulary and reading/listening, strategy use and reading/listening, and vocabulary and strategy use in different contexts among different levels of learners; however, little has been known about the relationships among all these variables with the same cohort of learners…

A longitudinal study was conducted to assess changes in and contributing factors of learner belief for a sample of 70 Chinese foreign language learners. Foreign language proficiency and learner factors such as learner belief and learning strategy were measured four times at approximately fifty-day intervals. The results show that there were…

This article provides a qualitative inquiry into the influences of immediate family members (i.e. parents and siblings) on a group of Gulf Arab EFL students regarding their language learning experiences and strategy use in their Arab homelands. The participants came from financially comfortable families, with different levels of education. The…

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of teaching some self-regulated strategies to Egyptian university students on improving their speaking proficiency and reducing their speaking anxiety. The design of the study was a one group pre-posttest quasi experimental design. Forty 3rd- year EFL university students were selected to form the…

Metacognitive strategy instruction (MetSI) has been shown to have a strong impact on various aspects of English as a second/foreign language instruction. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of MetSI on the improvement of listening self-efficacy among English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners. A group of sixty female undergraduate…