Metacognition is a significant predictor of learning and academic performance, including foreign language performance. However, variations in metacognitive competence can be observed due to several factors, potentially including personality. Analytic survey research methods were implemented to examine the relation between metacognition and…

This empirical study explores metacognition and its relationship with writing performance. Through multivariate analyses, the study investigates the role of metacognitive knowledge and regulation in mediating writing performance. Participants were 882 students from eight universities in China who were learning English as a foreign language (EFL).…

Test-taker characteristics (TTCs), or individual difference variables, are known to be a systematic source of variance in language test performance. Although previous research has documented the impact of a range of TTCs on second language (L2) learners' test performance, few of these studies have involved young learners. Given that young L2…

In the present study we investigated which role manipulated (i.e., experimentally induced) and perceived (i.e., self-reported) self-control depletion plays in students' (N = 176 seventh graders) achievement-related experiences and behaviour during a test of English as a foreign language, while controlling for trait self-control. Our successful…

Although non-native English speakers have been defined as a single distinct group in the most research literature, it has been relatively recently argued that they extensively vary in socio-cultural background, socio-economic status (SES), and parental education background wherein they grow cognitively. The present research, therefore, was…

This study investigated the effects of time on L2 writing quality and learners' use of writing strategies throughout the entire writing process. The analysis involved 69 Korean undergraduates' writing strategy questionnaires, retrospective interviews, and writing assignments, all of which were evaluated according to timed (in-class) and untimed…

The purpose of this research was to identify the types of interaction that emerged not only in a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) but also in face-to-face settings. The study also assessed the impact of the different kinds of interactions in terms of language learning. This is a qualitative case study that took place in a private Colombian…

This study investigated a causal model of second language learning, in particular, three situation-specific constructs: language class discomfort, language class risktaking, and language class sociability. Findings indicate that discomfort negatively predicted risktaking and sociability, risktaking positively predicted participation, and…

This comparison of 15 successful and 15 unsuccessful college foreign-language learners found significant intergroup differences in performance on the Modern Language Aptitude Test, tests of written and oral language in the syntactic and phonological domains, and math calculation. Results suggest that students with foreign language learning…

Reports on a study of the effectiveness of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in the acquisition of English as a second language by Arabic- and Spanish-speaking students in an intensive program. Examines two student variables--time spent using CALL lessons and attitude toward them--as well as four cognitive/affective characteristics.…