Vocabulary knowledge is considered important in second and foreign language learning because learners' insufficient vocabulary has been consistently reported as a significant problem in their achievement of second-language (L2) learning. Despite of numerous vocabulary studies, few of them have implemented a learner-centered and interactive…

This paper primarily aims to explore how the notion of "Good English" and its sister terms, such as good writing/writers and good speaking/speakers, are perceived by ELT students and secondly attempts to determine the language ideologies that lie behind their perceptions. A phenomenological research approach was adopted making use of…

This manuscript reports the final findings of an exploratory, descriptive case study that aimed at exploring the perceptions of a group of English as a foreign language students in a public university regarding their English learning and the commitment level through the process. A questionnaire, a survey, and the teacher's diary were the…

The major aim of this study is to better understand the university students' perceptions and attitudes towards using social network sites for learning English as well as to identify if there is a difference between male and female university students in terms of using social networking sites for learning English inside and outside the classroom.…

With increasing demand for accounting professionals, audit firms are banking on universities to provide graduates equipped with technical know-how and critical English skills. This explains heightened employer concern over the business English skills of new hires, prompting questions on adequacy and relevance of English taught in universities.…

This study aims to paint a vivid picture of the English teacher training courses held in Iranian private language institutes, both to critically analyse their aims and content, and to find their strengths and weaknesses. In line with this, qualitative data were gathered through information available on 34 institutes' websites, narrative…

The purposes of this investigation were (1) to examine the findings of effectiveness of the process of learning-by-doing; (2) to develop students' skill of designing English teaching materials and teaching English language; and (3) to determine an efficient format of learning-by-doing used for training student-teachers in the skill of teaching…

This study details the procedure and results of developing a mission statement at a language institute for the purpose of obtaining a program accreditation from an international language commission. A serious self-study process results in the development of a solid, true and ambitious mission since the mission covers all areas related to achieving…

Adopting a qualitative design, the present study aimed to highlight Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of dialogism in relation to the objectives of teacher education in KSA. To bring this theory to teacher education, the study considered the ways in which students, texts and the instructor interact--enter into dialogue--in order to generate meaning and…

This study seeks to understand lecturers' views about the effectiveness of curriculum change procedures taking place in 2006 at the English language teacher education departments of Turkish universities. The study collected both quantitative and qualitative data through an open-ended questionnaire completed by 27 lecturers working at fifteen…

This study explored the perceptions of teacher educators regarding the changes in the English Language Teacher Education Program introduced by the Turkish Higher Education Council (HEC) in 2006. Employing a qualitative design, open-ended questionnaires were administered to 18 lecturers working at five different state universities. The analysis of…

This study was conducted in order to inspect the impact of podcasts as learning and teaching tools on Iranian EFL learners' motivation for listening as well as on their listening comprehension ability. It also investigated the learners' perception towards podcasts. 34 intermediate learners who were homogeneous in terms of listening ability were…

This article presents a small qualitative study which aimed to gain an understanding of how lecturers and international students perceive the English language policies and practices at their institutions. The findings show that most participants perceive current policies and practices as unfair. However, there were discrepancies in lecturers' and…

The study reported in this article was conducted in 2009-2010 at the University of Helsinki Language Centre. Its purpose was to produce new information on the use of learning environments, specifically in a university language centre. Data collected from student questionnaires were analysed and interpreted. The study reveals that the central…

Evaluating existing foreign language programs on a regular basis is essential because program evaluation leads to more effective programs. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the modular intensive general English language teaching program applied at a university in Turkey by investigating students' and English instructors' perceptions of…