The importance of skills has been expounded repeatedly as a crucial factor to thrive in the workplace, as opposed to mere knowledge of content. It is important to be able to adapt to new situations; this is especially true in today's world, where volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) are prevalent. To better prepare…

This chapter uses Kolb's (1984) theory of experiential learning to examine the learning process in two related contexts: A university-facilitated study tour for in-service English teachers from Norway and a short-term study-abroad program to Norway for US preservice teachers.

Using multimodal conversation analysis, this article analyses language learning as an "in situ" process during a teacher-assigned, experientially based pedagogical activity. The activity involved a three-part pedagogical structure, where learners first prepared for and then participated in real-life service encounters, and later…

While many elementary-level children in the United States still do not have access to a second/additional language (L2), an increasing number are educated via Foreign Language Exposure (FLEX) tracks. Our two-semester study examines elementary-level L2 learners' engagement, emerging L2 Spanish vocabulary use, and awareness of the arbitrary nature…

This article explores the linguistic profiles of heritage speakers of Russian and Spanish. Data from the 2009-2013 ACTFL-UCLA NHLRC Heritage Language Project included biographical information as well as speech samples that were elicited using the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview-computer and were rated according to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines…

The article discusses the implementation of the "constructivist approach" in ESP teaching to university students. This approach creates opportunities for students to "construct" their own target language communication skills meant for use in their professional intercourse. The way of achieving such an effect can be seen in…

This article examines how adult learners were socialized by one another in the context of content materials in conjunction with the teacher's participation. Based on the premise that second language learning is experiential and emergent and using discourse analysis of students' asynchronous electronic postings and writing assignments together with…

This paper details the use of a free and access-controlled wiki as the learning management system for a four-week teaching module designed to improve the oral communication skills of Japanese university EFL students. Students engaged in repeated experiential learning cycles of planning, doing, observing, and evaluating their performance of a role…

Discusses loop input, a specific type of experiential teacher training process that involves an alignment of the process and content of learning. This concept has gradually gained ground in English language teacher training since 1986 when the term was coined. (Author/VWL)

Developing the skills necessary to participate in academic discussions is an important goal in many programs of English for academic purposes. However, there has been little empirical investigation into how verbal and nonverbal aspects of discussion abilities might be developed. This paper reports the results of a semester-long effect of…

Although lifelong learning is being increasingly cited as one of the key principles in the fields of education and development, shared understanding of the term's usage at the global level is lacking. Lifelong learning is closely tied to the challenge of openness and the changes with which modern individuals must cope in their lifetimes. Lifelong…