Many EFL students have limited opportunities to listen to native speakers, practice English out of class, have problems in listening comprehension, oral expression and lack oral fluency. This article proposes using YouTube videos to improve EFL students' pronunciation. It aims to show the following: (i) How YouTube videos can be integrated in EFL…

The emerging interest in self-directed learning (SDL) in the context of language learning has focused less on specific learning strategies selected by language learners based on their discoveries. Anchored on Boyatzis' Theory of Self directed Learning (2001) and Classifications of Language Learning Strategies by O'Mally and Chamot (1990), and…

Television programs are a rich source of input for which we can utilize in vocabulary acquisition. With foreign language television programs becoming more accessible globally, there is the possibility to better use this input source for learning. Can we incorporate television viewing into classroom learning (intentional learning)? Or use it as a…

Research has increasingly demonstrated that pronunciation difficulties in English can seriously affect learners' intelligibility and ability to comprehend spoken English. It is thus crucial that we find ways of helping learners of English become more intelligible. In this talk, I present compelling research evidence in support of a strategy-based…

Reporting on the relationship between homework, foreign language learning and self-regulated learning, this paper examines how a teacher used homework to promote Japanese language learning in a Year 4 class at an Australian primary school. The study drew on naturally occurring data including classroom observations and student-produced video of…

This article introduces the concept of intra-formal learning. Building on approaches to extended learning (in reading, listening and viewing) it suggests that instead of extending learning from formal into personal learning spaces, learners should be encouraged to draw on informal learning experiences to extend learning opportunities in formal…

The instruction of metacognitive strategies in listening has been increasingly implemented in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. However, there is yet a growing need to carry out this strategy instruction within a process-based approach for a more engaging and effective listening tasks. Thus, the present study attempts to investigate…

This article introduces self-regulation features with Partial and Synchronized Caption (PSC) for practicing listening skills and fostering self-paced and autonomous learning. PSC generates a partial caption by focusing on acoustically and lexically difficult words and synchronizes each word's appearance with the speaker's speech. The aim is to…

Previous research reports that foreign language anxiety (FLA) is one of the affective factors exerting influence on foreign language learning. Myriad studies have examined how foreign language learners cope with foreign language anxiety. However, few studies have addressed the particular moments when students feel the most anxious and how they…

Although grammar has been central to L2 research and methodology over the years, the approaches to teaching grammar have long been a controversial topic in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) even today when we are introduced with innovative methods especially with technology. Considered as an innovative and effective instructional…

Most of the more serious mistakes we make in our second or third languages are not linked to grammar, but to pragmatics (Félix-Brasdefer, 2008; Kasper & Rose, 1999; Olshtain & Blum-Kulka, 1985; Rose & Kasper, 2001). While language textbooks are often focused on grammar content distributed throughout a communicative syllabus (Lázaro…

In the present study, we tested the effectiveness of three learning strategies (self-explanation, learning by teaching and passive viewing) used by students who were learning from video lectures. Effectiveness was measured not only with traditional measures, but also with electroencephalography (EEG). Using a within-subjects design, 26 university…

Sequencing language production activities based on the inherent cognitive load of each activity type can improve student performance and self-efficacy on high cognitive load language tasks like conversational speech (either face-to-face or via video chat). This ordering according to cognitive difficulty can scaffold learners in their development…

Out-of-class exposure to and use of the target language mediated by technological resources are essential to language learning, as foreign language learners very often encounter difficulty in accessing and processing target language in the immediate physical environments. Understanding how foreign language learners' out-of-class self-directed…

This study explored 42 English as a foreign language (EFL) undergraduates' self-regulated learning with and without technology in a university in northwest Taiwan. Based on the conceptual framework on Zimmerman's (Zimmerman, B. J. 2000. "Attaining Self-regulation: A Social Cognitive Perspective." In "Handbook of Self-Regulation:…