Social media has quickly become an integral part of day-to-day interaction for many university students. This exploratory study investigated the use of the social media site Instagram for written discussions in three introductory French classes (n= 83). Specifically, student perception on the role of image as a mediational tool (Vygotsky, 1978) to…

The general purpose of this study is to increase, in a classroom environment, formal communication by using reading and writing. Our research focuses on reading as a means to develop the writing of a good précis, which in its turn contributes to improve: 1) memory, vocabulary and grammatical-syntactical structures, in brief, the organization of a…

Much research has investigated the role of planning time in second language writing; however, the results show that there are inconsistent findings about the effects of planning time conditions on the complexity of the EFL learners' textual output. The current study attempted to consider the differential effects of planning time conditions in…

This document presents the proceedings of the 20th Annual Research Forum held June 25, 2015, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included are the following 21 action research papers: (1) History Lives! The Use of Simulations in a High School Social Studies Classroom (Lydia Adkins); (2) Using Francophone Music in the High…

The underlying structure of meaning in a text is to a certain extent belied by the surface structure, or sequential organization, of the text. The underlying information structures (IS) organize information according to cognitive and cultural factors. It may be demonstrated that just three major IS with various subvarieties can describe any text:…

This study explored the extent to which the reading-to-write construct is the sum of one's reading and writing abilities or an independent construct. The investigation included an analysis of (a) test tasks, (b) the relationship of test task scores and scores on reading and writing measures, and (c) the effects of proficiency level and educational…

Discusses the use of writing assignments to improve the capacity of literature students to read and analyze assigned texts in the foreign language. The approach provides a higher level of motivation for self-correction that will enable students to overcome, rather than formalize, their errors. (Author/JL)

Papers presented at the City University of New York's English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Council conference on the relationship between text and context in college second language instruction include the following: "Reading Research: New Directions and Implications for ESL" (M. Trika Smith-Burke); "Two ESL Readers: Case Studies of…

This book provides ways for English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language (ESL/EFL) teachers to work on the development of their teaching beliefs and classroom practices through a process of self-assessment and exploration with new methods. This book seeks to help teachers become more effective in their efforts to teach their students to comprehend spoken…

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 590 Culminating…