As part of its ambitious Belt and Road initiative, the Chinese government, cognizant of the fact that establishing strong people-to-people bonds locally, regionally, and internationally will be key to the initiative's success and that languages will play a pivotal role in facilitating this, has called for the diversification of language programmes…

In this paper, we explore how advanced college students use the past history and experiences of others to understand the present while learning a foreign language through a content-integrated curriculum. To assess student learning we operationalize Norris (2006. "The Why (and How) of Assessing Student Learning Outcomes in College Foreign…

The study examined the speaking anxiety of Turkish English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners to find out the reasons for their anxiety and to suggest ways to cope with it. For that purpose, qualitative data were collected from 20 Turkish students attending an English Preparatory Program at a state university in central Turkey. Data gathered…

The decline in foreign language learners in tertiary education is a concern in many countries. While factors influencing students' persistence in second language learning have been explored, there has been limited discussion on the potential of language programmes that develop students' self-formation alongside language learning. This study aimed…

Language builds social and economic connections within countries as the most effective communication tool. It has the potential to introduce new opportunities and helps the speakers become world citizens. Although second language teaching focuses more on early education in many countries, it is still crucial for university students to acquire a…

This study explored how 296 U.S. learners of five foreign languages (FLs), including German, imagined stereotypical native speakers (NSs) and likely learners of German. Results showed that (a) when students of different languages imagined NSs of German, they emphasized different stereotypes; learners of German named the most and the most diverse…

The decline in the numbers of students learning foreign languages in secondary schools in England, together with the low and decreasing number of top grades in these subjects, has raised concerns among educationalists, employers and politicians in the last few years. The aim of this research was, therefore, to investigate the uptake of and…

The study examines students' perspectives on learning in a co-curricular language-based program at a large public university in northeastern United States. Specifically, I analyze students' motivations to enroll in the program and their perceptions of learning outcomes. The study uses the interdisciplinary construct of identity as a theoretical…

This document includes two technical appendices that accompany the full report, "English as a Second Language in California's Community Colleges." The two appendixes include: (1) Key terms, data and methods; and (2) Figures and tables. [These appendices were written with research support from Sergio Sanchez and Stephanie Pulles. For the…

Several Universities in Saudi Arabia have recently made it their priority to pursue excellence in effective EFL teaching-learning starting from the Preparatory Year Program (PYP). That is due to the rapid expansion of English as a lingua franca in tertiary education especially in science and technology, scientific and educational publication,…

This article is concerned pragmatically with how recent research findings in assessment for learning (AfL) can bring about higher quality learning in the day-to-day classroom. The first half of this paper reviews recent studies within Black and Wiliam's (2009) framework of formative assessment and looks for insights on how pedagogical procedures…

This study was conducted in the English Language Teaching Department of a state university in Turkey. The aim of the study was to examine the differences in attitudes of teacher candidates before and after their short-term teaching experience with very young learners (VYL) of English. The study was performed during the first term of the…

The Perspectives on Community College ESL series brings into practical focus a wide and diverse array of reflective work on ESL education in U.S. community college settings. It draws on the broad mission and constituencies that community colleges throughout the country must embrace in order to be effective. Volume two, Students, Mission, and…

A study conducted in the intensive English language program at Indiana University investigated: (1) the effects of students' language learning background (formal learning of English, exposure to and use of English in class, and extracurricular exposure to and use of English) on their performance on the Test of English as a Foreign Language…

This study was undertaken to provide recent and comprehensive information on the state of Chinese studies in the United States. An extensive questionnaire was completed by 111 American institutions of higher education offering Chinese instruction. Overall enrollments and enrollment trends are discussed, and the degrees awarded in 1978 are…