This study examined the linguistic dimensions of comprehensibility and perceived fluency in the context of L2 argumentative speech elicited from 40 Japanese-speaking learners of English. Their speaking performance was judged by 10 inexperienced native speakers of English for comprehensibility and perceived fluency, and was also objectively…

The study is the second in a series of mixed-methods studies on the integration of The Sims 4, a life-simulation game, into language classrooms. In this study, the researcher explores the effect of game-based language learning (GBLL) on students' English communicative competence from three aspects, interaction, fluency and content, in a Japanese…

This paper presents a 15-week classroom study measuring the student outcomes of instructor-led pronunciation lessons versus entirely ASR-based pronunciation training. Seventy-six second-semester Spanish language learners were divided into two groups, one experimental (n=44) and one control (n=32). Over the course of six modules, both groups…

This article suggests three teaching ideas to help L2 learners improve speaking performances through form-focused instruction using formulaic language. Formulaic language is considered an effective way to foster speaking fluency because prefabricated chunks are faster to retrieve than constructing sentences word by word (Wray, 2002). In spite of…

The aim of the current study is to investigate the effect of using life wide learning approach on developing English language Fluency for prep. stage students in the official Language Schools. The study adopted the one-group pre-post experimental design, with a pre-post fluency test along with a triangulation method that integrates both…

Owing to the plethora of user-friendly audio/video creation and editing applications as well as free full-featured hosting platforms, videoing and sharing has become a lifestyle of today's students. Utilizing these spontaneous practices, the current study examined the effects of digital media assignments (DMAs) and accompanying asynchronous…

That 'a picture can stimulate a thousand words' aptly summarises the role of the visual in the field of language learning and teaching. The power of the image to generate language output has been widely acknowledged in the field of second/foreign language acquisition. Posters, diagrams, symbols and pictures are often found in language classrooms;…

This study explored the effect of differing levels of interactivity in a VR language learning system on learner oral task performance. 30 participants were divided into 15 pairs which undertook two spot-the-difference tasks. One in a static-VR system, the other in an interactive-VR system which required them to move objects into the correct…

Pronunciation is challenging for many international students, but particularly important for those going onto college and university level studies where they need to do professional presentations. According to the Institute of International Education [IIE] (2020), California hosted 160,592 students in 2019/2020, and is one of the top destinations…

It has long been recognized that collocations, or chunks of formulaic language, are essential and frequent in language (Henriksen, 2012; Sinclair, 2004). Therefore they are a crucial part of Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Linguistic scholars Pawley y Syder (1983: 192) remark that "in order to know a language, the [second language] (L2)…

The present research represents a longitudinal investigation into Mobile Instant Messaging to develop second language skills. WhatsApp application was selected as the chat-based communication tool to carry out this study, which focuses on writing and speaking skills' development. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to tackle students…

Previous studies demonstrated that the continuation task has great language learning potential and that various task-related factors may affect the extent to which the potential can be exploited (e.g. Wang & Wang, 2015). This study investigates the effect of one understudied factor, the linguistic complexity of the input text, on English as a…

This action research study aimed to examine the possible impact of the "Daily 6" approach on the oral fluency in English of 13 adolescents. This approach (extension of the existing Daily 5™ framework) introduced a sixth step, "speak to someone", to respond to the lack of oral fluency limiting participants' overall speaking…

Computer-mediated, communication-based foreign language learning programs are showing great promise. Among these, video-synchronous mediated communication seems to offer an effective way to provide speaking practice, although research findings have been inconclusive. Furthermore, among studies that have documented the effectiveness of…

Seedhouse (2004) suggested that L2 classroom interaction can be understood in terms of sub-varieties or L2 classroom contexts. These are the 'interfaces' between pedagogy and interaction in which a particular pedagogical focus combines with a particular organisation of the interaction. However, Conversation Analysis does not see such organisations…