Examines whether the "foreign language effect", that is, a temporary decline of thinking ability during foreign language processing, is larger when similarity between a foreign language and a native language is less. The results of two divided-attention experiments indicate that this effect was larger when the native tongue was less…

Describes a study carried out in a pre-apprenticeship job-training program held at a community college in central Canada, in which learners from a variety of language backgrounds were enrolled. Information was gathered on factors affecting progress in such programs through student questionnaires, interviews, and participant observation in the…

Studied learning motivation of English by Cantonese-speaking students in Hong Kong. Students answered a questionnaire and were assigned on the basis of their responses to four categories of motivational regulation proposed in Deci and Ryan (1985): External, Identified, and Integrated. Suggests that the transition from Identified to Integrated…

Examined relations among second language learning (L2) and L2 communication variables in the Japanese English as a foreign language context using the Willingness to Communicate (WTC) model and the socioeducational model as a framework. (Author/VWL)

This paper addresses the theme of the special issue by looking at the development of student autonomy in learning in the French programme at the University of the West Indies St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. The paper explains why a focus on autonomy is apt to meet both the programme's linguistic goals and its larger societal goal of preparing…

This study focuses on how valid information about learner perception of strategy use during communicative tasks can be gathered systematically from English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. First, the study attempted to develop a questionnaire for statistical analysis, named the Oral Communication Strategy Inventory (OCSI). The research…

This paper examines the relationships among motivation, metacognition, and proficiency in listening comprehension. Adolescent learners of French (N = 57) completed two questionnaires. A motivation questionnaire tapped student responses to three orientations related to motivation: amotivation, intrinsic, and extrinsic. A metacognitive awareness…

This study aimed at investigating beginner level English language learners' perspectives on the listening skill with regard to several dimensions, and to find out the extent to which the learners who have been trained in listening strategies actually use them while listening. The study took place at the English Preparatory School of an English…

As distance learning and other nontraditional methods of language learning become more popular, it is important to understand the factors that influence learners' ability to succeed in such environments. This paper reports on two factors that have a significant impact on the student experience in a self-instructed language program: locus of…

Second language acquisition researchers have claimed that feedback provided during conversational interaction facilitates second language (L2) acquisition. A number of experimental studies have supported this claim, connecting interactional feedback with L2 development. Researchers have suggested that interactional feedback is associated with L2…

This study examines the motivational pattern in relation to the anxiety of Chinese learners of English. Based on a survey consisting of an anxiety questionnaire and a motivation questionnaire, the findings revealed an unbalanced pattern of two types of motivation clusters that resembled the integrative-instrumental duality, with the level of…

This research has been done to find out the factors influencing the students' successes in learning a foreign language (English). In other words; the effects of the methods and techniques, used by the teachers on the staff to teach the chosen foreign language, on the students' success. The main aim of this study to make the foreign language…

This paper explored the adult student opinions on four types of English classroom activities (language learning; language acquisition; information convey; role play) and the relationship between the fondness degrees and their personality, test performance and motivation. It turned out that the majority of students ranked all classroom activities a…

This article presents the reports from the international research correspondents (IRCs) on the topic of second-language issues and multiculturalism through an informal polling using a questionnaire in six countries. The participating IRCs include: (1) Marta Infante of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Chile; (2) Anita Poon of Hong Kong…

This article provides a brief theoretical framework as well as literature review and describes the activities of an on-going research program which examines the experiences of students and professors at a specialized bilingual teacher's college in the Republic of Colombia, South America. It follows the development of a new pedagogical model as…