English Learners are an important part of California's K12 student population. Over 40 percent of students in California's K-12 education system speak a language other than English at home. Almost half of these students are considered English Learners (ELs), meaning they require additional language and academic support to succeed in school. In…

The present paper attempts to study the realization of refusal responses to invitations and requests among Yemen EFL learners in equal, higher and lower social status. It also aims to find out the pragmatic failure resulted from negative pragmatic transfer. In order to do so, refusals of 40 Yemeni EFL (20 high and 20 low proficient) learners were…

This paper examines how L2 learners of Korean manifest pragmatic competence in their use of address terms in computer mediated communication (CMC) and how they use these terms to negotiate their identities. Four UK-based learners of Korean with competence levels ranging from Novice High through Intermediate High participated in the study,…

Using the first language (L1) to solve problems in understanding the second language (L2) may be beneficial for L2 learning. However, the overuse of L1 may deprive L2 learners of exposure to the L2. It appears that the question is not whether to use L1 or L2; it is when and how each language can be used to support L2 learning. This study focuses…

As social network sites have become popular with university students, it is easier to understand how students employ social network sites seamlessly in their academic and personal lives. L2 learners often employ Facebook to improve their English language proficiency by communicating with their native and non-native English speakers. Facebook is…

Integrating the tenets of the social context model of L2 acquisition with insights from the parasocial contact hypothesis, the present paper addresses the role of mass media in L2 acquisition and acculturation among young Hungarian speakers in Slovakia. Questionnaire data were collected among Hungarian-speaking secondary school students (N = 310).…

This study investigated interrogative structures most frequently used by native speakers of French, in an attempt to reconcile differences between language forms taught in the French as a foreign language classroom and those that are encountered in authentic input. Radio, television, and magazine interviews provided multiple examples of…

Language is nature in action and something humans do. This literature review presents evidence from the literature that suggests that learning a foreign language in a classroom situation does not require high levels of student motivation. It is instead suggested that high levels of motivation are needed to make progress when a teacher is using…

Effective speaking exists in a group when the speakers' messages are so clear that the listeners respond as desired (Klopf, 1981, p. 76). In other words, the speakers' messages turn out to be exactly what they want and the listeners hear and understand exactly what the speakers said, and then act accordingly. This is in line with one of Confucius'…

This qualitative study examined three bilingual children's (aged 2, 3 and 4) meaning making and storytelling in relation to five wordless picture books over a period of 10 weeks. Guided by the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model the children were asked to read each book through four stages in both English and Chinese: I Read You Listen, I Read…

Learning once deemed as a face-to-face/classroom activity has been revolutionized by the advent of new information and communication technologies (ICTs). These technologies are used for the new modes of education such as distance education, virtual learning, e-learning and online learning.This study examines that whether children's exposure to…

This article examines the role of translanguaging practices and pedagogies in two-way dual language classrooms. Much of the recent expansion of dual language programs across the US has occurred in mid-sized cities and rural communities where English monolingualism is the norm; however, the extant literature on flexible language practices in…

Since student participation is essential for successful classroom teaching, a growing number of studies are investigating how classroom teachers can encourage active participation by students. In line with the prior findings on participation management practices, this study reports on three English language teachers' student participation…

Metadiscourse is essential in establishing pragmatically effective academic written communication. However, little is known about how metadiscourse is used in written texts produced by tertiary level second language learners. This corpus-based linguistic research study aims to explore the frequencies and usages of metadiscourse markers in student…

In recent years there has been a focus in language policy research on understanding how national policies are interpreted and negotiated by social actors on the ground. This paper looks at the interplay between government and grassroots initiatives to create Galician-speaking spaces in predominantly Spanish-speaking urban settings. While official…