During the last decade, researchers of foreign language pedagogy have become increasingly interested in the "language-literature divide" (Donato and Brooks 2004). The purpose of the current study is to contribute to this growing body of research by investigating the extent to which whole class discussions in three third-year…

With the aim of fostering autonomy in learning, both innovations, the self-access centre and the mode of learning derived from it, were adopted in the context of the study (Language Centre in the University of Veracruz, Mexico). Based on a case study, I have adopted a qualitative perspective to do this research, which aimed to know how the…

The majority of language learning in post-secondary higher education is compulsory. Many students in compulsory L2 courses demonstrate lower than average levels of achievement and persistence. Because L2 learning is an important component of a post-secondary education in modern society, improving the motivation to learn languages can improve both…

Language teachers, as one might expect, are often confronted with the task of assessing and grading students' assignments, which should ideally be addressed with respect to not only reliability and validity, but also functionality. Based on Knoch's (2011) taxonomy features with regards to design and development of writing assessments, an analytic…

This article focuses on the way in which technology-based activities may shape and characterize students' awareness of their own learning processes and their understanding of autonomy. The study was carried out at a public university in Colombia. Data collection was done through the implementation of class observations, a survey, and some focus…

Mobile devices have become a significant part of students' lives. The average number of hours that college students reported using their smartphones each day was nine hours--more than half of their daily waking hours (Roberts, Yaya, & Manolis, 2014). Although software developers and teachers have started to develop and incorporate various…

This article deals with university language teaching in the perspective of its shift from linguistic competence towards communicative competence, and presents some aspects of the underlying process. It analyses the findings from a survey conducted within the Leonardo project "Transparency in the Acquired Language Competences" (TALC;…

The renewed national focus on teacher quality and effectiveness has resulted in more rigorous standards that describe the knowledge and skills required of teacher candidates across all disciplines. In the area of foreign languages, three sets of professional standards address the oral proficiency of teachers in the target languages they teach…

I emigrated from Peru to the United States in the mid-1980s. More than 20 years later, a short trip to Latin America helped me come full circle personally and professionally and close the gaps that I had felt developing over the past two decades. This opportunity was provided by a Fulbright Senior Specialist Program award at the University of…

Although the concepts of critical thinking and self-voice have been extensively discussed in a second language writing, little attention has been given, on the pedagogical level, to critical thinking and self-voice in college EFL writing instruction. To fill such a void, this paper attempts to propose some pedagogical tasks namely: persuasive…

Past research has found that many pre-university L2 learners, having completed an Intensive English Program (IEP) still have difficulty in undertaking various disciplines in English-speaking tertiary institutions and continue to exhibit numerous linguistic problems (Bialystok, 2001, Celce Murcia 2001). The purpose of this paper is to present the…

Two studies were carried out in order to create distinct motivational profiles of students, examine the way in which context had an effect on motivational styles, and attempt to collaborate these findings with the L2 Motivational Self-System. The research questions for this study were concerned with ascertaining whether or not it is possible to…

This study contributed to the continuing dialogue of quality language programs and student outcomes for classroom language learning and assessments within the standardized testing era to language learning programs within Colombia. The particular purpose of this one-phase, embedded, mixed-method study examined students' and teachers' beliefs about…

This was a pilot study that used the Tomatis Method to see the effects it had on L2 reading fluency in a group of Taiwanese learners. Eight volunteers participated in this study undertaking 40-hours of before-and-after-experimental treatments. The results from the analysis showed that the participants had significant improvements in the areas of…

The study reported in this article was conducted in 2009-2010 at the University of Helsinki Language Centre. Its purpose was to produce new information on the use of learning environments, specifically in a university language centre. Data collected from student questionnaires were analysed and interpreted. The study reveals that the central…