This dissertation project examined the influence of language typology on the use of segmentation cues by second language (L2) learners of English. Previous research has shown that native English speakers rely more on sentence context and lexical knowledge than segmental (i.e. phonotactics or acoustic-phonetics) or prosodic cues (e.g., word stress)…

This report examines the patterns of placement of Teach for America (TFA) teachers and the achievement of the students they taught during the 2017-18 school year. The length of time current and former TFA teachers continue as employees of the District is also explored. TFA is an organization that recruits recent college graduates/professionals to…

This report examines the patterns of placement of Teach for America (TFA) teachers and the achievement of the students they taught during the 2018-19 school year. The length of time current and former TFA teachers continue as employees of the District is also explored. TFA is an organization that recruits recent college graduates/professionals to…

Although language experience is a key factor in successful foreign language (FL) learning, many FL learners fail to achieve performance levels that were predicted on the basis of their FL experience. This retrospective study investigated early cognitive and linguistic correlates of learning English as a foreign language (FL) in a group of…

In the present study, the comparative effects of comprehensible input, output and corrective feedback on the receptive acquisition of L2 vocabulary items were investigated. Two groups of beginning EFL learners participated in the study. The control group received comprehensible input only, while the experimental group received input and was…

The prime purpose of this study was to explore a correlation between bilingual instruction in an ESL class and the class performance of the ESL learners at the secondary level. Quantitative research method was used to evaluate the test performance of 60 ESL learners divided into two groups: One was the controlled group (which was given…

This study aimed to describe the writing activities that test takers engage in when responding to the writing tasks in the "TOEFL iBT"[superscript R] test and to examine the effects of task type and test-taker English language proficiency (ELP) and keyboarding skills on the frequency and distribution of these activities. Each of 22 test…

This study presents findings from three cohorts of students--the classes of 2003, 2004, and 2005, in the School District of Philadelphia--that were admitted to the district's career and technical education (CTE) schools through a randomized lottery process. This study takes advantage of this so-called "'natural experiment' to compare high…

The present study examines Iranian language learners' views on different types of oral corrective feedback and explores the relationship with learners' language proficiency. It then compares the learners' views with those of their teachers. The study is based on a 36-item questionnaire completed by 154 English as a foreign language (EFL) learners…

A two-cohort cluster-randomized trial was conducted to estimate effects of small-group supplemental vocabulary instruction for at-risk kindergarten English learners (ELs). Connections students received explicit instruction in high-frequency decodable root words, and interactive book reading (IBR) students were taught the same words in a storybook…

This study aimed to determine differences in the uptake of peer and teacher feedback after writing students received longitudinal feedback from only one of these sources. It also investigates the types of feedback given by peers and a teacher in order to explain those any differences. Data was collected from 64 Japanese university students in four…

This study sought to explore the effect of teaching prewriting strategies through different methods of input delivery (i.e. conventional, web-based, and hybrid) on EFL learners' writing quantity. In its quasi-experimental study, the researchers recruited 98 available sophomores, and assigned them to three experimental groups (conventional,…

Dynamic assessment originates in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Practicing dynamic assessment necessarily requires the development of ZPD. This study aimed to investigate the effect of peer-assisted mediation vs. tutor-intervention within dynamic assessment framework on writing development and the attitude of Iranian intermediate EFL…

The study reported in this article aims to capture the possible changes to the discursive mode of College English (CE) teaching in China by comparing teachers' questions, feedback, and teaching exchanges across two levels of quality courses constructed at different years. Based on transcribed data of 20 videos, it reveals that the general…

With the rapid growth of computer technology, some printed texts are designed as hypertexts to help EFL (English as a foreign language) learners search for and process multiple resources in a timely manner for autonomous learning. The purpose of this study was to design a hypertext system and examine if a 14-week teacher-guided print-based and…