Willingness to communicate (WTC) is an important individual learner difference that can help account for varying rates of language-learning success across individuals. As learner talk is considered to be a key pedagogical activity, instructors and researchers often strive to identify and manipulate key variables that will increase and arouse a…

The study used quasi-experimental research with pre-test and post-test design approach to analyse the effectiveness of using the Gallery Walk technique in enhancing reading comprehension and oral English language proficiency among junior high school students. Cluster sampling technique was used in determining the respondents who experienced the…

Cloze tests are gap-filling tests designed to measure overall language ability and reading comprehension in a second language. Due to their ease of construction and scoring, cloze tests are widely used in the context of second and foreign language testing. Previous research over the past decades has shown the reliability and validity of cloze…

This study investigated the correlation and predictive capacity of verbal working memory (VWM) to the reading comprehension of children in their first language (L1) and second language (L2). The term verbal working memory refers to a cognitive system with a limited capacity that can hold and manipulate verbal and auditory information temporarily.…

In this quasi-experimental study, 165 learners of English for academic purposes at a university in China were randomly assigned to five experimental groups and a control group. Each experimental group encountered 19 target collocations in the same academic lecture in one of the following input modes: (a) reading, (b) listening, (c) reading while…

Given the significance of the test fairness, this study aimed to investigate a reading comprehension test for evidence of differential item functioning (DIF) based on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' gender and their mode of learning (conventional vs. distance learning). To this end, 514 EFL learners were asked to take a 30-item…

This study aimed to explore the effects of a lexical approach to Chinese English major students' reading comprehension ability as well as students' opinions of this approach. A quasiexperimental study was carried out in a Normal University in southern China for 11 weeks. An intact class of 45 first-year English major students at intermediate level…

This dissertation investigates second language (L2) learners' comprehension of conversational implicatures that arise in two speech acts, requests and refusals. The review of empirical studies that investigated L2 pragmatic comprehension revealed two recurring issues: (a) the lack of a clear definition of conventionality, leaving open the…

Some words in English are derived words, i.e., words with an affix that changes their part of speech, like know "(v)" [right arrow] "knowable (adj)," or meaning, like "pleasant (adj)" [right arrow] "unpleasant (adj)." As a reading teacher, Tom Cobb had always believed that derived words were not particularly…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the incorporation of Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) into educational settings has become a universal trend. This study shed light on the new urge to focus on E-learning which serves a fundamental role in language teaching and learning not only in Iran but also in all countries. To help readers surmise the meanings…

The present study scrutinized Iranian EFL learners' mode of learning (distance vs. conventional) as a probable source of bias in employing cognitive and metacognitive reading comprehension strategies. To this end, a total of 514 Iranian distance and conventional EFL learners were asked to take a 30-item multiple-choice reading comprehension test…

The study examined the enhancement of EFL Thai undergraduates' narrative paragraph writing through extensive reading (ER) and investigated the attitudes of EFL Thai undergraduate students towards ER. Forty-nine non-English major students at a public university in Thailand participated in the study over ten weeks. Two experimental groups were…

Research on the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading has largely focused on literal comprehension of informational texts. The present study, however, investigates the vocabulary-reading relationship by specifically examining critical reading skills in an argumentative text.76 EFL university students majoring in Education and…

Background/purpose: Despite the rapid assimilation of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into education, and initial evidence suggesting its potential in language learning, rigorous empirical investigations into its efficacy for cultivating specific language skills remain limited. This study aimed to address this lacuna by examining the…

Extensive reading is an approach to language learning that encourages learners to read a large quantity of easy reading material. A substantial body of research confirms the effectiveness of this approach for developing proficiency in both first (L1) and second (L2) languages. This paper explains what extensive reading is, why it is important, and…