There has been a sharp rise in study abroad participation over the last few decades (Institute for International Education, 2011), which can largely be explained by the rise of short-term study abroad programs. While there is much to be gained from participation in such programs, mid-length and year programs may offer the greatest benefits for…

In recent years, virtual learning environments (VLEs) or course management systems (CMSs) have become commonplace in European higher education as well as making inroads into primary and secondary schools. VLEs such as "Moodle," "Blackboard" and "It's Learning" offer educational institutions standardised packages in…

This paper is a part in a bigger research project related to ELT quality in secondary schools in Vietnam since the implementation of the new series of English textbooks was officially passed by in 2006, and the innovated direction was paid to task-based language teaching (TBLT). The purpose of this paper is to make argumentation on why, what and…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the rural "cultural" problems and to determine their effect on the learning of English. Twenty students from different ethnic backgrounds and English language proficiency in six rural schools in Terengganu, Malaysia were interviewed. In addition the teachers also from different rural schools…

This study investigated the cognitive strategies used by Persian EFL (English as a foreign language) graduate students while reading a hypermedia text. Prior to the start of the study, the Nelson-Denny Reading Test was used in order to measure the reading ability of the students. Data was collected through think-aloud protocols, and the strategies…

Corrective feedback has been discussed mainly in second language acquisition contexts, but less has been done concerning corrective feedback in foreign language settings. In this descriptive study, conducted at a Mexican university, our aims were to identify the perceptions of instructors of English as a foreign language about corrective feedback…

This study aims to investigate when and why to use Arabic as L1 in the Saudi Arabian EFL classroom. For this purpose, 45 classroom observations were performed for beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of students. 5 classes were chosen randomly for each level and each class was observed three times. Based on the classroom observations,…

This collaborative action research aimed to explore some classroom-based assessment strategies to assess the reading skills of young children. This article presents the findings of the pre-intervention stage as part of an action research study where a teacher's perception and practice of assessing the reading skills of young learners were…

This paper reports on a study on the use of social network sites (SNSs) designed for L2 learning, such as "Livemocha" and "Busuu", where learners autonomously seek opportunities for authentic interaction in spontaneous ways. The study consists in a longitudinal multiple case study approach to investigate learners' informal…

Most previous studies in blended learning simply involved on-site and online instruction without considering students' control of their own learning in these two different modalities. The purpose of this study was to investigate how college students with English reading difficulties integrate their conceptions of and approaches to blended learning…

This article explores Turkish university students' motivation and orientations toward learning English in a globalizing world. The study utilizes questionnaire responses and a focus group interview. Factor analysis of questionnaire data revealed three independent orientations, namely, "Integration into International Community,"…

Higher education plays a fundamental role in the construction of a European citizenship that demands the development of plurilingual competences. Although the Bologna Process highlights that development (relating it to mobility, employability and lifelong learning), language education does not seem to be a priority in the agenda of higher…

This paper highlights the findings of a study examining the contextual factors that mediated distance learners' participation in an online forum (OLF). Contextual factors are elements that emerge as a result of distance learners' interaction with their social environment. The study drew on a sociocultural perspective that encompassed the concepts…

Whether Willingness to Communicate (WTC) is a permanent trait or is modified by situational context has previously been investigated in various studies (e.g. Cao & Philp, 2006; Kang, 2005; MacIntyre & Legatto, 2011). However, most research into WTC has been quantitative or conducted in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or Study…

The flow of international students to study in Australia increases each year. It is a challenge for students to study abroad in a different sociocultural environment, especially for postgraduate research students, as they experience numerous difficulties in an unfamiliar and vastly different study environment. A study aimed to investigate the…