The focus of this study was on identifying patterns of student behavior to support data-informed decision-making which would then improve the learning experience and learning outcomes of online English language courses. Learning analytics approach (or more specifically cluster analysis) was used to identify engagement patterns in online learning.…

Understanding the IELTS washback on learning in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in higher education contexts remains limited. To fill in this research gap, this study investigated washback effects of the International English Language Testing System (hereafter called IELTS) as an English language proficiency exit test for final-year English…

The knowledge of English idioms is essential for advanced English learning and application, particularly for English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners. While studies have shown the benefits of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) to facilitate English learning, few studies have examined the factors that may influence MALL in light of…

This paper describes a study designed to profile performances of L2 listenership. The writer examines the listenership behavior of 23 Japanese EFL learners, who were all freshmen students at a national university in Japan (16 females and 5 males) at the time the study was conducted, in an attempt to identify some of the features associated with…

The aim of this paper is to explore if English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' usage of an online workbook follows Benford's law, which predicts the frequency of leading digits in numbers describing natural phenomena. According to Benford (1938), one can predict the frequency distribution of leading digits in numbers describing natural…

A series of short articles gives suggestions for new Bureau of Indian Affairs teachers preparing to teach Navajo children in Arizona. The topics considered include 1) Navajo children as they are the first day (week, two weeks) of school, from beginners through eighth graders; 2) a beginning teacher's first impressions of Navajo high school…

A large study which investigated the nature of dyadic interactions in a university second language (ESL) classroom setting found that students form very distinct and stable relationships or patterns of dyadic interaction. This paper uses a case study approach to illustrate two of the patterns found in the study: a collaborative pattern and a…

Nine indices of response pattern appropriateness were compared, based on item response theory, with respect to their relation to the total test score and their effectiveness in detecting unusual response patterns. The ability to differentiate between three groups was compared: cooperative examinees, uncooperative examinees, and randomly generated…

This study compared techniques for teaching collaborative writing to English majors in Taiwan, focusing on the effectiveness of computer-mediated (CM) vs. face-to-face (FF) peer response sessions, measured by amount of speech produced by students and the level of participation in discussion. Subjects were 17 university sophomores in a composition…