This study deeply examines the potential impact of Project-Based Learning (PBL) on the speaking abilities of a group of seventh-grade students at a public school in Cartagena, Colombia, and its connection to language learning strategies. A mixed-gender group of thirty-five students aged between 12 and 15 was randomly chosen for this explorative…

In the present study, we tested the effectiveness of three learning strategies (self-explanation, learning by teaching and passive viewing) used by students who were learning from video lectures. Effectiveness was measured not only with traditional measures, but also with electroencephalography (EEG). Using a within-subjects design, 26 university…

A number of prominent educators have confirmed that developing learners' metacognitive strategies about listening is an important way of helping them learn how to listen to improve their listening. With the rapid development of information and communication technologies, many listening training systems provide various types of help options in…

Poor English performance among Japanese college EFL students has often been explained by grammar-translation and lecture-memorization instruction. This study investigated the effectiveness of a recently designed teaching method, namely, "The read-aloud instruction package," which consists of four major activities: Slash/chunked reading…

Based on the ecological-transactional model by Bronfenbrenner, this study tested the mediating roles of school, family, and child characteristics between academic achievement and both traumatic war experiences and stressful life events. It further examined which of these characteristics could protect academic achievement from negative trauma…

The present study aims at deriving correlational models of students' perceptions of assessment tasks, motivational orientations, and learning strategies using canonical analyses. Data were collected from 198 Omani tenth grade students. Results showed that high degrees of authenticity and transparency in assessment were associated with positive…

The present study aims at deriving correlational models of students' perceptions of assessment tasks, motivational orientations, and learning strategies using canonical analyses. Data were collected from 198 Omani tenth grade students. Results showed that high degrees of authenticity and transparency in assessment were associated with positive…

Written corrective feedback (WCF) has been a long time practice in L2 writing instruction. However, in many cases, the effects are not satisfactory. There have been controversies about it both theoretically and empirically. This paper reports a multi-case study exploring individual differences that impact learners' responses to WCF. Four students'…

This study examined two types of classroom assessment events, the more closed convergent assessments (CA) versus the more open-ended divergent assessments (DA), to see if they influence learners differently in terms of motivation and learning strategies. Participants were 105 college freshmen in Taiwan with the same instructor placed under one…

This study aimed to (1) integrate relevant language learning models and theories, (2) construct a theoretical model of college students' English learning performance, and (3) assess the model fit between empirically observed data and the theoretical model proposed by the researchers of this study. Subjects of this study were 1,129 Taiwanese EFL…

This pilot study examines the role of metacognitive awareness as a motivational strategy in second language learning. The paper begins by exploring metacognitive strategies within the general language learning strategy framework, and then zooming in upon "interest enhancement" as a particular strategy that influences motivation and…

Examines the relationship between integrative motivation and acquired second language proficiency among Spanish-speaking kindergartners in an American classroom. Results show that the advanced children showed significantly more integrative orientation to the target language group than the beginners, suggesting that integrative attitudes follow…

Examines the effects of aptitude, field independence, attitude, and strategy use upon four areas of language achievement: formal/oral, formal/written, functional/oral, and functional/written. Test results indicated that aptitude and field independence are related, as are strategy use and attitude; only aptitude and strategy use, however, affect…

Two studies at the Defense Language Institute (California) investigated the contribution of several variables to prediction of post-language-training proficiency: (1) scores on a general vocational aptitude battery and a language aptitude battery, both used to screen potential students; (2) scores on other cognitive measures not used in the…