Offered as a conceptual and programmatic piece, this article suggests that, due to its explicit educational orientation, the domain of instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) is challenged to align theoretical choices, research preferences, and educational practices in the interest of improving instructed L2 learning. It addresses the…

World language classrooms in the United States have been significantly impacted by the physical and ideological disruptions experienced in recent history. Such disruptive times call for the reform of pedagogical practices to raise awareness of social justice issues and ignite real change both in and out of language classrooms. This essay outlines…

In this report, we present certain teaching activities employed at the University of Calabria and at the I.T.C. C. Mortati high school. The former were conducted within the English for Basic Academic Skills courses, the latter in the Spanish as a Foreign Language classes for students in the last two years of high school. The grammar and linguistic…

The terms "interactional competence" and "learning" are discussed in the context of recent research in the areas of cognitive science and ethnomethodological conversation analysis studies of language learning. Two data excerpts from a longitudinal case study of a beginning learner of English are presented to illustrate (1) the…

The traditional focus of the language elective has been to give students the skills to communicate in the foreign language which has also been their main selling point. However, language graduates need more specific and wide-ranging skills if they are to compete in the current and future job markets. It is now widely accepted that universities…

Motivation is thought to contribute to better text comprehension (Grabe, 2009), but L2 reading motivation of adult ESL students in the US is an underexplored area of research. The current study adopted self-determination theory--the concepts of intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, and controlled motivation, in particular--to examine IEP…

Determining the writing skill level of students commencing tertiary education is a key element in predicting their likely study success and in providing appropriate writing development opportunities. Writing tests constructed around written instructions often assume high levels of reading and comprehension skills, which in some instances impose…

This study examines the effect of questions on fostering interaction in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. It also seeks to determine the characteristics of questions that promote increased classroom interaction. Data were collected through video recordings of EFL classrooms which were analyzed using Discourse Analysis techniques.…

College English writing instruction has been a prominent research area in EFL field in mainland China. This paper has continued the focus by exploring a seemingly effective way for college English writing instruction in China--teaching writing based on reading on the basis of the "output-driven, input-enabled" hypothesis. This hypothesis…

Language is an indispensable part of culture, and it is also a major carrier and medium of culture communication and transmission. Learning a foreign language means not only learning basic language knowledge, training and improving the ability of listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating, but enriching the cross-cultural awareness,…

English Language Teaching (ELT) practices are strongly underpinned by an epistemological view. Different beliefs on what constitute as sources of knowledge and methods of knowledge acquisition bring about different instructional implications. The case is true within the context of ELT at Indonesian Islamic higher education where the desired goals…

This article reports on a mixed-method research study into situated motivational conditions available for the English language (L2) pedagogy at a university in Saudi Arabia. The current study evaluated the L2 Learning Experience of the students by focusing on the key contextual factors that included teachers' pedagogical practices, group dynamics…

Technology has always been a part of teaching process and being able to teach with technology requires an understanding of how technology, pedagogy, and content interact to support student learning. Recently, studies on developing TPACK skills of teachers have been emerged; however, studies on TPACK in pre-service education on a specific domain,…

Mixed-ability classes have been found to be one of the greatest detriments to students learning at English language institutions (ELIs). There has been a growing concern over the impacts of the mixed-ability classes calling for a study aimed at suggesting solutions for this situation. This study involves thirty-three female EFL teachers who work…

The purpose of this multicase study was to investigate second language teachers' practices in teaching academic writing to English as a second language (ESL) students at the higher education level. This study sought to gain a deeper understanding of how ESL teachers are currently teaching academic writing to ESL students and the particular methods…