Language learning activities involving time-pressured repetition of similar content have been shown to facilitate improvements in fluency. However, concerns have been voiced about whether these gains might be offset by reduced levels of grammatical accuracy. This descriptive study tracked the oral proficiency of 32 Japanese university students…

This research aimed to determine the impact of the effectiveness in the application of an independent method of teaching students on their progress in achieving a certain level of Japanese. The study used key methods that implied the experimental involvement of 60 3rd- and 4th-year American and Chinese students with the N3 and N2 levels of…

The current study investigates the use of alternative assessments in English as a foreign language (EFL) classes in Saudi Arabia. While alternative assessments have been recently recognized as a prospective approach to assessing EFL learning, little research has examined how language learners perceive this approach to assessment in an EFL context,…

Research has shown that learning a known-and-unknown word combination leads to greater learning than learning an unknown word alone (Kasahara, 2010, 2011). These studies found that attaching a known adjective to an unknown noun can help learners remember the unknown noun. Kasahara (2015) found that a known verb can serve as an effective cue to…

This study explored the role of word knowledge dimensions in second language (L2) word-meaning inference. College-level L2 learners (N = 121) participated in this study and completed a series of word knowledge tests including vocabulary size, word associates, morpheme-form knowledge, morpheme-meaning knowledge, morpheme discrimination, and…

The present study investigates the use of generative strategies and their effect on second language (L2) vocabulary retention and learner confidence in vocabulary knowledge over time. Generative strategies (or generation) are one in a group of learning methods known as desirable difficulties -- strategies that improve long-term learning by adding…

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…

While foreign language anxiety has received abundant empirical attention, its relationship with foreign language enjoyment and specific language skills is not clearly understood. The present study explores the relationships between Chinese EFL learners' foreign language listening anxiety (FLLA), foreign language enjoyment (FLE), and listening…

Self-Directed Language Learning (SDLL) which aims at developing learner autonomy, improves learner engagement since learners are able to use higher-level critical thinking. Thus, the present study was conducted in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classroom in Sri Lanka, in order to investigate how to incorporate Self-Directed Learning in the…

Vocabulary is the kernel for all language skills; it helps learners to interact with the speakers of that language. This study aims to scrutinize the effect of a short story on developing students' vocabulary. It is an out-product of fieldwork to figure out the useful points for teaching and learning vocabulary through short stories. The test was…

This study investigates the effect of personal investment in the form of learner-generated content (LGC) on the lexical recall of beginning-level learners of Chinese. The study employed a 2 x 2 repeated-measures design with content at two levels -- teacher-generated content or TGC, and learner-generated content or LGC -- and time at two levels…

There has been little research investigating how mode of input affects incidental vocabulary learning, and no study examining how it affects the learning of multiword items. The aim of this study was to investigate incidental learning of L2 collocations in three different modes: reading, listening, and reading while listening. One hundred…

Assessment is one component of a learning process that cannot be excluded by an English teacher in the teaching-learning process. The form and type of assessment applied in the teaching-learning process are adapted to the orientation of learners' target outcomes. It is a space of reflection for teachers and students in the awareness of…

In many parts of the world, learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or English as a Second Language (ESL) often face language difficulties and challenges in their performance in learning. These challenges and errors have multiple forms and causes, covering various language and skills aspects. This study focuses on the types of grammatical…

Freshman students at the College of Languages and Translation received direct instruction in plural formation. Instruction covered regular plural nouns, irregular plural nouns, plural formation of words ending in -f, and -o, nouns that have the same plural and singular form, and words with Latin and foreign plurals. The students did all the…