Although there is some evidence in the vague literature available to indicate that African Americans are underrepresented in foreign language studies, this issue has never been investigated with a focus on Spanish. Six hundred and thirty-one students enrolled in high school Spanish in a racially diverse school district in West Texas were surveyed…

The study reported in this article investigated task-repetition with young Japanese children. Fifteen children with no prior knowledge of English completed a communicative listening task that was designed to introduce new vocabulary. The same task was repeated nine times over five weeks. In line with Allwright's (1984) claim that "interaction…

E-training has developed into a revolutionary way of learning in Malaysian organizations due to rapid growth in information technology infrastructure. The present study endeavors to determine the critical factors that influence e-training effectiveness in multinational companies (MNCs) in Malaysia. By integrating Technology Acceptance Model (TAM),…

In a four-year study of the effect of class size on pupil outcomes in a sample of 36 primary schools in Hong Kong, it has been found that there are few positive differences in attainment between classes set at less than 25 pupils and those of normal size averaging 38. Three cohorts of pupils were studied. In Cohort 1 pupils spent 3 years in small…

For the purposes of revealing and comparing the social, cultural, and motivational differences between American and Chinese undergraduate students learning foreign language, a sample of 100 students at University of Wyoming was asked to fill out a Foreign Language Learning Motivation and Beliefs questionnaire and 61 respondents completed the…

Virtual worlds are an emerging technology in computer-assisted learning. Due to the novelty of these new learning spaces, little research has been done on the use or the effects on students learning foreign languages. This research looks at how the use of the virtual world Second Life affects the motivation of students in an undergraduate Spanish…

This article reports on the study of differential change trajectories for early childhood approaches to learning. A large sample (N = 2,152) of Head Start children was followed through prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade. Classroom learning behaviors were assessed by teachers through the Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale twice in Head…

The rapid progress of wireless communication, sensing, and mobile technologies has enabled students to learn in an environment that combines learning resources from both the real world and the digital world. It can be viewed as a new learning style which has been called context-aware ubiquitous learning. Most context-aware ubiquitous learning…

This study, based on total physical response and cognitive psychology, proposed a Kinesthetic English Learning System (KELS), which utilized Microsoft's Kinect technology to build kinesthetic interaction with life-related contexts in English. A subject test with 39 tenth-grade students was conducted following empirical research method in order to…

Recent handbooks of giftedness or expertise propose a plethora of conceptions on the development of excellent performance but, to our knowledge, there are no comparative studies that provide empirical evidence of their validity to guide researchers and practitioners in their adoption of a particular conception. This study sought to close that gap…

The purpose of this study is to identify how a four-semester music teacher education programme on self-regulation changes as they progress through the programme. The participants of the study included a total of 101 music teachers in four different semesters of their teacher preparation programme. The instrument used in this study is the Motivated…

The aim of this paper is to investigate the role and place of Hebrew within the Australian Jewish day schools' curriculum and to analyse the cultural factors, which contribute to the challenges Hebrew teachers face. Our findings show that there is a need to locate Modern Hebrew more centrally within the schools' organizational structure. A…

In this study, the researchers examined how 64 university students engaged in self-directed group learning and used a self-developed e-portfolio system. A sixweek event was held where the students made entries to the e-portfolio individually each week, received feedback from advisors, studied in groups on a voluntary basis, and reflected on their…

This article reports on a mixed methods study that investigated aspects of formal, non-formal and informal learning for workers and adult high school learners seeking literacy and essential skills. Three key themes emerged from the qualitative data: motivations for participation in various forms of learning; seeking out informal learning…

Language learners' increased mobility and the ubiquity of virtual intercultural encounters has challenged traditional ideas of "cultures". Moreover, representations of cultures as consumable life-choices has meant that learners are no longer locked into standard and static cultural identities. Language learners are better defined as…