Medium of instruction (MOI) is a highly controversial and thorny educational issue in Hong Kong. Despite the Hong Kong government's strenuous efforts to promote Chinese-medium instruction since 1984, social and community pressure for English-medium instruction (EMI) has been immense and continues to increase. However, the dominance of English as…

This study utilizes theory from situated cognition to investigate faculty beliefs about student learning and their influence on teaching decisions. Results of interviews with and observations of 56 science and math faculty found that the two most common beliefs are: (a) students learn best through repeated practice, and (b) students have different…

Students in two iterations of a statistics course were required to develop work-related research questions that could be analyzed by the statistical techniques discussed in class. They were also expected to present the question and other research design components in a manner that could be comprehended by statistical novices. To provide sufficient…

The findings of the study indicate that students prefer to engage in the vocabulary learning strategies that would be most appealing to them and that would entail less manipulation of the language. Of the four vocabulary memorizing strategies cited in the study (rote repetition, structural associations, semantic strategies, and mnemonic keyword…

"National and Civic Education" is a program of study compulsory across all grade levels in Lebanon aimed at promoting social cohesion and active citizenship. A sample of 19 civics teachers in Lebanon across four of the six governorates participated in semi-structured interviews. The conversations delved into their conceptions of…

Drama and imagination have a place in every classroom, not just in the English teacher's. In fact, nowhere are they more critical to students' motivation than in bringing to life the often arcane equations of science. By inventing curiosity-provoking scenarios that require students to apply science concepts and processes as integral and…

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between students' epistemic beliefs in biology and their approaches to learning biology. To this end, two instruments, the epistemic beliefs in biology and the approaches to learning biology surveys, were developed and administered to 520 university biology students, respectively. By and…

Haiti's educational system is integrated by default, yet its system has no provisions for students with special education needs. This has contributed to the many barriers to inclusive education in its educational system. One such barrier is the lack of attention to special education in the tertiary education of teachers. Teachers' inability to…

Rote memorization of vocabulary has long been a common way for Chinese students to learn lexical items. Cultural, educational background and traditional teaching practice in China are identified to be the factors that contribute to many students' heavy reliance on memorization as their sole approach to vocabulary learning. In addition to rote…

Learning and retaining Chinese characters are often considered to be the most challenging elements in learning Chinese as a foreign language. Applying the theory of meaningful interpretation, the chunking mnemonic technique, and the linguistic features of Chinese characters, this study examines whether the method of meaningful interpretation and…

This exploratory case study of two undergraduates links vocabulary learning approaches with lexical quality measured in academic writing. Employing an array of qualitative data, it is shown that in a "semi-language-rich" learning context, Chinese learners may dispense with rote learning and engage in a more natural learning approach in which…

The purpose of this chapter is to investigate how complexity, accuracy and fluency interact in early L2 development, when learners' linguistic means are underdeveloped. Learners then resort to rote-learned formulaic sequences to complement their current grammar when it is unable to meet their communicative needs. The interplay between their…

The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of word image vividness on the immediate and long-term recall (one-day interval) of words using either the rote repetition learning method or the keyword mnemonics method in a sample of adults aged 55 to 70 years. Subjects learned a list of concrete and abstract words using either rote…

Ramanathan (2013a, 2013b) urged scholars to expand the notion of citizenship beyond its typically bounded understandings, towards conceptualizing it as "being able to participate fully" (p. 162). This view highlights the "processual" aspects of citizenship, shifting away from the more categorical meanings that underpin the term…

This paper reports the results of a qualitative research study designed to examine the effectiveness of an attempt to make a conceptual change among pre-service teachers to their role as trainees and the role of their pedagogical advisor. The participants are six Arab-Muslim female student teachers who are highly influenced by their first learning…