The present study aims to show if a skill-challenge balancing (SCB) instruction strategy can assist learners to motivationally engage in computer-based learning. Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory (self-control, curiosity, focus of attention, and intrinsic interest) was applied to an account of the optimal learning experience in SCB-based learning…

Language teaching has passed through a long way in search of a remedy for language learners and teachers. Countless theories, approaches, and methods have been recommended. With all these, however, more inclusive L2 theories and models ought to be considered to come up with real classroom practices. One of such crucial practices is authenticity,…

Self-determination theory (SDT) has served as a theoretical framework for considerable research on teaching behavior and student motivation. The majority of studies have focused on need-supportive teaching behavior at the expense of need-thwarting teaching behavior (i.e., the "dark side" of teaching). The goal of the present study was to…

This article reviews a selective corpus of empirical and theoretical texts on foreign language pedagogy and teacher education, produced in Portugal between 2006 and 2011. A descriptive and interpretative approach is adopted to inquire into the transformative potential of research, with a focus on its scope, purposes, conceptual and methodological…

Background: As youth struggle with anxiety and depression, promoting positive mental fitness is a primary concern. Canadian school-based mental health programs that focus on positive psychology and positive mental health initiatives emphasize safe and supportive environments, student engagement, resilience, and self-determination. This study…

The study compared traditional and nontraditional students' attitudes about the psychosocial learning environment and their influence on self-efficacy, enjoyment of online learning, and student satisfaction by using Moos' (1979) Model of Environmental and Personal Variables and the three dimensions of social climate as its theoretical framework.…

Within the context of English as a foreign language (EFL), using blogs has emerged as a language learning tool. However, how teachers effectively incorporate blogs within the confines of an instructional framework and what the current research shows about using blogs as a learning tool remain unsolved issues. Thus, the current paper presents a…

While the attractions and advantages of freedom that differentiates honors education from regular teaching are both theoretically and practically significant, the authors' experience at Utrecht University in the Netherlands has demonstrated drawbacks that need to be addressed and resolved in creating effective honors education. Freedom poses…

This paper seeks to show how self assessment facilitates student-centred learning (SCL) and fills a gap in the literature. Two groups of students were selected from a single class in a tertiary educational institution. The control group of 25 was selected randomly by the tossing of an unbiased coin (heads = control group). They were trained in the…

Flexibility in learning provides a student room for volitional control and an array of strategies and encourages persistence in the face of difficulties. Autonomy in and control over one's learning process can be seen as a condition for self-regulated learning. There are a number of categories and dimensions for flexible learning; following…

This article discusses the strategy repertoires and strategy development of six English children who learned foreign languages at primary school. My study differs from mainstream research, in that it focuses on young children and on the development of their strategies, draws on sociocultural theory and uses ethnographic methods. My findings show…

In this article I explore Amartya Sen's contention that individual freedom represents both the objective of development and the means through which development is to take place. Examining the conceptualisation of freedom central to Sen's capability approach, I distinguish between two notions of freedom, autonomy and agency, where the former…

There is a need to evaluate the benefits to children of integrated classroom and field-based learning. In this article, we describe a case study that involves children in the production of a field guide: an authentic task which integrates learner autonomy and open enquiry with field work, information and communication technologies (ICT) and…

School disengagement is linked to a lack of opportunities for students to fulfill their needs for independence and self-determination. Young people have little say about what, when, where, and how they will learn, the criteria used to assess their success, and the content of school and classroom rules. Traditional behavior management discourages…

Though portrayals of bullying in children's books stretch back to Victorian public school stories, this article sees a new subgenre about bullying in young adult novels emerging in the post-Columbine years. Selected works by Jerry Spinelli, Walter Dean Myers, Jaime Adoff, Carol Plum-Ucci and Rita Williams-Garcia are examined, although the article…