Despite the complex nature of language learners' needs, researchers on language use in tertiary education tend to look at these needs through textual analyses associated with written discourse more than any other aspect of language use. Because learners' needs, however, extend to include recognizing the challenges and situated nature of language…

This paper reports on a case study of seven undergraduate students' classroom participation in an English-medium university in an EFL context, with a focus on their perceptions about the factors affecting their involvement in interactional opportunities in a specific speaking course. Results suggest that student participation in a foreign language…

Young adolescents (N = 68) completed questionnaires concerning perceptions of neighborhood stress (i.e., high negative influences, low cohesion, and connectedness). Youth self-reported their own depressive symptoms and participated in a public speaking task designed to be moderately stressful. Increases in skin conductance in response to this…

This study assessed whether L1 (English as first language), L2 (English as second language, recent transition to the United States), and Generation 1.5 (English as second language, years of United States--based education) students are able to grow and perform similarly in a public speaking course on measures of public speaking anxiety, information…

Following the devastating result of the May 2015 general election in the UK, the Institute for the Art and Practice of Dissent at Home organised "Compassion is dissent: Manifesto Slam." It put out an open call for participants, asking them to bring a three-minute manifesto as means of admission to the event. Here, the Institute showcases…

Researchers have long established that people who believe they are attractive have higher self-esteem (Aronson & Linder, 1965). Recent studies show that students with higher self-esteem have less speaking apprehension (Elfering & Grebner, 2012). Teachers in higher education can help students rethink their attractiveness in an attempt to…

In this study, we explore the heuristic decision-making skills of undergraduate students as they incorporate information into their persuasive speeches. We interviewed 26 students enrolled in an introductory communication course to ascertain their information literacy for vetting sources for their public speeches. From their responses, we…

This case study investigates an action civics curriculum, "Project Soapbox", designed to foster key civic outcomes among high school students. Framed by research highlighting profound disparities in civic educational opportunities and the best practices of civic education programs, this article examines the democratic and literacy skills…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the use of policy debate as a frame for developing critical participatory literacy skills focused on student engagement with current events. Design/methodology/approach: Using dialogism as a frame for a discussion-based course (Bakhtin, 1982; Reznitskya, 2012) and self-study as a methodological…

This study investigated the influence of communication apprehension and anxiety in second-language (L2) learning on oral performance of Japanese university students in terms of F0 (fundamental frequency) analysis. The participants were English-major students (3 males and 6 females) who presented at an oral communication festival for university…

Japanese EFL international students may experience high levels of apprehension when communicating in English due to their culture, educational background, attitudes towards the role of English in their society, and lack of opportunities to practice speaking in English. Although the students in this study had studied English before joining the…

The literature on how to develop competence in giving academic presentations (AP) (e.g. Zappa-Hollman, 2007) shows that apart from basic communication skills (i.e. the ability to speak accurately, fluently and appropriately), university students are expected to perform specific roles and develop advanced skills for intellectual exchange and the…

This paper reports on a blended learning approach for public speaking in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context. The researcher implemented the course design through reduced weekly face-to-face class sessions and online student interaction using a speech video-based blog. Using a survey conducted at the end of the semester, multiple…

This article examines visiting Chinese undergraduate students' engagement with the linguistic landscape (LL) in the city of Edinburgh as they participated in a University summer school. A pedagogical approach was taken involving capturing LL on display during a 'camera safari'; reflecting on questions through dialogic discussion and in writing and…

This study employed a blended learning approach to investigate 98 medical university EFL students' perceptions and analyzed the learning trajectory of their LMOOCs in formal education. Meanwhile, Byram's (1997) intercultural communicative competence (ICC) model was adopted to explore if students' English proficiency and ICC abilities could enhance…