Twenty-two years ago, the National Reading Panel (2000) released a research synthesis of effective reading practices for classroom instruction. The first is phonemic awareness. The others are phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This study examined the connection of assessment for kindergarten through second-grade students in the…

This paper examines Turkish English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' beliefs and practices regarding the amount, timing and types of oral corrective feedback (OCF) preferences. Eight instructors working in the English preparatory programme of a state university were included in the study. The data were collected through a questionnaire,…

Throughout the teaching/learning process of speaking, a teacher's role is believed to hold great importance. Teachers initiate learners to the whole learning process, and their feedback constitutes the significant step forward that triggers learners towards enunciating a language. As an illustration, Swain (1985, 2000) uses empirical evidence to…

Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to examine the role that the 1st language, Spanish, at prekindergarten (pre-K) plays in predicting 2nd language (L2), English, word reading in 1st grade. In addition, it examines the role of conceptual vocabulary in predicting word reading in English. Method: As part of a longitudinal study of…

This study adopted a mixed method approach with an action research design. The aim was to determine the impact of information gap activities on young English as a foreign language learners' oral fluency. Information gap activities were based on the communicative approach as well as on task-based learning. Twenty-three eighth graders participated…

This special issue contains reports of research on a variety of variables that are hypothesized to have an impact on how practice affects language learning. This includes spacing of practice opportunities, the provision of feedback, training working memory, and oral versus written input. Each study is complex and clearly contextualized within the…

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine and refine an oral narrative intervention addressing personal narratives of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and severe language impairment. A multiple baseline across participants design investigated the effect of the intervention on the macrostructure of personal narratives. Three…

This paper outlines the use of Learning Language and Loving It™ -- The Hanen Program® for Early Years Educators/Teachers (LLLI) with Early Years Educators (EYEs) as part of a community-based early years Continuing Professional Development (CPD) intervention. Trainer sensitivity to the cultural use of questions by EYEs was used as a means to raise…

Two widely studied language skills in relation to reading comprehension are listening comprehension skill and academic language proficiency. Although their constituent skills and theoretical accounts of how they are related to reading comprehension share a large overlap, they have been studied in separate lines of work. In this study, we…

Despite an emphasis on oral communication in most foreign language classrooms, the resource-intensive nature (i.e. time and manpower) of speaking tests hinder regular oral assessments. A possible solution is the development of a (semi-) automated scoring system. When it is used in conjunction with human raters, the consistency of computers can…

This study explored the role of early oral language in reading development among adult heritage language (HL) learners to provide insights into the possible developmental pattern of HL reading development. One hundred and ninety-five English-speaking Chinese HL (CHL) students participated in this study. They completed a language background survey…

While the role of task repetition has received much attention in task-based research, few studies have examined how exact task repetition affects the performance of child second language learners. Also, little is known about the impact of exact task repetition on trade-off effects between linguistic performance areas among child learners. To help…

This article explores first-year Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) students' multilingual practices in a university course where students have access to professionally translated technical terminology of the subject field. The study examines whether multilingual technical terminology--embedded in a dialogic teaching model--can contribute to…

As part of the effort to elevate the oral English proficiency of Thai EFL learners, this paper explores university students' target-deviant English use in conversation, which should be systematically tackled in conversation teaching. Data examined included 41 two-three-minute video-recorded role-play dialogues from two English conversation…

This study aimed to (1) measure and identify students' strengths and weaknesses in oral presentation skills, (2) examine students' perceptions of rating their presentation performances, and (3) investigate students' attitudes towards their oral presentation experiences. The participants were 47 Thai third-year undergraduate students in the English…