Academic visitor programs aim to enhance university teachers' teaching and research capacity and intercultural competence. Its impact, however, has remained under-researched. Using the data collected from two rounds of in-depth interviews with 13 Chinese university English teachers over a year and a half, this study explored their experiences as…

The current study aimed to compare the influence of explicit versus implicit instruction on EFL learners' use of interactional metadiscourse markers in their writing. The study also aimed to explore the perceptions of EFL learners on the instruction of these markers in their writing classes. 120 female undergraduates who are Arab EFL learners took…

This study examined the degree of teacher autonomy that Vietnamese university English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers have in selecting their own courses, as well as their perceptions of their freedom, or lack thereof, in course selection and course allocation. Using self-determination theory as a theoretical framework, this study found that…

In Thai contexts, studies on washback effects of high-stakes tests have been investigated extensively at the high school level. However, little is known about the occurrence of washback effects of high-stakes tests on teaching at the higher education level. This study aimed to investigate the washback effects of the Srinakharinwirot University…

It is widely considered that native English speaking teachers (NESTs) are more suitable to teach nonnative students than nonnative English speaking teachers (NNESTs). When it comes to NNESTs in an EFL setting, most are local nationals (LNNESTs). However, it should be noted that there is also a group of NNESTs who are foreign nationals (FNNESTs).…

This study examined how discriminability and prototypicality of nonnative phones modulate the amplitude of the Mismatch Negativity (MMN) event-related brain potential. We hypothesized that if a frequently occurring (standard) stimulus is not prototypical to a listener, a weaker predictive memory trace will be formed and a smaller MMN will be…

Communication strategies (CSs) have been generally viewed as ways in which learners may circumvent, and ideally overcome, communicative difficulties. However, over 40 years of research in this area has been largely confined to theory and experimental studies, and it is not clear to what extent CS research has filtered into contemporary second…

Language proficiency assessment (LPA) serves as a gatekeeper to accessing language services for English learners (ELs) with and without disabilities. Moreover, research suggests that EL services are often deemphasized compared with special education services for students with significant cognitive disabilities (SCDs). We highlight the…

This study examines teachers' language appropriation strategies in the multilingual setting of Pakistani universities to show how they negotiate the official/institutional constraints imposed in the implementation of English Medium Instruction (EMI). Working in a monoglossic environment gripped by 'guilty multilingualism', these teachers assert…

The study examined factors contributing to the academic success of second-language learners at an English-medium public university in the United Arab Emirates in their first- through fourth year of study. The research utilized a quantitative approach via correlational analysis. The Pearson r was employed to establish the level of correlation…

This study draws upon critical theory for its theoretical underpinnings and narrative inquiry as a methodological tool to examine the ways that Black ESL teachers working in Intensive English Language Programs in the United States position themselves and define their roles as language educators especially with consideration of their diverse…

This dissertation investigates second language (L2) learners' comprehension of conversational implicatures that arise in two speech acts, requests and refusals. The review of empirical studies that investigated L2 pragmatic comprehension revealed two recurring issues: (a) the lack of a clear definition of conventionality, leaving open the…

There is a well-documented association between developmental language disorder (DLD) and executive function (EF) deficits. These co-occurring deficits pose risks to students' short- and long-term academic and social outcomes. In the United States, school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are tasked to ensure that students with DLD are able…

The present study examines the linguistic features of Korean college students' English writings in terms of their writing quality and genre. Forty-eight Korean college students took part in the study, and their writing samples, comprised of narrative and exposition compositions, were collected to analyze on the basis of fluency and syntactic…

The author describes a challenge that is familiar to many language teachers: trying to get students to speak up independently, share thoughts, and participate authentically in the target language. The article includes general and specific tips for creating a comfortable, communicative classroom environment.