This study examines student perspectives on gender differences in Japanese speech. Expanding on a small-scale survey by Siegal & Okamoto (2003) that investigated the views of eleven Japanese-language college teachers, this study analyzes 238 questionnaire responses from 220 Japanese-language students at four universities and a US government…

This research focuses on speaking proficiency and successful second language speakers' traits using a survey and an interview. The participants in the study were in a short intensive course between four and six months, depending on the language they studied. The successful learner was defined as someone who received 1+ or above on the…

This study explored the effects of cultural and linguistic background, L2 proficiency, and gender on language learning strategies for 263 college-level learners from Chinese, Russian, and Latino backgrounds. Data based on the SILL (Oxford, 2001) revealed that Russian students used significantly more strategies than the Chinese students in three…

In recent decades, there has been a plethora of studies on language learning strategies (LLS hereafter). However, the research to date has mostly examined students' views on LLS, and there are few studies reflecting teachers' views. In contrast, this study surveyed 257 EFL students and 12 teachers to explore their views on the frequency…

In recent decades, there has been a plethora of studies on language learning strategies (LLS hereafter). However, the research to date has mostly examined students' views on LLS, and there are few studies reflecting teachers' views. In contrast, this study surveyed 257 EFL students and 12 teachers to explore their views on the frequency…

This research focuses on speaking proficiency and successful second language speakers' traits using a survey and an interview. The participants in the study were in a short intensive course between four and six months, depending on the language they studied. The successful learner was defined as someone who received 1+ or above on the…

The purpose of this study is to move beyond the more traditional focus on individual characteristics as they relate to anxiety in the use of a foreign language. In order to do this, cultural characteristics, perceptions of the cause of successful learning, and foreign (English) language use anxiety were included as the major variables. Three…

This study examines the relationship among five independent variables--integrative motivation, instrumental motivation, the need to fulfill a foreign language requirement, grade point average (GPA), and previous years studying Spanish--as predictors of five dependent variables: scores on a simulated oral proficiency interview (SOPI), final exam…

The belief that students can make valuable contributions to course design through continuous feedback leads to the consideration of alternative methods of learning that involve students in this process and inspire the development of a new relationship: student-teacher partnership in course evaluation and revision. In this partnership, students…

Teaching second language (L2) culture can be either content- or process-driven. The content-driven approach refers to explicit instruction of L2 cultural information. On the other hand, the process-driven approach focuses on students' active participation in cultural learning processes. In this approach, teachers are not only information…

Two studies clarified instructional effects of review quizzes as part of assessment. In one, a survey instrument was administered to Japanese college students, inquiring if they would like to have quizzes as part of assessment. In the second, a different set of students in the following year's Japanese course were allowed to choose whether they…

Addresses technical and learning issues relating to a formative implementation of a computer assisted language learning (CALL) browser-based intermediate Russian program. Instruction took place through a distance education implementation and in a grouped classroom using a local-area network. Learners indicated the software was clear, motivating,…

Examines the performance and perceptions of 100 university-level learners of French as a foreign language, with a view toward exposing the impact of social pressure in the learning environment. Addresses the contradictory nature of learners' perceptions of what it means to "sound good" when speaking French. (Author/VWL)

Reports on a study that investigated the effects of reading instruction on reading attitude and reading process by Korean students learning English as a Second Language. Interviews were conducted to determine reading attitude, while think-aloud procedures were used to examine reading process. (Author/VWL)

Surveyed 49 intermediate-level French-as-a-Foreign-Language college students to determine whether they preferred extensive reading or grammar instruction for language acquisition and practice, and why. Students overwhelmingly preferred reading as more pleasurable and more beneficial for language acquisition. They considered grammar instruction…