This paper investigates learners' perceptions of their speaking abilities, of their contributions to oral class activities (whole class and small group discussions) as well as their attitudes towards these activities, and how such perceptions and attitudes influenced the learners' willingness to communicate in the L2. The study employed a range of…

This study examines the influence of length of residence in the target language community and overall L2 proficiency on L2 pragmatic competence with a reference to L2 grammatical competence. Participants were 126 international students in the US with two academic levels of English proficiency from 17 countries, speaking 20 languages. A…

A key aspect of the acquisition of grammar for second language learners involves learning how to make appropriate connections between grammatical forms and the meanings which they typically signal. We argue that learning form/function mappings involves three interrelated principles. The first is the Given-to-New Principle, where existing world…

The effectiveness of different types of written corrective feedback has been investigated over the last twenty years but it is still not possible to make firm conclusions about which options are the most beneficial to ESL learners. This article first provides an overview of the currently available research findings and then presents the results of…

The use of connectives has always been a trouble spot for Second Language Learners of English. For example, the use of "besides" as a connective appears to be especially problematic. There may be various reasons for this, including a lack of awareness of how "besides" functions as a discourse marker. This paper investigates the meaning and use of…

This study aims to report an attempt to design and organise a content-based EAP reading course in political science and economics at a university in Japan, and to shed some light on learners' actual practices and preferences through the use of survey- and interview-based research participated in by 438 students. A principal axis of this project…

This study explores medical college students' improvement on the TOEIC upon completion of English-only classes by comparing their pre- and post-TOEIC scores. The students' responses on the questionnaire were also reviewed. The subjects were the 44 first-year medical students taking the English-only classes that required active participation of…

Previous research studies have shown language anxiety to be related with broad-based indices of language achievement, like course grade. However, to date, the potential link between foreign language anxiety and language learning strategies has not been empirically investigated. This study is an attempt to identify the relationship between language…

Given that nowadays writing skill is included in main standardised tests worldwide as well as nationwide, as writing assessment is employed as a part of performance assessment in classroom testing at high school level in Korea, English teachers are first expected to establish the construct of writing ability explicitly prior to devising other…

This paper, designed specifically for language teachers, focuses on a phenomenon in second language learning that is largely independent of instructional effects, curricular materials, and classroom activities. Experimental work suggests that scope, the relationship between two or more logical operators (such as quantifiers or negatives), is…

This study is to historically survey the development of English language education policies in Korea to show that English education policies in Korea have developed to cultivate Korean students who are capable in a globalized world. This study has the following purposes: first, this paper surveys the origin of English education from the ending…

Writing, as a productive skill, requires an accurate in-depth knowledge of the grammar system, language form and sentence structure. The emphasis on accuracy is justified in the sense that it can lead to the production of structurally correct instances of second language, and to prevent inaccuracy that may result in the production of structurally…

The purpose of this study is to suggest effective strategies for the development of communicative ability in ELT (English Language Teaching) by investigating learners' perceptions on strategies making language features more noticeable. The assumption in the study is based on the idea of output-oriented focus on form instruction, supporting…

In order to discover some clues to and make suggestions for better teaching English pronunciation to learners in English as a Foreign Language (henceforth abbreviated as EFL) settings, the paper attempts to analyze Successful Foreign Language Learners (SFLL), focusing on their study history. The subjects were 24 junior high school students, who…

This article reviews the research literature on core French in three main areas: student diversity, delivery models for the core French program, and instructional approaches. These topics are put into context through a discussion of studies on community attitudes to French as a second language (FSL), dissatisfaction with core French outcomes and…