This article explores the potential of dual-language cross-cultural peer review and how it improves on traditional monolingual and monocultural peer review. Drawing on scholarship related to international exchange programmes, peer review, and two-way immersion programmes in the United States as well as data collected while facilitating the…

The use of blogs in EFL learning and teaching has recently attracted a great deal of research attention. Previous research has demonstrated that blogs foster development of EFL skills. This study, which takes a sociocultural approach, focuses on EFL interaction. Specifically, the study aims to identify the interaction strategies that bloggers…

This paper describes a study comparing chatroom and face-to-face oral interaction for the purposes of language learning in a tertiary classroom in the United Arab Emirates. It uses transcripts analysed for Language Related Episodes, collaborative dialogues, thought to be externally observable examples of noticing in action. The analysis is…

The appearance of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in schools in Britain and other parts of the world has been accompanied by research that attempts to analyse their effects on teaching and learning processes. The majority of studies to date have been carried out in schools in England in mainstream numeracy and literacy classes. The present paper…

This article examines the findings of a longitudinal study of the learning and use of English at an English-medium university in Hong Kong. The aim of the investigation was to track the learning experiences of a group of 28 undergraduates and to identify the challenges they faced when studying for their degrees in a second language. This article…

A case study of the foreign cultures represented in two English language textbooks used by Hong Kong secondary schools was conducted. Its aim was to investigate whether the representation of foreign cultures in these textbooks reflected the status of English as an international language. In order to do this, references to foreign cultures were…

Since 2001, the Education Bureau (EDB) in Hong Kong has been promoting a shift from traditional assessment of learning to assessment for learning, where classroom-based assessment is linked to teaching and learning, with students taking an active role in the assessment process. In particular, secondary school students are encouraged to assess…

The primary aim of this paper is to explore a common dichotomy that characterizes debate about what has come to be termed "appropriate methodology". It is that between "traditional" and "communicative" approaches to language teaching, a distinction that persists despite arguments by some that the term "communicative" should be superseded or even…

This article explores Japanese EFL learners' classroom silence in a Japanese EFL context. The existence of silence in second language learning contexts can be a source of conflict between students and teachers and even among students themselves. It can also be an obstacle to acquiring the target language. In order to tackle this problem and to…

Many UK universities offer degree programmes in English Language specifically for non-native speakers of English. Such programmes typically include not only language development but also development in various areas of content knowledge. A challenge that arises is to design courses in different areas that mutually support each other, thus…

This article uncovers the complexities and contradictions inherent in making decisions about L1 use in the English language classroom. Through an analysis of data from classrooms in a Cypriot context and from interviews with Cypriot teachers, a number of functions for L1 use are identified, as are the teachers' rationales for using L1 for…

This article reports on an investigation into how learners in a British EFL setting perceive the classroom practice of student-student interaction and why it is perceived in these ways. Adopting qualitative non-experimental methods, I first explored issues leading to the concept of "usefulness" and identified factors that appeared to have affected…

When considering the question of "traditional" versus "communicative", the first essential is definition. This article first of all attempts to clarify these ill-defined concepts before considering the degree to which they may or may not be dichotomous. The results of a small-scale study are reported involving a survey of teaching approaches…

Drawing on data from three English classrooms at two Chinese universities, this paper documents the turn-taking patterns that the teachers and students developed over time and explores how these patterns affected students' opportunities to participate in classroom discourse. The data were collected through observations, audio- and video-taping,…

This article explores how teachers can engage with ideas (research findings, theory, and professional knowledge) through participation in a reading discussion group. Focusing on one group formed by English language teachers at a Japanese university, the study employs survey data, attendance statistics, and observational notes regarding the group's…