This paper provides a sequence of specific techniques and examples for implementing theatre voice training and technology in teaching ESL/EFL oral skills. A layered approach is proposed based on information processing theory in which the focus of learner attention is shifted in stages from the physiological to the linguistic and then to the…

Drawing on learners' course diaries, this paper explores Chinese EFL learners' perceptions of difficulties and constraints in EFL learning and their responses to the perceived difficulties and constraints. The diary data appear to indicate that the students' learning difficulties lay mainly with their linguistic competence, but a closer scrutiny…

Because cohesion is important both to the reader and the writer to create and comprehend a text, teachers have placed much emphasis on text cohesion and coherence in their teaching and evaluation of writing. Using Halliday and Hasan's [Halliday, M.A.K., Hasan, R. (1976). "Cohesion in English." Longman, London] taxonomy of cohesive devices and…

How can learning styles best be measured? Reid's (1984) Perceptual Learning Styles Preference Questionnaire has been widely used in ESL/EFL research to investigate learning styles. Previous research revealed concerns with the reliability and validity of the PLSPQ, leading the researchers to devise a new Learning Styles Indicator (LSI), based on…

There is a great need to ensure that language tests are accessible to individuals with disabilities. Yet accessibility features can sometimes conflict with the validity of test scores. In some cases the nature of the conflict seems obvious, yet in other cases there is controversy, such as that concerning the use of a "readaloud" accessibility…

This case study examined the learning outcomes of three learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) enrolled in different Writing for Academic Purposes courses. Of the many learning outcomes observed, some express self-perceived intrapersonal and interpersonal changes, which in previous research have been named "by-products" of writing courses…

This paper studies the composing strategies employed by four advanced L2 writers when they wrote in an academic setting and the rhetorical context of composing, i.e. their mental representations of the intended audience and of the rhetorical purpose for writing. Four student-teachers majoring in English and attending a postgraduate teacher…

Where the role of instructor discourse has been the focus of much recent research on asynchronous online instruction, the anatomy of effective instructional discourse of foreign language educators has yet to be examined. Indeed, the majority of work in the area of foreign language and telecommunications has concentrated on student-student,…

This paper explores the facilitative effects of various types of attention-drawing instructional conditions (explicit and implicit) on the acquisition of English dative alternation. Specifically, the study addresses: (a) whether differences in the degree of explicitness manipulated in various instructional conditions differently affect the…

This study first identifies commonly used Chinese character learning strategies employed by non-native (English-speaking) learners of Chinese and generalizes about the factors underlying these commonly used strategies. Then, it defines linear trends between learning levels and students' perceptions of the usefulness of the commonly used strategies…

The Lexical Approach (LA) is founded on the belief that, in order to achieve a high level of accuracy "with fluency," learners of a foreign language need to commit to memory vast numbers of multi-word expressions. However, since it is far from clear that the methodology currently associated with the LA holds out well-founded hope that phrase…

In recent years, researchers have become increasingly interested in the relationships among various kinds of conversational interaction and second language learning outcomes. Prior studies have indicated that feedback provided during interaction is beneficial for the learning of second language grammar. However, relatively little empirical work…

This article represents an attempt to draw together findings from a range of second language acquisition studies in order to formulate a set of general principles for language pedagogy. These principles address such issues as the nature of second language (L2) competence (as formulaic and rule-based knowledge), the contributions of both focus on…

In this article, "Translation Commentary" refers to an English composition written by a learner of both English and translation, submitted together with his or her translation output. In an academic setting combining English-to-Chinese translation and English as a second language, this article deals with both the issue of translation and that of…

This paper raises the question of how flexible approaches to learning are to contextual factors, as opposed to being culturally determined, with specific reference to autonomy in Chinese students studying in the UK. We describe the outcome of a research project which investigated Chinese undergraduates studying English language as part of their UK…