The present study investigated the influence direct reading instruction had on university student teachers' reading cognition and the influence their theoretical perspectives had on their pedagogical practices. The study was conducted on all the seven year 2 (2008) Bachelor of Education (primary) students at the University of Swaziland.…

A language program is a delicate and intricate system of interacting resources or components, which, like a biological ecology, is in a constant state of evolution and change. The interactive system making up the program's internal culture is connected ecologically to the external environment. The ecological model is introduced as a useful…

This paper presents an overview of action research conducted in an EFL university context, in which data was collected about students' past English learning experiences and hopes for college speaking classes. This data was then used to guide the lesson style for the semester. The study used three cycles of action research over one 15-week…

This study investigates the biased treatment of non-native characters in model dialogues in current Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) course books. Although a plethora of studies have been conducted on gender bias in course books, speaker bias, or labelled "nativism" here, has been largely ignored. This research addresses…

This article presents the findings of an observation study of reading lessons in English at Primary Three in Singapore. The aims of the study were first to establish whether a common pedagogy to teach reading in English exists at this transition year of children's schooling, and second what the cultural effects of this pedagogy might be for…

In the field of vocabulary acquisition, there have been many studies on the efficacy of word lists. However, very few of these were based on research in a classroom setting, and therefore, their results may not be applicable to standard classroom situations. This study investigated which of the five types of word lists (synonyms, antonyms,…

This study claims that Arab ESL students writing in English transfer L1 rhetorical modes of text organization into their English compositions. Fifty academic research papers were analysed in terms of the transition words and cohesive devices used, on the assumption that differences at the level of these language forms reflect differences at the…

In developing strategies for increasing learner involvement, a key factor is the extent to which these strategies are compatible with learners' own expectations and preferences. In order to explore this factor, tertiary students in four Asian countries were asked (in an online survey designed on the basis of exploratory interviews) to give their…

As part of a research study on collaborative writing, this paper discusses defining and facilitating features that occur during face-to-face collaboration, based on the literature and research. The defining features are mutual interaction, negotiations, conflict, and shared expertise. Facilitating features include affective factors, use of L1,…

The present paper attempts to examine the possibilities of the Classroom Language Assessment Benchmark (CLAB) as a professional development tool for EFL teachers in Japan. Two questionnaire surveys were carried out several months after the last day of the graduate course (both in 2006 and 2007) where CLAB was used as a self- and peer-assessment…

This paper reports on interviews conducted with 36 teachers involved in university preparation courses at language teaching centres in New Zealand. The interviews were designed to investigate teacher attitudes to extensive reading in higher educational contexts, and current practice in such contexts. While teachers expressed positive beliefs about…

The need to broaden the notion of literacy has been continually emphasized within the field of New Literacy Studies in recent years. This is necessary because of the advent of information and communication technology (ICT) in our everyday, school and workplace literacy practices. A broader notion of literacy is needed to pay attention to the…

This study made frequency and functional analysis of thematization in English students' compositions in Shahid Chamran University. Ninety students were selected and divided into three groups, followed by a homogeneity test (Fowler and Coe, 1976). An educated native speaker was also used as a criterion measure. Then, they were asked to narrate…

The paper illustrates an English for Specific Purposes design for English listening and speaking for students in hospitality fields, accompanied by an educational inquiry into its implementation in a bid to hold accountability to the course takers. The subject was 82 juniors and seniors at a national hospitality college in Southern Taiwan.…

In 1999 a critical thinking syllabus was issued by the education authority to all junior secondary school English language teachers in Hong Kong. Different from the earlier curriculum guidelines, the syllabus highlights the importance of thinking in English language teaching and learning, and developing students' critical thinking through the…