In the literature of second language teaching and learning, the use of students' first language (L1) has been an issue of debate for many years. Despite the changing state of teaching and learning aspects over the years, the belief that L1 should not be used in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms has stood the test of time.…

This study proposed and implemented a blended self-directed learning program for English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) college students beyond the classroom. Adopting a case study-mixed methods design, the study aimed to investigate (1) learners' engagement in the program, (2) the effects of the program, and (3) learners' perceptions of the…

Communities of practice is a term that has begun gaining grounds in various settings especially in business and recently in education (Argyris, 2008; Göhlich, 2016; Lave & Wegner, 1991). The purpose of this case study is to look into how students measure their personal perceptions of their educational community; how they rate their educator…

Since the teaching-learning process must go online, it is assumed that conducting a flipped classroom could promote students' active learning. Thus, this classroom-based research attempts to investigate the implementation of the flipped model in an online speaking class. It examines students' learning outcomes on speaking skills after studying in…

Many language learners struggle with unequal access and lack of opportunities for active participation in meaningful reflections both inside and outside of the classroom. In this study, 15 international college students engaged in critical media literacy discussions about a myriad of social justice topics through the lens of intercultural…

The broad range of English language teaching and learning contexts present in the world today necessitates high quality assessment instruments that can provide reliable and meaningful information about learners' English proficiency levels to relevant stakeholders. The "TOEFL Junior"® tests were recently introduced by Educational Testing…

The present work seeks to establish a comparison between two different and distant evaluation tools applied to the Dominican student population in order to measure the efficiency of our educational system in the recent years, one of them measured the quality of Dominican education in three areas (the PISA Test), whereas the other tested the…

This project firstly explored Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) students' perceptions about written corrective feedback (WCF)-related practices and preferences. Secondly, the student participants' first language (L1; e.g., Farsi) learner identities were operationalized, especially focusing on the skill of writing, WCF, and…

In this study we used grounded theory framework to explore how preparation for studying abroad affects the academic success of East Asian undergraduate students in U.S. universities. Based on interviews with 12 participants from China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan, we found that knowledge of English language and American culture, which is…

Even though there are books that guide students in preparing for TOEFL exams, the literature on TOEFL test preparation courses at the university level is sparse (Huang, 2018). The current study aimed to fill the research gap by investigating the impact of TOEFL ITP assessment on teachers' TOEFL course content and teaching methods. Five different…

Student motivation is a multifaceted topic that English Language Teachers continually discuss and investigate. Differences of the learning environment and whether the student is in the ESL or EFL context are of special interest in the present paper. This paper presents the findings of a survey related to the topic of motivation that was given to…

This qualitative study addressed the English language learning needs and challenges expressed by a sample of 22 postgraduate students from diversified faculties in the University of Jordan. These students were required to take the Alternative National English course. They wrote a self-report reflecting on their English language learning needs and…

Recently, the field of instructed pragmatics has seen a shift of paradigm from the prevailing cognitive approaches to socially-oriented ones, revolving around the notions like collaborative dialogue and sociocultural theory. Drawing on the notion of collaborative dialogue, this study investigates the extent to which teacher's scaffolding and…

Language test preparation has often been studied within the consequential validity framework in relation to ethics, equity, fairness, and washback of assessment. The use of independent and integrated speaking tasks in the "TOEFL iBT"® test represents a significant development and innovation in assessing speaking ability in academic…

Test preparation for high-stakes English language tests has received increasing research attention in the language assessment field; however, little is known about what aspects of test preparation students attend to and value. In this study, we considered the perspectives of 12 Chinese students who were enrolled in various academic programs in a…