Language learning strategies are an important variable in language learning, as they both facilitate learning and make learning more effective. Previous research has categorized and placed language learning strategies into taxonomies. However, despite calls for more socioculturally-appropriate strategy questionnaires, there is a paucity of…

Previous research has revealed that teacher feedback encourages students' learning of a second language and improves task performance. While former quasi-experimental studies emphasized the positive effects of formative assessment and feedback by teachers on developing oral presentation competence, it remains unclear about the processes during…

English-medium instruction (EMI) has become a driving force behind the curriculum reform in higher education around the world. The current study, drawn from a larger project that involves an EMI teacher development program, explores subtle nuances of change in teachers' self-efficacy beliefs, employing Bandura's theory of self-efficacy (Bandura,…

One of the key aims of formative assessment in higher education is to enable students to become self-regulated learners (Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006). Based on Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick's (2006) framework, this exploratory study investigates which formative assessment practices proposed by them were used by one college EFL writing teacher to…

Imagined identity, referring to the ideal self that L2 learners aspire to become in the future (Norton & Toohey, 2011), has been identified as a critical factor that could guide learners to make a learning investment that they believe would in turn reward them with the social capital for which they yearn (Kanno & Norton, 2003). This…

Language teacher identity (LTI) has gained prominence in second language education in the recent two decades, particularly the complexity of identity construction in the changing context shaped by local and global forces. This study adds to recent work on LTI by exploring how Asian teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) constructed their…

This paper reports the design of learning-oriented formative assessments in an EFL writing course that involved learners in regularly responding to teacher feedback. Following major assessment and feedback frameworks developed recently, these formative assessments were explicated in three aspects: the scheduling of learning and assessment…

Discourse markers (DMs) assist and persuade EFL classroom interlocutors to monitor their discourse production and comprehension process. This exploratory research investigated the index of pragmatic use (IPU), rate of use, frequency, and the pragmatic functions of "well" in Iranian university EFL teachers' and learners' classroom…

The proliferation of English-medium instruction (EMI) in nonnative English-speaking (NNES) contexts has compelled researchers to explore the challenges students face in such environments. Mostly quantitative in nature with foci on language-related difficulties in one type of institution or curriculum, these studies obscure the complexity of NNES…

The demand for communication skills training for science research postgraduates (RPGs) has been increasing over the years. Many potential scientists and researchers in the industry are under enormous pressure to get published (Cargill, O'Connor & Li, 2012) and to attend conferences and seminars. In light of the aforementioned needs, all…