When used in a sensible way, Interactive Whiteboards (IWB) are supposed to motivate and engage students in learning in the classroom. Thereby, they might also stimulate students who are usually more restrained, such as more anxious students. However, the body of research on the impact of IWB lessons is rather small. The present study investigated…

Authentic listening increasingly involves being able to pause or replay recordings as needed. In this study, we investigated differences in the reported use of listening strategies and listening anxiety between single-play and self-paced test administration. We also analyzed the interrelationships among first language (L1) literacy skills, second…

Several studies and assumptions support the advantages of presenting pictures before texts, such as the Sequencing Effects of Integrated Model of Text and Picture Comprehension (the Sequencing Effects of ITPC Model) and the Scaffolding Assumption. However, few studies have examined the efficacy of text-first or picture-first multimodal input on…

Given the increasing emphasis of communicative competence in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts and the lack of validation research on speaking assessments for adolescent EFL learners, in the current study we examined the validity of the TOEFL Junior® speaking test, a relatively new speaking assessment developed by Educational Testing…

The current study aims to examine the effects of using Quizlet on foreign language learners' vocabulary learning success. Another aim of this study is to investigate the possible effects of Quizlet on learners' perceptions about vocabulary learning. The study implemented a mixed method research design. The study involved eighth grade students as…

The internal/external (I/E) frame of reference entails high, positive association of mathematics and verbal achievements with matching academic self-concepts but negative or near-zero correlation with their nonmatching self-concepts. This study aimed to extend the traditional I/E model by contrasting the mathematics domain with two foreign…

English learners' (ELs) day-to-day experiences in school change when reclassified as fully English proficient. Prior research, however, is mixed on how reclassification influences outcomes. Many studies also do not or cannot explore key long-term outcomes or identify impacts over time. In this study I leverage longitudinal student data in a…

The nature of discourse within classrooms strongly predicts students' ability to think about, around, and with text and content (i.e. comprehension and critical-analytic thinking). However, little is known about the nature of classroom discourse in remote, rural South African schools, a context in which students face well-documented language…

The present study was intended to explore EFL students' perceptions of learning vocabulary collaboratively with computers. We recruited 91 eighth-graders from three intact classes in a junior high school in Taiwan, assigning one class to learning individually without computers, another learning collaboratively without computers and the other…

This mixed-method study examines the proficiency in and perceptions of French language learning of Grade 8 students who were exposed to an instructional approach called the Accelerative Integrated Method (AIM). Six AIM classes (n = 125) and six non-AIM classes (n = 135) were observed and their students tested using a four-skills French as a second…