This paper examines the role of metacognitive awareness in academic writing in a mixed-method study. In addition to validating an instrument assessing metacognitive knowledge and strategies in the context of academic writing, the study uncovered how Chinese multilingual students' metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive strategies, and metacognitive…

This study examined the effects of bottom-up instruction (BI) on a high-stakes listening test for second language (L2) listeners and compared these effects with those of strategy instruction (SI) in relation to their proficiency levels. Two intact classes (48 L2 listeners) of different L2 listening proficiency levels received five weeks of BI and…

Although research about the effectiveness of second or foreign language collaborative writing for jointly written products has proliferated in the last few decades, there has been less examination of whether and how pre-task preparation could maximize the language learning opportunities that collaborative writing can afford learners. Informed by…

To assist second language learners in becoming effective, aware, and reflective participants in higher education, support can be provided by integrating structured awareness raising approaches in the language curriculum. Drawing on self-regulation principles, such a structured awareness raising curriculum is most notably sustained by reflective…

Adopting a broader dialogical conceptual lens on interactive listening, this study examines advanced adult learners' language use and thought processes during a problem-solving task. Twenty English as a second language (L2) students from a Scottish university participated in the study. They worked in pairs on the task before taking part in…

This study sought to provide a nuanced understanding of the relationship between metacognitive awareness and listening performance by eliciting from 113 English-as-a-second-language (ESL) Chinese learners their metacognitive awareness with regard to knowledge of listening strategies used and perceptions of difficulty and anxiety following a…

The paper focuses on an unexplored area of metalinguistic awareness in the acquisition of third language (L3) phonology, hereafter referred to as metaphonological awareness. It addresses the role of attention and noticing in input processing. The contribution constitutes a part of a larger scale project on metaphonological awareness in various…

This paper reports on an investigation into metacognitive awareness of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) student writers, under a threefold metacognition framework--person, task, and strategy variables, and within the broader domain of cognitive writing theories. Data were collected in a Chinese tertiary English language teaching (ELT)…

In an analysis of learners' reflections taken in real time, this study attempts to unveil what learners attend to during a task session. A total of 110 Japanese learners of English noted rationales for their form selections of epistemic modal verbs. The data were then coded and tallied to enable quantitative analysis and to examine the association…

In a world in which online reading is becoming increasingly common and, as a consequence, online literacy more and more necessary, this paper focuses on possibility of training L2 (second language) readers to bridge the gap between paper reading and online reading. Many researchers believe metacognitive awareness to be the most important ability…

This narrative interview study of a Spanish learner documents and explains apparent contradictions in a student's story when reporting on why she continues to take Spanish even when she does not like it or perform well in foreign language courses. A dialectical approach to human activity based on sociocultural theory is used to make sense of her…

The importance of reading for academic study cannot be overemphasised. At the postgraduate level in particular, students are faced with complex text interpretation processes. International students, in addition, have to make a significant cultural/study shift; not only do they have to become accustomed to the reading of academic texts using…

This study is part of an ongoing investigation of the knowledge base, learning and performance of Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) students in the Canadian province of Quebec. The goal of the broad research initiative is to identify valid and reliable criteria for candidate selection and to provide those who are admitted to a programme…

This paper proposes a process model of reflective practice for second language teachers, designed to facilitate a closer understanding of language use and interactive decision-making. The L2 classroom is portrayed as a dynamic and complex series of inter-related contexts, in which interaction is central to teaching and learning. An understanding…