This study aims to design and implement a speaking task model following the principles of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and Critical Thinking (CT). The study mainly investigated to what extent the use of critical thinking standards had an impact on the students' oral performance with respect to the linguistic trilogy of fluency, accuracy,…

Many studies have investigated vocabulary memorization strategies in the EFL context, but few researches have been conducted on the types of memorization strategies used by the Arab students in Malaysia. Thus, this study investigates the types of vocabulary memorization strategies employed by the Arab students in the Intensive English course at…

This article describes the development, implementation, and exploratory evaluation of a professional development series that addressed educators' knowledge and use of the terms "research-based" and "evidence-based" within Human Sciences Extension and Outreach at one university. Respondents to a follow-up survey were more likely…

Background: The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) (Council of Europe 2001) has, over the past decade, come to be widely used as a reference tool for teaching, learning and assessment (Alderson 2002; North 2014). The focus of the current study is on scaling the China Standards of English (CSE) vocabulary descriptors for College English…

Scholars have at various points discussed the needs of second language (L2) writers enrolled in "mainstream" composition courses where they are mixed with native (L1) English speakers. Other researchers have investigated the experiences of L2 writers in mainstream classes and the perceptions of their instructors about their abilities and…

In a classroom experiment during the first week of an introductory psychology course, randomly assigned students received a pretest and then a brief training on the definitions of general-vocabulary words either related (e.g., "facilitation") or unrelated (e.g., "rendition") to 16 technical terms (e.g., "social…

Standards of coherence are one of the major factors that influence reading comprehension. This study investigated the standards of coherence that second language (L2) learners employ when reading. In a pair of experiments, Japanese learners of English read two-sentence texts with varying causal and semantic relatedness between sentences and then…

This study aims to clearly diagnose EFL "students' writing strengths and weaknesses." I adapted a diagnostic framework which comprises multiple writing components associated with three main dimensions of second language writing. The essays of 304 English learners who enrolled in an English language program were double-rated by 13…

Drawing on ecological and dialogical perspectives on language and cognition, this exploratory case study examines how vocabulary learning occurs during a quest-play mediated in English between a Japanese undergraduate student and a native speaker of English. Understanding embodiment as coaction between the player-avatar and player-player relations…

Reading is an indispensable skill for learners who desire success throughout their academic lives, and vocabulary knowledge is a sine qua non companion of reading comprehension. Despite being inextricably related entities, very little has been written about the necessary vocabulary coverage to understand an expository text and its equivalent in…

A common practice in colleges and universities throughout the United States is to make verbal communication and class participation a requirement for academic success. However, for some students this type of verbal communication in the classroom can produce physical and emotional anxiety that can profoundly affect their ability to succeed in the…

One of the central considerations in the validity argument for the TOEFL iBT is the relationship between the language on the exam and the language required for university courses. Corpus linguistics has recently been shown to be an effective way to explore this relationship, which can also be considered as an aspect of authenticity. Applying…

This study aimed to find out the impact of "text mining and imitating" strategies on lexical richness, lexical diversity and general success of students in their compositions in second language writing. The participants were 98 students studying their first year in Karadeniz Technical University in English Language and Literature…

Since 2000, there has been a 72% increase in the number of international students attending US institutions of higher education. The increase, specifically of international graduate students, has brought to light the writing challenges experienced by this population of students. This study explored specific writing challenges experienced by…

This paper reports on a one year, mixed-methods longitudinal case study investigating the neglected area of the perceived reasons why participants forget vocabulary knowledge. The participants were 43 fourth year male Saudi EFL majors at King Abdulaziz University KAU, Saudi Arabia. Quantitative and qualitative data including self-reported…