This is the first study to investigate the effects of test methods (while-listening performance and post-listening performance) and gender on measured listening ability and brain activation under test conditions. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to examine three brain regions associated with listening comprehension: the…

Drawing on the commognitive framework, we construe the secondary-tertiary transition (STT) as a distinctive element in the pedagogical discourses of various communities. Our interest rests with university tutors in light of the emergent recognition of their impact on undergraduates' mathematics learning in many tertiary contexts worldwide. We aim…

In response to growing attention to young children's citizenship, and recent calls for critique of Western discourses and practices, we explore the movement of Western 'pioneering' pedagogies of early childhood education (ECE) and their localisation in Aotearoa New Zealand. Employing a poststructural positioning, and theoretical devices drawn from…

Although there have been extensive theoretical discussions on the various reading skills needed in academic situations, empirical investigations on this topic are scarce. There is even much less research on the latent structure underlying those skill needs. This study attempts to fill this gap by investigating the perceived factorial structure of…

This paper examined whether a younger starting age of formal instruction on a foreign language is beneficial in expanding circle countries. An experimental study was designed to examine to what extent the five varieties of English language teachers are intelligible to Japanese- (JSLs) and Korean-speaking language learners (KSLs), who have…

Previous surveys of university academic reading generally employed questionnaires and fell short of an in-depth analysis of students' skill needs and difficulties. Taking a qualitative approach, the current study interviewed 22 undergraduates and 7 language teachers from a New Zealand university. Together the participants highlighted a number of…

Inspired by the 'teaching as inquiry' model, we initiated a focusing inquiry on 2,811 English diagnostic tests that were taken in 2014-2015 by first-year students entering the Health Sciences programme at the University of Otago, a programme for aspiring health professionals. That inquiry aimed to improve the first-year paper taken by students who…

The aim of this research was to investigate how undergraduate students conceptualise feedback, and compare this with research into conceptions of teaching and learning related phenomena in higher education. Using a phenomenographic approach, 28 physiotherapy students in New Zealand were interviewed about their experiences. Data analysis resulted…

Understanding sustainability is important, as people need to cope with issues associated with over-population and over-consumption. Education is seen as a key strategy to assist with the development of people's understandings of this complex concept, which could then lead to them being able to make more sustainable lifestyle decisions. In order to…

Debates about how undergraduate mathematics should be taught are informed by different views of what it is to learn and to do mathematics. In this qualitative study 10 students enrolled in an advanced undergraduate course in mathematics shared their views about how they best learn mathematics. After participating in a semester-long course in…

This article argues that task representation should be considered as part of the construct of classroom-based academic writing. Task representation is a process that writers move through when creating a unique mental model of the requirements for each new writing task they encounter. Writers' task representations evolve throughout the composing…

In the listening component of the IELTS examination candidates hear the input once, delivered at "normal" speed. This format for listening can be problematic for test takers who often perceive normal speed input to be too fast for effective comprehension. The study reported here investigated whether using computer software to slow down…

Few students in pursuit of baccalaureate business degrees seem to have spent significant time in organisations of the kind studied and discussed in the courses that typify such degrees. This paper questions the extent to which the students' lack of business exposure is perceived by teachers as a barrier to effective learning and teaching. It…

Fluent reading is essential for successful comprehension. One dimension of reading fluency is reading rate, or reading speed. Because of the importance of reading fluency, fluency development activities should be incorporated into classroom practice. One activity that meets the fluency development conditions proposed by Nation (2007) is speed…

This paper examines the complex relation between interest and comprehension recorded by postgraduate students in a language teacher education programme at various stages of two-hour lectures. The quantitative analysis suggests that its relationship with comprehension changes as the lecture continues. The analysis is also triangulated with the…