Peer-to-peer learning is gaining increasing attention in nonformal community-based environmental education. This article evaluates a novel modification of a concept for peer-to-peer learning about residential energy solutions (Open Homes). We organized collective "Energy Walks" visiting several homes with novel energy solutions and…

This study looks at the effectiveness of an intervention to improve student retention on a distance language course. Of the six beginners' language courses offered by the UK's Open University, the beginners' Welsh course has consistently had the lowest retention rates since it was first presented in 2008. In order to address this, a project was…

To meet the demands of contemporary society, students need to develop the ability to interact effectively with people from different cultures. To advance this goal, a project involving ethnographic interviews was introduced to an intercultural communication course. Participating students' attitudes toward other cultures were measured on a Likert…

In this article, we examine the experiences of 18 Galician language learners who participated in what Garland [(2008). "The minority language and the cosmopolitan speaker: Ideologies of Irish language learners" (Unpublished PhD thesis). University of California, Santa Barbara] refers to as a "language-learning holiday" in…

English has become a compulsory lesson starting at the second grade in Turkey while younger learners are growingly introduced to it at earlier ages through various pre-schools, day-care programs and private courses. This descriptive study focuses on young learners' self-reported reasons for learning English and other foreign languages. Twenty…

Building on previous listening strategy research, the author aimed to explore the differences between Chinese high-proficiency listeners (HLs) and low-proficiency listeners (LLs) on their strategy use, problems, and motivation in native language (L1) listening. It involved 1,290 Grade 7 and 1,515 Grade 9 students. Both quantitative and qualitative…

This paper reports on the findings of a study looking at students' motivation to engage in self-access language learning (SALL) while taking an English for Academic Purposes course which contains a substantial integrated SALL component. To-date there has been limited research into the motivation of such students but it is an important area of…

Fundamentally concerned with motivation, self-determination theory (SDT) represents a framework of several mini-theories to explore how social context interacts with people's motivational types categorized by degree of regulation internalization. This paper aims to modify an existing theory-based instrument (Academic Motivation Scale, or AMS) and…

For the last ten years, language learning motivation research has focussed on how learners see knowledge of a language as part of their identity. This article presents the findings of a qualitative interview study that investigated whether personal growth is also a strong element in the motivation of Australian university students to learn German.…

Learning motivation has a significant effect on student learning, which is a key determinant of academic performance and creativity. It is increasingly popular and important to cultivate learning motivation in schools. To consider this trend, a long-term intervention program named "Learn to Think" (LTT) was designed not only to improve…

The current longitudinal study examines the similarities and differences between primary and secondary foreign language curricula and pedagogy along with the development of motivation for language learning and second language proficiency. Data from 26 English learners of French (aged 10-11) were collected across three times points over a 12-month…

This study explored how using graphic novel features in the writing process influenced the motivation and engagement of fifth grade boys to write. Participants used graphica features to visually draft their narrative essays before crafting their final writing piece. During the drafting process, students were encouraged to engage in the revision…

The purpose of this paper was to examine the perception pre-service teachers hold to the nature of the relationship between physics and mathematics. The study examined this relationship in reference to their performance in problem solving and strategies they used. The results of this empirical study suggested that most participants hold a naïve…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on research carried out with employers to determine demand for business and management skills in the Scottish workforce. Design/methodology/approach: The research used a questionnaire in which employers were interviewed (either telephone or face to face), completed themselves and returned by e-mail,…

In most learning situations, learners are learning with their peers, and the teacher is teaching to a class, not to an individual learner. As it is indisputable that learners conceptualize their learning as occurring in a group, it is logical to assume that the class group has some effect on learners' learning. Thus, it could be constructive to…