This paper presents findings from a study investigating young English language learners (YELLs) in Sweden in 4th grade (N = 76, aged 10-11). Data were collected with the help of a questionnaire and a one-week language diary. The main purpose was to examine the learners' L2 English language-related activities outside of school in general, and their…

Many researchers have studied the use of game-based learning. Game-based learning takes many forms, including virtual reality, role playing, and performing tasks. For students to learn specific course content, it is important that the selected game be suited to the course. Thus far, no studies have investigated the use of game-based cooperative…

Films and TV series are widely used to support teaching in English language classrooms. They are seen largely as a source of authentic language, as a way of motivating students or as a means of conveying knowledge about another culture. There is less emphasis on their use as a focus for developing intercultural competence. This is particularly the…

A number of recent studies have identified classroom blogging as a promising approach to teaching writing in English as a second language (ESL) in non-Anglophone higher education settings. However, many of these research designs are methodologically inadequate and their results suffer from overestimated effects on students' learning performance.…

This study focuses on learning in three different hypermedia environments that either support autonomous learning, learner-controlled learning or system-controlled learning and explores the mediating role of academic self-regulation style (ASRS; i.e. a macro level of motivation) on learning. This research was performed to gain more insight in the…

The study examines the effectiveness of using computer games for after-school remedial mastery learning. We incorporated instructional materials related to "area of a circle" into the popular Monopoly game to enhance the performance of sixth-grade students learning mathematics. The program requires that students enter the answers to…

Learning a third language (TL) brings with it particular pedagogical demands. In the pedagogy of TL learning now emerging, the development of students' metalinguistic and crosslinguistic awareness is of central importance. In particular, emphasis is placed on the benefits of cross-referencing with supporter languages. While comparisons with…

This article reports the results of an experimental study on the effectiveness of mobile technology (WhatsApp) in improving the critique writing skills of English as a Foreign Language learners and increasing their motivation for learning. The participants (n = 52) are Average-English proficient learners enrolled in two writing courses given at…

Direct behavior rating (DBR) has been described as a hybrid of systematic direct observation and behavior rating scales. Although single-item (DBR-SIS) and multi-item (DBR-MIS) methods have been advocated, the overwhelming majority of research attention has focused on DBR-SIS. This study employed generalizability theory to compare the…

Rewards are frequently used in classrooms and recommended as a key component of well-researched methods of cooperative learning (e.g., Slavin, 1995). While many studies of cooperative learning find beneficial effects of rewards, many studies of individuals find negative effects (e.g., Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999; Lepper, 1988). This may be…

Blogs have been increasingly used to supplement traditional classroom lectures in higher education. This paper explores the use of blogs, and how student attitudes towards online peer interaction and peer learning, as well as motivation to learn from peers, may differ when using the blog comments feature, and when students are encouraged to read…

For the purposes of revealing and comparing the social, cultural, and motivational differences between American and Chinese undergraduate students learning foreign language, a sample of 100 students at University of Wyoming was asked to fill out a Foreign Language Learning Motivation and Beliefs questionnaire and 61 respondents completed the…

The self-regulation of motivation represents a key feature of self-regulated learning. Recent studies have documented that students use a variety of strategies to sustain their learning motivation and that most of these strategies have positive effects. However, less is known about how students integrate the various motivational strategies into an…

In a four-year study of the effect of class size on pupil outcomes in a sample of 36 primary schools in Hong Kong, it has been found that there are few positive differences in attainment between classes set at less than 25 pupils and those of normal size averaging 38. Three cohorts of pupils were studied. In Cohort 1 pupils spent 3 years in small…

The aim of this participant observation was to understand the efficacy of a modified International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program for fourth-graders at a public school with a large percentage of language and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Data collection over a five-month period concentrated on teaching interactions including…