This study used a pre-test post-test research design to investigate the role of explicit strategy instruction on Spanish English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' ability to write authentic email requests to faculty. Drawing on Taguchi's (2018) classification of pragmatics learning strategies, the instructional intervention followed a…

Email communication is pervasive in faculty interaction. As there exists status imbalance between students and professors in this type of context, emails are expected to cater for the uneven power relationships by means of using appropriate polite features. Previous research (e.g., Eslami, 2013; Salazar-Campillo & Codina-Espurz, in press) has…

Considering the potential and popularity of social media it is important to inquire into its use in learning. In this study the implementation of the activity carried out in Twitter with higher education students was analysed. The research was conducted following a mixed methodology, based on virtual ethnography complemented by quantitative…

The study deals with the effect of instruction and study abroad (SA) on pragmatic knowledge. More specifically, the focus is on gains in explicit knowledge of request mitigators, and whether learners draw on this knowledge when they perform email requests. Email requests produced by 60 Spanish students staying abroad (30 treatment/30 control…

A study investigated the effectiveness of tandem second language learning using electronic mail (e-mail). Tandem language learning refers to a partnership between two learners, each learning the other's native language. The underlying principles of reciprocity and learner autonomy are explored, use of asynchronous communication between individuals…