Search

Teachers' language assessment literacy (LAL) refers to teachers' ability to perform assessment-related tasks. Despite the significant role of language assessment literacy in English language teaching and learning, many teachers reported to have an inadequate ability to perform assessment-related tasks because of the lack of assessment training programs that prepared them for the tasks. This study aimed at investigating the existing assessment training programs to develop EFL teachers' LAL. A systematic literature review was conducted to observe trends in how assessment training programs were carried out in the past decades. PRISMA model was used for identifying, screening, and selecting. Twenty-eight studies published between 2012 and 2022 were reviewed. The results reveal that the assessment training models comprised theoretical and practical components of language assessments. The results also show that the methods for delivering the content are collaborative and reflective practices. The findings of this study should be considered in the design of EFL teacher training programs on assessment.

In EFL countries where English is rarely practiced outside the classroom, textbooks have become the major input source for learners. Particularly in Vietnam, multiple textbook series are available simultaneously for the same grade. Thus, it is important to examine if their vocabulary is appropriate and of similar difficulty. This study aims to investigate and compare the lexical demands, sophistication, diversity, and lengths of reading passages in the eight latest series for Vietnamese 10th graders with 53,360 tokens in total. The results revealed that the most frequent 1,000, 2,000-3,000, and roughly 4,000-word families in the BNC/COCA wordlist, plus proper nouns, marginal words, transparent compounds, and acronyms, were respectively needed for 85%, 95%, and 98% coverage. Additionally, pairwise comparisons uncovered that the passages differ significantly in length yet insignificantly in lexical sophistication and diversity. Therefore, the series appear to be well-suited to co-implementation and facilitative to vocabulary development despite not being optimized for independent learning. The study still calls for simplifying the eight textbook series to promote meaning-focused output. Finally, implications for exploiting and revising these textbook series are discussed.

This study aimed to explore the linguistic factors that influence the development and diversification of World Englishes along with implications for language teaching, learning, and policy, and to examine the trends in research related to WEs. Using a systematic review process with MAXQDA 20.2.1, the findings indicate that research on World Englishes has focused on a variety of linguistic elements, with a particular emphasis on syntax, phonology, and discourse and pragmatics. The study also highlights the importance of understanding the cultural and linguistic contexts in which English is being used, as these contexts can have a significant impact on the linguistic features and pragmatic norms of different varieties of English. Regarding the challenges that learners face when learning WEs, the findings suggest that learners may struggle with the different semantic features and pragmatic norms of different WEs varieties. In terms of trends in research related to WEs, the findings show a growing interest in the study of WEs from various linguistic and cultural perspectives, including sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and language education. However, there is a need for a more interdisciplinary approach to research on WEs, incorporating diverse perspectives and methodologies.

Peer collaboration benefits second language (L2) learning and is a cornerstone of effective classroom instruction. It is, therefore, essential for teachers to consider how tasks work to promote peer collaboration and thus maximize learning. These considerations concern the task type, a task's inherent characteristics, and possible ways of task implementation to achieve peer collaboration. The body of research within the Task-based language teaching (TBLT) framework has shown that task-based instruction provides an optimal environment for second language acquisition. However, with regard to young learners (YLs), children from 5 to 12 years of age, the role of tasks in fostering peer collaboration in FL classrooms is not clear-cut. Grounded in research on task-based peer interaction among YLs, this article outlines how tasks enhance peer collaboration in foreign language (FL) classrooms.

Over the past two decades, multiple empirical studies have examined how teacher audio feedback works in EFL/ESL writing courses. This review explores instructor audio feedback studies in higher education writing contexts. Seventy empirical studies were identified in literature searches published between 2000 and 2022 in several academic databases. Then, based on exclusion and inclusion criteria, thirteen relevant studies were reviewed. The results indicate that interest in instructor audio feedback research has risen since 2000. This overview presents what empirical studies on teacher audio feedback in L2 writing courses aimed to find out, how they were conducted, and what they found. As many research designs and findings were underexplored, more studies are required to investigate this feedback type to benefit L2 writing learning and teaching and enrich studies on audio feedback practices. The gaps identified in the selected studies offer ideas for future explorations of teacher audio feedback in L2 writing contexts.

By investigating Vietnamese English learners' perspectives on influential cultural factors and barriers these factors bring to the development of learner autonomy, this study seeks to draw attention to proper consideration of the host cultural values in importing and implementing Western educational theories. A phenomenological approach was employed, and qualitative data were collected from in-depth interviews with 15 English majored students from a public university in the Mekong Delta. Using Hofstede et al.'s (2010) six-dimensional model of cultural differences as a theoretical framework, the study reveals that all the six dimensions, at different levels, hinder the development of learner autonomy. The study also uncovers cultural assimilation - a state in which individuals perceive a certain cultural characteristic as their personality traits without any adjustment, corresponding to the Restraint factor. These results emphasize the significance of cultural analysis and imply the need for constructing a culturally appropriate pedagogy to promote learner autonomy. The paper concludes by discussing some possible directions for further research in the field.

This study uses Panadero et al.'s (2021) Deep Learning Strategies Questionnaire to discover EFL learners' strategies from a new perspective. The questionnaire is a newly designed self-report instrument with ground-breaking features constructed with validity and reliability to measure students' actual strategies in real situations. The current study is the first in an EFL context to use this innovative tool. It investigates self-regulation strategies for learning English as a foreign language (EFL) among 430 male EFL college students in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire enabled us to adopt a micro-level inspection of strategy functions based on an innovative model that can help identify possible avenues for strategy interventions. The results mostly showed a high use of deep language learning strategies in all four questionnaire categories: basic learning, visual elaboration and summarizing, deep information processing, and social learning. Consequently, all the categories had a strong, positive, and significant correlation. In addition, the most used strategies were basic learning strategies, whereas the least used were visual elaboration and summarizing. Our findings provide useful pedagogical implications for promoting EFL learning strategies and strategy instruction. Successfully replicating the Deep Learning Strategies Questionnaire scrutinizes this methodological instrument's validity and reliability and encourages other researchers to use it.

Despite the increased adoption of online learning in higher education, there was limited knowledge about how the combination of online English synchronous learning with gamified applications and active learning impacted student self-regulation. This study used a sequential explanatory research design to investigate this integration in an English for Academic Communication course at a southern Thai university over a 12-week period. Data, including a Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) strategy survey, reflective essays, and course grades, were analyzed using descriptive statistics for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data. The findings showed that students heavily utilized SRL strategies, especially in Time Management and Environment Structuring, but there were differences in Goal Setting between the quantitative and qualitative results. Although there were strong positive correlations among SRL constructs, none of them were statistically significant in relation to course grades. Students expressed their desire for feedback, interactive learning, and a balanced workload in their ideal online English learning experience. This study provided insights into the integration of online English synchronous learning with gamification and active learning in higher education.

Comparing language tests and test preparation materials holds important implications for the latter's validity and reliability. However, not enough studies compare such materials across a wide range of indices. Therefore, this study investigated the text complexity of IELTS academic reading tests (IRT) and IELTS reading practice tests (IRPrT). Fine-grained quantitative analyses were undertaken to delineate measures of lexical, syntactic, and discourse complexity across a corpus of 108 IRT and 108 IRPrT published by Pearson, Macmillan, and Cengage Learning. The results suggest little difference between IRT and IRPrT at the lexical level; however, there were significant differences in some measures of syntactic and discourse level complexity. The findings bear implications for stakeholders including learners as test takers, instructors, material developers, and language testing researchers. We interpret this to mean that while IRPrT materials are lexically conducive to the practice for IRT and can provide a similar experience, the IRPrT do show some differences in the amount of subordination and idea repetition at the discourse level. Therefore, instructors and learners may seek to supplement practice with these structures when preparing for IRT, and the designers of such practice materials should consider aligning these factors in the future.

Online Arabic learning presents several challenges, one of which is the ineffective utilization of learning media. This study aims to describe the tendency of Arabic learners through the Dars Arabi YouTube channel video media and the relationship between the learner's propensity and the variables of gender, age, and educational background of Dars Arabi channel users. This study uses a descriptive statistical method. The sample selection was taken randomly from as many as 160 people from a population of around 17,800 YouTube channel subscribers. This study's findings indicate that the tendency of online Arabic learners is at a moderately average level. This study also shows no statistically significant difference between trends in YouTube channel users and the variables of gender, educational background, and users' age. This study's conclusion shows the importance of using YouTube media to learn Arabic with content that is fun and can be enjoyed by all groups of society in a relaxed manner.

Writing is hard for students who are learning English; they often find it challenging to transform what is on their mind in writing. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between the writing test and assessment writing through argumentative writing. Data was analyzed using the correlation test to determine the close relationship between independent and dependent variables. This study involved 100 students from the Department of English Education at the University of Riau, Indonesia. The results showed that the writing test and assessment writing was closely related, as evidenced by the influence and significance between the writing test and assessment writing, which was tested through argumentative writing. The results revealed that the writing test and assessment writing have similar results. Overall, both variables are equally important and related.

This research determines the student's learning strategies based on their learning styles. This research applied qualitative study. The subject of this research is the students of English literature class A in Universitas Negeri Makassar, who were selected through a purposive sampling technique. Thirty-five students were chosen as the subjects of this study. The data were obtained through questionnaires and interviews and then analyzed based on producers of data analysis identification, classification, and descriptive analysis. The result showed that i) there are some learning styles that students have, such as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (VAK) learning styles; and ii) students' learning strategies based on their learning style where subjects engaged in several learning activities or methodologies. Two types of learning techniques were primarily considered: individual and group strategies. The individual strategies were marked by all of the activities the subjects had done, and the group strategies described the learning actions employed by the subjects to comprehend the knowledge or the lesson by engaging friends who could help them.

Online learning is a growing trend in education during the corona virus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the difficulties that online majors in non-English languages have when attempting to acquire English. The subject of this study involved using the questionnaire method for as many as 412 students and interviewing 15 students with a total of 17 questions. The results of this study indicate that there are several challenges faced by students during online learning; i) less familiarity with online learning as shown by 31% of students agreeing that online learning is a new learning method, ii) psychologically 30% of students choose strongly agree that they have limited opportunities to interact directly and freely with lecturers as well as with students, iii) limited facilities and infrastructure as much as 28% agree that the budget is limited to get quota or internet credit, and iv) limited internet access as many as 35% of students do not have good internet coverage to take online lectures. The findings of this study should be a reference for English lecturers to continue learning to innovate in providing online English learning by considering the existing challenges.

English for young learners (EYL) teachers have practiced some creative activities to maintain their pupils' learning with natural exposure to the target language amidst the pandemic. One activity practiced by Indonesian and Korean teachers was an international collaboration to perform a virtual drama of each country's folktale. This phenomenological research aimed at tapping the teachers' perceptions regarding interculturality and world Englishes (WE) in the virtual dramatic play collaboratively conducted and delving into their commitments in honing interculturality and WE. Two Indonesian and Korean teachers were involved in three sessions of in-depth interviews using pre-prepared interview questions. The trustworthiness of the data was achieved by the group discussions allowing the participants to comment on and revise the transcribed data, as well as triangulation by two international collaborators. Thematic analysis was performed to identify emerging themes and to provide novel insights into EYL teachers' encounters with interculturality and WE. The Indonesian and Korean teachers admitted the compatibility between language and culture, the urgency of introducing varieties of English, and the merits of conducting international collaboration to promote interculturality and WE. The teachers are committed to integrate interculturality and WE in their instructions despite some differences in the stipulated curricula.

Purpose: Self-assessment is regarded as a complex metacognitive process by scholars. Nevertheless, in the context of English as a Second Language (ESL) speaking, self-assessment practices often rely on assessment criteria and teacher commentaries. However, speaking involves spontaneous expression with limited access to external standards. Therefore, this case study aims to explore the metacognitive strategies that proficient ESL students use during self-assessment in spontaneous speech production contexts. Methodology: Three participants, purposefully selected, participated in two spontaneous group discussions recorded on video. Instances of participants' dysfluency served as prompts in stimulated recall interviews, complemented by video recordings to validate participants' responses. The thematic analysis of interview data utilised a conceptual framework integrating O'Malley and Chamot's (1990) metacognitive strategies and Kormos' (2006) speech production model. Findings: The analysis revealed that participants employed three key metacognitive strategies -- organisational planning, selective attention, and self-monitoring to self-assess their spontaneous speech. Feedback sources, such as their proficiency in the second language (L2) and contextual factors, influenced the application and effectiveness of these strategies during self-assessment (SA). Significance: This study offers insights into how proficient ESL students self-assess their spontaneous speech production, leveraging their available resources. In addition, this study identifies speech challenges the participants encountered and how they applied metacognitive strategies to address them.

Purpose: Art forms such as music and drama are among some recognised tools used by educators. This has sparked interest in how art can be used in education, making it a fertile field for educational research. However, there is a missing connection in how drawing can be used as a tool for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students to learn about literature. Methodology: This paper will incorporate an Arts-Based Research (ABR) method to determine how visual art, particularly drawing, can be used as a tool to advance EFL students' understanding of a selected literary text, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" (2015) This qualitative study, viewed through the lens of Richard Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML), involved 10 EFL participants and revealed strategies for integrating drawing that are absent in traditional approaches. Additionally, Hameed's (2022) elements of art, Yenawine's (2014) Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), and Showalter's (2003) concepts of literature learning will be included to ground the framework of the intervention. Findings: This study can be regarded as a method to liberate traditional teaching practices into contemporary approaches, serving as a tool to merge cultural knowledge while improving confidence, higher-order thinking skills, and expression. It also allows educators to be flexible and provoke more reflection and participation. The data discusses three main strategies in exploring how integrating drawing can help EFL students learn about literature: mining to trigger thoughts, engaging with the senses, and giving permission to wonder. Visual art allows individuals to create their responses by exploring new ideas and representing emotions, confirming plans, and comprehending the deeper level of literary texts. Significance: The study will offer insight and work as an alternate strategy for educators and learners alike to utilise visual art as a tool in teaching and learning literature. The findings will also ease the alarming condition where literature teaching and learning are stereotyped as daunting. [This paper was presented at the 12th Malaysian International Conference of Languages, Literature, and Culture (MICOLLAC) held in Penang, Malaysia, in August 2023.]

Purpose: Given the research gaps identified in a literature review, this study aims to uncover how the intensity of learners' motivational behavior and its predictors vary with grade level. Methodology: A large-scale survey was conducted to examine motivational behavior and its predictors among EFL learners across three education levels and ten grades in Taiwan: primary school (Grades 3 to 6), junior high school (Grades 7 to 9), and senior high school (Grades 10 to 12). A total of 12,441 valid cases were collected from both rural and urban areas in Taiwan. ANOVA and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings: The results showed a significant effect of grade level on the intensity of motivational behavior. Specifically, learners' intensity of motivational behavior tended to decline with grade level (years of study). The significant predictors of motivational behavior also differed with grade level. Significance: In addition to theoretical and methodological contributions to L2 motivation research, this study can enhance understanding of factors that could enhance learners' motivational behavior and offer implications to assist EFL teachers in developing motivational teaching strategies.

Idioms are highly conventionalized expressions that allow users to express beyond literal meanings. Despite the language difference, counterparts of idioms may overlap cross-culturally due to similar origin, social habits, and experiences. It is therefore interesting to probe whether L2 learners may benefit from deliberate instructions built on shared counterparts existing in both L1 and L2, known as cross-language overlaps. Although the phenomenon of cross-language overlap has been reported by lexical and collocation processing research (e.g., Carrol & Conklin, 2017; Hubers et al., 2020), it is yet uncertain whether its impact is influential for L2 idiom learning with the absence of semantic or syntactical similarity. To address this gap, the current study attempted to investigate whether raising English as a foreign language learners' awareness of cross-language overlap may facilitate L2 idiom teaching and how such overlap-enhancement instruction may change over different congruence conditions (congruence-available and incongruence conditions) and time. The study collected L2 idiom learning data from forty-five Chinese English learners, following a pretest-posttest design. While the experimental group (n=26) learned twenty-eight target L2 idioms with an enhancement instruction emphasizing the overlaps, the control group (n=28) learned these idioms with a conventional instruction method. Findings of this study revealed that participants were able to benefit from cross-language overlaps from both conditions, and the enhancement instruction on the semantic overlaps would result in significant learning improvement. It is therefore pedagogically advisable for language teachers to marry up L1-L2 idiom phrases containing similar counterparts and deliberately focus on the semantic congruency.

Scaffolding is a contributing factor to the effectiveness of pragmatic instruction. Although there is a large body of research on the means of scaffolding in second language teaching, research on scaffolding in L2 pragmatic instruction, especially in online teaching, is still in its infancy. To bridge the gap, this study investigated the means of scaffolding (feedback, giving hints, instructing, explaining, modeling, and questioning) utilized by teachers to aid learners in producing pragmatically appropriate speech acts of request and refusal. The data from 18 hours of online pragmatic instruction to 21 intermediate EFL learners via the Skyroom platform showed that the most frequent means of scaffolding used by three teachers participating in this study were questioning and explaining. Employing questioning, teachers used display questions to guide learners toward the appropriate production of request and refusal. Moreover, explaining, as a means of scaffolding, helped learners establish connections between new pragmatic knowledge and their prior knowledge of the speech act. The other three means of scaffolding, including feedback, giving hints, and modeling, were characterized by almost the same rate of frequency. The least frequent means of scaffolding was found to be instructing. It can be concluded that teachers tend to use questioning as a means of scaffolding more frequently because pragmatic knowledge needs to be improved through interaction. The findings can help teacher educators heighten the teachers' knowledge of various means of scaffolding to enable them to employ different means of scaffolding instead of overusing questioning and explaining.

This mixed methods study compares L2 learning motivation of Burundi simultaneous learners of French, English and Kiswahili, mainly focusing on L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS). A total of 348 junior high school students participated in a 60-item questionnaire survey, and 12 of those learners participated in a follow-up semi-structured interview. The quantitative data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) while the interview data were analysed employing a thematic analysis method. The results support the validity of the L2MSS in comparing and explaining Burundi simultaneous multiple language learners' motivation. For all the three target languages, L2 Learning Experience appeared as the strongest predictor of the learners' intended learning effort, followed by the Ideal L2 Self only in relation to English and French learning. The role of the variable of International Posture on the three components of the L2MSS, which was assumed to be influenced by the Burundi socio-educational context, was also observed in the SEM analysis. The analysis indicated that the impact of International Posture on Ideal L2 Self was only significant in the models of both English and Kiswahili while its impact on L2 Learning Experience was only significant in the model of Kiswahili. The interview data also provided further insight into the quantitative findings. Pedagogical implications are provided based on these key findings.

This study examined experiences and viewpoints of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' regarding the integration of QR codes into writing and speaking practices at the tertiary-level L2 learning. Employing an action research design, researchers collected qualitative data through online interviews, a survey of open-ended questions, and learners' written reflections during class hours and brief field notes. Inductive thematic analysis was used for data analysis to form codes and themes. As a result, the learners identified QR codes as time-saving, useful, and enjoyable pedagogical tools for writing and speaking practices. The facilitative role of QR codes was centered on increasing motivation and interaction with classmates during different phases of productive skill-based activities, particularly in the idea-generation steps. The learners reported that QR code-based mobile learning practices make learning environments more participatory, safe, inclusive, and cooperative. The study presents instructional implications for transforming conventional student-teacher interaction into a peer-learning-oriented and autonomous atmosphere in higher education.

The worsening global environmental crisis highlights the urgency of integrating Environmental Education (EE) throughout the curriculum including in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curricula. However, challenges exist, such as the development of appropriate curriculum documents and educators' understanding of approaches to EE. This study looked at Indonesian EFL textbooks for elementary schools, focusing mainly on the images and how they can portray environmental themes. These images and some brief texts that accompany the images were examined using tools from ecolinguistics literature, including Stibbe's (2021) nine stories and the United Nations' EE objectives (UNESCO-UNEP, 1975). This study intends to fill a gap in the EE literature by analyzing images in elementary school textbooks in the specific context of Indonesia, generalizing the idea of EE to other contexts. Findings revealed that while some EE efforts were evident, the majority of the material leaned towards an anthropocentric (human centered) perspective, indicating a need for greater incorporation of insights from ecolinguistics to enhance the content. Moreover, in terms of EE objectives, the textbooks provided ecological knowledge but lacked emphasis on developing skills and encouraging student participation in solving environmental problems. Examples demonstrating the ability to evaluate and address environmental issues were also absent. Suggestions are made for future EE content in EFL materials.

In today's world, technology plays a significant role in shaping our daily interactions and how we connect with the world. The rapid advancements in technology have influenced many sectors, particularly education, where integrating technology is now seen as essential rather than just a luxury. As a result, the education field has adapted over time to keep up with innovations and their potential to improve the teaching and learning environment. The incorporation of technology into education has evolved from introducing computer systems in classrooms to the adoption of smartboards, tablets, and e-learning platforms. The rise of Virtual Reality (VR) technology has also opened up possibilities for hands-on learning experiences that allow students to explore and practice skills in ways that traditional teaching methods cannot. VR technology enables students to interact with content in a way that fosters a sense of presence and immersion, which can improve knowledge retention. In fields, like science, engineering, medicine, arts, and language learning, VR applications have shown promise in boosting student engagement and enhancing skills within a controlled learning environment. However, the widespread adoption of VR technology in education faces challenges. One significant obstacle is the cost of acquiring VR equipment and software which can strain budgets. Additionally, the availability of high-quality content for VR platforms poses a barrier for educators seeking to integrate VR into their teaching practices. This article delves into the use of Virtual Reality in education, and how VR can influence student learning outcomes in applications such as medicine, science, arts and language learning. Apart from the advantages of VR, the article also discusses the obstacles that are impeding the use of VR in education including concerns about costs, standardizing content and the necessity for training and support for educators. As VR technology advances and becomes widely available, it stands ready to revolutionize the landscape by offering learning opportunities that were previously beyond imagination. Through this technology, education can introduce a world of possibilities that nurture curiosity, creativity and a lifelong enthusiasm for learning.

This research investigates the intercultural usability factor of e-learning products designed for the instruction of Turkish as a foreign language. The subject of study, "Ana Dil Turkce," refers to a freely accessible and distant education platform developed by Anadolu University with the purpose of instructing non-native speakers in the Turkish language. This study employed a concurrent mixed methods research design to investigate the intercultural usability of the "Ana Dil Turkce" e-learning system. The study incorporated a qualitative component through the utilization of a case study methodology, while a cross-sectional survey design was employed to address the quantitative part. The quantitative portion of the study employed descriptive methods, whereas the qualitative portion utilized content analysis methods. The qualitative component of the study involved the participation of 25 individuals who were active and registered users in the system during the period from 2020 to 2022. Additionally, the quantitative component of the study included the participation of 211 users. The quantitative portion of the study employed a questionnaire as a method of data collection, while the qualitative component utilized a semi-structured interview format. The study's conclusions were analyzed through the integration and juxtaposition of qualitative and quantitative data. The study yielded findings regarding the cultural appropriateness of the Ana Dil Turkce e-learning objects. The findings indicate that the cultural learning objects inside the e-learning system are deemed adequate, albeit requiring further development and enrichment.

This research paper delves into the origins of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) speaking anxiety in Moroccan high school students and offers potential remedies to reduce or prevent its occurrence, with a particular emphasis on encouraging a willingness to speak. The study involved 37 high school teachers who completed a questionnaire regarding their strategies to mitigate speaking anxiety and promote communication willingness among Moroccan EFL high school students. The data was collected and analyzed using SPSS. The findings reveal that anxiety stems from various factors, including linguistic issues (such as limited vocabulary, grammar challenges, and fluency), personal factors (such as learner personality and motivation), and teacher-related factors (including feedback quality and classroom activities). Moreover, the research suggests that teachers should prioritize strategies like providing positive feedback, offering praise, and incorporating collaborative work or task-based learning to reduce students' EFL speaking anxiety. Additionally, teacher participants proposed additional strategies focused on a variety of activities and methods to foster a welcoming classroom atmosphere.

The aim of the study is to reveal the concurrent validity of the Central Examination of Secondary Education Institutions (OKMS). For this purpose, the relationship between the OKMS subtest raw scores of the students who took the exam and the 8th-grade year-end achievement scores of the courses within the scope of the exam was analyzed by canonical correlation analysis. Grade 8 achievement scores were taken as the independent (predictor) variable, and OKMS subtest scores were taken as the dependent (criterion) variable. The study was conducted on 3029 8th-grade students who took the OKMS. Only one canonical correlation was found to be significant between the two sets of variables. 8th-grade achievement scores were highly positively correlated with OKMS subtest scores. While 8th-grade foreign language and science achievement scores had a high predictive power for OKMS subtest raw scores, it was found that the predictive power of the achievement scores of the religious culture course in explaining the OKMS subtest raw scores was low. The set of 8th-grade scores explained 48.6% of the total variance in the variable set of OKMS subtest raw scores. The OKMS subtest variable set explains 60.1% of the total variance in the set of 8th-grade scores.

In an era of major advances in the digital world, artificial intelligence has been a part of programs, tools, applications, and platforms. It has also been integrated into fields of education including language teaching and learning. To this end, ChatGPT, one of the most recent AI-driven systems, has been proposed to support language learners' personalized studies. Thus, this paper presents a qualitative study aiming to explore how Turkish EFL learners in higher education use ChatGPT for speaking. For a deeper understanding, the study was designed as a case study which used multiple sources to collect qualitative data. In this sense, semi-structured interviews were held with the participants, and through open-ended questions, they were asked about their study habits and any background knowledge about ChatGPT. In a following session, they were introduced the chatbot and instructed on possible ways to use it for speaking practice. Screen recordings of the usage by the participants were another source to observe and later describe the process for the researcher. A final session of the interviews planned as a stimulated recall was held to explore the participants' ChatGPT use experience through their reflection. The thematic analysis of the data revealed codes and themes leading to language teaching implications about learner characteristics and use of AI for language studies.

Once the pandemic concluded, the Foreign Languages Department of a Chilean state university hired a Canadian company to implement a pre-designed language learning system (PLLS). This platform was to be used by all teachers and students, as it contained various activities to develop all four language skills, including pronunciation practice through AI-based voice recognition. This study explores the attitudes of 17 university teachers towards using these pre-elaborated resources, activities, and assessments in their communicative English and German courses. A mixed-method approach was used, involving a survey based on the Technology Adoption Model (TAM) and individual interviews. Descriptive statistics were obtained from the survey responses, and qualitative data were analysed using content analysis techniques. The results indicate that teachers' attitudes towards the PLLS were generally neutral to negative. Instructors expressed their concerns about the system's pre-designed content and perceived functionality. Perceived ease of use and usefulness were rated low, reporting difficulties in navigation and alignment with their teaching styles. Perceived enjoyment received the lowest rating, mentioning issues such as disconnected content and lack of progressive structure. Qualitative data revealed technical problems, increased workload, and concerns about the system's impact on student motivation and learning outcomes. While some positive aspects were noted, the overall attitude towards the PLLS was predominantly negative, highlighting the need for better alignment with pedagogical goals and improved implementation strategies.

Although research has always related e-portfolios to self-regulated learning, recently agency, which includes individual, relational, and contextual domains, has also been highlighted. Likewise, agency has been explored in technological environments that support collaborative and co-design learning processes. This study, investigating the enactment of student agency within e-portfolio learning co-design with 68 secondary students in Hong Kong, focuses on how students perceive their agency within a co-design e-portfolio learning framework, which was coined as the Co-PIRS model in previous stages of research. With descriptive aims, a mixed research methodology was designed using quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments. Among the findings, it is argued that students report a greater awareness of agency, characterized by competence beliefs (individual domain) in the showcase phase of e-portfolios, peer learning (relational domain), and the opportunities to make choices (contextual domain) in the implementation phase. The study also reveals students' positive attitudes towards reflection, which suggests the suitability of structuring collaboration in the co-design approach. These insights serve as a foundation for implementing e-portfolio co-design frameworks to empower students' agency and provide educators with guidance in Secondary Education and beyond. [Note: The page range (190-203) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 190-202.]

Writing anxiety has been identified as a significant obstacle for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in China, with previous studies indicating that it can negatively affect writing performance. Despite this, most research on writing anxiety in the Chinese EFL context has focused on the relationship between writing anxiety and writing performance, with limited attention paid to exploring writing anxiety during the writing process and its sources in depth. This study applied a qualitative method to explore Chinese EFL learners' writing anxiety in the writing process. Thematic analysis was used for analyzing data collected through semistructured interviews with 18 Chinese EFL learners. The results revealed seven primary themes, including lack of knowledge about the writing topic, inexperience with the genre, challenges with brainstorming or coming up with ideas, trouble with structuring or arranging information, difficulty with integrating sources, linguistic difficulty, and negative or no feedback from instructors. The findings indicated that writing anxiety accompanies throughout the writing process. EFL learners need strategies to alleviate writing anxiety, including clear instructions on how to approach writing tasks, provision of appropriate resources, individualized feedback, and a supportive learning environment.

Purpose: Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) apps such as Duolingo have great potential for promoting learners' motivation to learn a second language (L2). However, little research has investigated how this motivational impact takes place. Additionally, despite the flexibility of mobile learning, most existing studies are conducted in classroom settings, with less attention paid to out-of-school technology usage. Design/Approach/Methods: To address these gaps, we present a model based on self-determination theory and propose the idea of "motivational transfer" to explain the psychological mechanism underpinning the impact of technology. To examine the model, we conducted a case study with 20 Year 8 Chinese junior school students who used Duolingo to learn English as a foreign language (EFL) after school for 6 weeks. Findings: Questionnaire and group interview data support our hypothesized mechanism--learners' activity-specific intrinsic motivation (IM) for using Duolingo and their underlying psychological need for autonomy and competence can be transferred to a more general level, thereby enhancing learners' global IM for L2. Originality/Value: The proposed theoretical model expands our understanding of how digital technology stimulates learners' L2 motivation; it can help L2 educators design better technological affordances to promote learners' motivation both in and outside the classroom.

This research and development study aimed to develop the prototype of virtual learning implemented in flipped classrooms and evaluate its effectiveness as a tool for developing Thai undergraduates' English receptive skills. To assess if the designed prototype is effective, a quasi-experimental method was employed. The experimental sample group consisted of 40 undergraduates studying English as a required general education subject at a university in Thailand. They were purposively selected as their English proficiency level did not meet the university requirement of not lower than 600 of the TOEIC scores for graduation. The actual TOEIC tests as a pre- and post-tests, have been employed to examine if the prototype was effective. The collected data from pre- and post-tests were then analyzed through the t-Test and ANOVA. The results showed that the designed prototype applied in teaching and learning through the three online virtual platforms, namely Second Life, VRChat, and the ClassStart in the flipped classrooms was effective for developing students' English receptive skills, as the overall development of students' English receptive skills, both listening and reading, as shown from their post-test English TOEIC scores had significant development, showing that the post-test scores were higher than those of their pre-test's. Therefore, applying this prototype to language teaching and learning as a pedagogy is highly advised.

In this paper, I propose a model of plurimethodological approach in ELT textbook design, in which one unit is based on the communicative PPP unit model, where the unit ends with a final communicative task, and the following unit is based on the action-oriented unit model, where the unit is a mini-project unit as a whole. Such a textbook model is based on the concept of plurimethodological pair-unit, where the communicative approach and the action-oriented approach are combined in coherence and synergy. In such a plurimethodological textbook design, the topics of the two successive units (one PPP unit and the other mini-project unit) are the same or closely related, so that the unit based on the PPP model will provide the students with much of the language and documentary resources needed to complete the mini-project in the following unit. The mini-project unit will provide the students with additional language and documentary resources for carrying out the miniproject, but as there will be less language and documentary work for students in this unit, students will be better able to concentrate on carrying out the miniproject. [Note: The page range (228-241) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 228-240.]