Abstract: Interest in the effect of positive and negative emotions in foreign language acquisition has soared recently because of the positive psychology movement (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014, 2016; MacIntyre, Gregersen & Mercer, 2016). No work so far has been carried out on the differential effect of positive and negative emotions on foreign language performance. The current study investigates the effect of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) on foreign language performance in a group of 189 foreign language pupils in two London secondary schools and a group of 152 Saudi English as a foreign language learners and users of English in Saudi Arabia. Correlation analyses showed that the positive effect of FLE on performance was stronger than the negative effect of FLCA. In other words, FLE seems to matter slightly more than FLCA in foreign language (FL) performance. Qualitative material collected from the Saudi participants shed light on the causes of FLCA and FLE and how these shaped participants’ decisions to pursue or abandon the study of the FL.

Abstract: This small scale action research study explores how the author incorporated a blog project into an integrated-skills foreign language class in a Japanese university. This project was an outof-class project aimed at motivating students to take advantage of authentic environments outside the classroom in order to practice language skills and communicate with others. This study seeks to determine the usefulness of using blogs in the foreign language classroom, and to assist foreign language professionals interested in developing learner independence in their own learners by using this relatively new computer-based learning forum. Data were collected from learners through questionnaires and interviews conducted at the end of the term. At this time, learners were asked to reflect on their attitudes about the blog project and how it aided them in practicing English out of the classroom. Findings suggest that learner-perceived benefits of using blogs included increased interest and motivation to use English because of interaction with, and feedback from, classmates and teachers. There is also indication, however, that although the project helped to improve reading and writing skills, some learners were more interested in developing oral communication skills not directly addressed in the blog project. The findings also suggest that learners who participated in the blog project were interested in continuing to blog even after the semester finished. Further research needs to focus on whether or not learners did indeed continue using this resource after the course ended, and in which foreign language courses this project is most suitable.

Abstract: This article analyses a recent initiative of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) which aims to internationalize higher education in Japan. The large-investment project “Top Global University Project” (TGUP) has emerged to create globally oriented universities, to increase the role of foreign languages in higher education, and to foster global human resources. The TGUP identifies thirty-seven universities: thirteen as “top global universities” intended to compete in the top 100 university world rankings, and twenty-four “global traction universities” intended to lead the internationalization of higher education in Japan. Despite the substantial funding behind this initiative, little research has been conducted to evaluate the potential impact of this policy on language planning in higher education in Japan. This paper addresses this gap in its exploration of the TGUP, including key changes from previous internationalization policies. It then presents an analysis of publicly available documents regarding the policy, collected from all thirty-seven of the participant universities. Only documents in English were used for analysis, as these were released for international readership. Findings indicate a positive departure from older policy trends, and the emergence of flexible, unique forms of English language education in Japan’s universities.

Abstract: This paper reports a study that investigated the dimensions underneath the construct of foreign language classroom enjoyment and explored the pattern in which these enjoyment dimensions affect foreign language achievement. To this end, 320 first language Chinese senior high school students, who were learning English as a foreign language (EFL), were invited to complete an adapted version of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale. These students’ mid-term English examination scores were collected as a measure of foreign language achievement. Factorial analysis revealed a 3-factor solution for the adapted scale, including Enjoyment of Teacher Support, Enjoyment of Student Support, and Enjoyment of Foreign Language Learning. Path analysis showed that Enjoyment of Foreign Language Learning had a direct effect on mid-term scores. Enjoyment of Teacher Support and Enjoyment of Student Support indirectly affected language achievement via Enjoyment of Foreign Language Learning. There was no significant difference in the indirect effect of enjoyment of teacher and student support on English achievement. The findings are discussed and pedagogical implications are suggested.

Abstract: This article briefly traces the historical conceptualization of linguistic and cultural immersion through technological applications, from the early days of locally networked computers to the cutting-edge technologies known as virtual reality and augmented reality. Next, the article explores the challenges of immersive technologies for the field of foreign language education. Finally, a set of priority areas and research questions is posited to guide the thinking of foreign language educators over the next 50 years in their understanding of what constitutes immersion—virtual or otherwise.

Abstract: Individual differences researchers have recently begun to investigate the concept of emotions and their role in language learning (MacIntyre, Gregersen, & Mercer, 2016). Our aim is to report on a project exploring English majors’ feelings related to their use of foreign languages. Using a qualitative research design, participants were asked to write a paragraph in their mother tongue (Hungarian) describing their emotional experiences in connection with foreign languages and one of the four language skills. Our database comprised altogether 166 paragraphs from 31 male and 135 female students, with 43 texts on listening, 35 on speaking, 47 on reading, and 41 on writing. With the help of content analytical techniques, the texts were divided into thematic units and coded by the two authors. A framework of academically-relevant emotions (Pekrun, 2014) was used to guide our initial coding and the categories were modified where it was felt necessary. Results indicate that the two emotions most frequently experienced by English majors are predominantly related to enjoyment and language anxiety, and these emotions vary not only according to the skill involved but also depending on the context of language use (in class or outside class).

Abstract: This study examined the relationships between students’ foreign language classroom anxiety and cognitive test anxiety and their College English Test Band 4 (CET-4) performance. A questionnaire was distributed to 921 Chinese university students to understand the nature and degree of the examined relationships. Follow-up interviews with 12 students were used to shed further light on uncovering mechanisms of relationships found in the survey. Results revealed three factors of anxiety, explaining 43.14% of the total variance examined in the quesionnaire items. Means, standard deviations, the internal consistency for each factor, and zero-order correlations among the three factors were calculated. Correlation and multiple regression of the anxiety factors and test scores were then conducted. Results confirmed that cognitive test anxiety factor was a significant negative predictor of language achievement. Interview results did not fully support the relationships found in the survey. Most students did not perceive themselves to be very anxious in their university settings, either in classrooms or in testing situations. However, they did express their anxiety toward English speaking skills in the classroom. The differential perspectives of anxiety revealed from both analyses indicate that a better understanding of language classroom anxiety and cognitive test anxiety can help students and teachers optimize their foreign langauge learning and teaching practices.

Abstract: One of the goals of foreign language (FL) education is to produce intercultural speakers. Telecollaboration can act as a catalyst for promoting language skills development, intercultural communicat...

Abstract: This study examines language learning strategy (LLS) use in connexion with foreign language attitude, proficiency and general school achievement among lower secondary students in Years 5 and 8 (n = 868) in Hungary. An adapted version of the Strategies Inventory for Language Learning questionnaire was used for data collection. The results showed that Hungarian students mainly engage in metacognitive strategies in both years. Differences between more and less proficient language learners' strategy use have also been found. With regard to the effect of LLS on foreign language attitude, the foreign language mark and school achievement, path analysis indicated a good fit in both years. The metacognitive, social and memory strategies primarily influenced foreign language attitudes and marks in Year 5. The metacognitive strategies had a slight impact on school achievement as well as on foreign language marks. We demonstrated the dominant effect of metacognitive strategies and the low effect of memory strategies in Year 8. In addition, metacognitive strategies also influenced foreign language marks. The effect of foreign language marks on school achievement was also remarkable. There was a strong impact on the children's attitudes through these variables.

Abstract: The purpose of this special issue is to bring the theory of intercultural citizenship education to readers’ attention and to offer teachers and researchers working with this or similar concepts the...

Abstract: Currently, there is an increasing trend in the shift from the use of traditional technologies such as a desktop computer towards the use of mobile technologies such as a mobile phone. Nearly all students nowadays own a mobile device and about half of them own more than one. Therefore, students are nowadays well equipped for mobile learning. The aim of this review is to explore the use of mobile phones and/or smartphones and their apps for teaching foreign languages, specifically English, and highlight their benefits and limitations for their use in the teaching of English as a foreign language. This was done by conducting a literature search in the databases Web of Science, Scopus, and ScienceDirect, and consequently, by evaluating the findings of the relevant studies. The findings indicate that the use of mobile phones and/or smartphones and their apps generate positive effects on learning English as a foreign language, especially in the development of learners’ vocabulary and their increased motivation to study. Nevertheless, more longitudinal randomized controlled studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of the use of mobile phone and smartphone apps on specific language skills and knowledge.

Abstract: Of the four English language skills, speaking enjoys a superior status. Accordingly, it should be given high priority while teaching. In spite of its importance, teaching English speaking skill to Arab EFL learners has always been an exacting task for Arab teachers of English because it is considered a foreign language, i.e. not widely spoken or used in everyday interactions. For such a reason, Arab teachers of English are required to persistently implement new teaching strategies to tackle the problems regarding speaking skills in the classroom. Although a number of studies have been carried out to investigate the difficulties related to teaching English language skills to the Arab students in the Arab World, the current study is regarded the first study which highlights the problems in learning and teaching English speaking skill in the Saudi School in Kuala Lumpur where English is actively spoken as a second language. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the common problems which affect the teaching of English speaking skills to the Arab learners in the Saudi School in Kuala Lumpur. Additionally, it aims at exploring the areas of difficulty that prevent the Arab students from learning to speak in the English classes. This research also scrutinises the role of Kuala Lumpur ESL context on the Arab students’ English language speaking skills. The current study adheres to qualitative method, and its data were collected via classroom observations and face-to-face interviews with four teachers of English and four students selected purposively. Findings included areas like learning and teaching difficulties. The study suggested some techniques to improve the teaching quality and enable the students to overcome their lack of speaking ability such as implementing communicative approach in the English classes.

Abstract: With the growth of English worldwide there have been numerous calls for a paradigm shift from teaching English as foreign language to teaching English as an international language (EIL). While ther...

Abstract: The mastery of communication skills is undeniably considered the most important aspect in modern-day EFL contexts. Nevertheless, becoming communicatively competent is particularly difficult for foreign language learners as it is influenced by a number of factors including affective factors. Among the several affective factors which affect foreign language learning especially speaking, anxiety emerges to be the crucial one that has a devastating effect on the oral performances of students. This paper reviews the speaking anxiety phenomenon in the field of foreign language learning. The possible factors that cause speaking anxiety to come into play are described and discussed in accordance with the central themes appearing from an examination of relevant literature. The central themes are (1) cognitive factors covering topics, genre, interlocutors, and processing demands; (2) affective factors dealing with feelings towards the topic and/or the participants, and also self-consciousness; and (3) performance factors concerning mode, degree of collaboration, discourse control, planning and rehearsal time, time pressure and environmental conditions. Understanding the nature of this anxiety and the sources it springs from thoroughly should help both teachers and learners to gain more insights and find ways with which to deal with anxiety in EFL classrooms.

Abstract: This article discusses ideas that will likely figure prominently in the development of the field of heritage language (HL) studies over the next five decades. Drawing on the ideals that prompted the launch of the Heritage Language Initiative 20 years ago and building on the accomplishments of the field since then, we make several proposals for advancing research and instruction to better serve the needs of HL-speaking youth and communities, as well as the nation at large. With this overarching goal, we focus in particular on the ways to institutionalize HL education in foreign language departments and mainstream it in the larger U.S. educational system

Abstract: Speaking in a foreign language is considered to be a challenging aspect of language learning that demands competence and mastery in learning any foreign language. Vocabulary learning verifies to play an important role in oral communication. However, literature lacks the studies where both English as a foreign language (EFL) students and teachers’ views are obtained to provide analyses of the situations in which learners are not showing desired results in speaking. The current study explores the problems of lack of vocabulary that Saudi EFL students face with special focus on their speaking proficiency. It aims to seek EFL teachers’ opinions on the extent to which lack of vocabulary has influence on EFL students’ performance in listening, and conversation classes, and in expressing their ideas and feelings, and especially in speaking skill. A questionnaire was used for the responses from the students and an interview for the teachers to reveal their perceptions about the vocabulary hindrance in speaking skills. 20 EFL instructors and teachers of Preparatory Year Program (PYP) section of a public university and 110 EFL students participated in this study. The analysis of the data showed that both teachers and learners indicated that lack of vocabulary is one of the major factors in students’ inability to speaking English. In the current study, among many other suggestions it is proposed that the inclusion of mobile assisted language learning could be useful way of developing vocabulary for spoken proficiency of Saudi EFL learners.

Abstract: In recent years, literacy has emerged as a key critical term in foreign language (FL) teaching and learning. This essay reflects on the history of literacy and on current developments, in particular those related to the development of multiliteracies paradigms. The article concludes with a discussion of emergent topics related to literacy and language teaching and suggests ways in which research in these domains is posing new questions for the field of FL education

Abstract: This study investigates pupils’ anxiety and enjoyment in the classroom when learning a second or foreign language. The particularity of this study lies in the comparison of two target languages (English and Dutch) in two educational contexts (CLIL and non-CLIL) at different instruction levels (primary and secondary education). While most research on content and language integrated learning (CLIL) focuses on English as a target language, the Belgian context calls for a comparison with the language of the “other” community, in this case Dutch. Data were collected from 896 pupils in French-speaking Belgium through a self-report questionnaire measuring pupils’ anxiety and enjoyment in the classroom, along with background characteristics. Results indicate that while CLIL pupils experience significantly less anxiety than their non-CLIL counterparts, English learners report significantly less anxiety and more enjoyment than Dutch learners. This suggests an important role of the target language for emotional engagement in the classroom and calls for further investigation into the role of target language perceptions. Finally, the interactions with instruction level reveal that while primary school pupils report stronger emotions, the effects of CLIL and English are much larger at secondary level.

Abstract: Flipped instruction has become a hot issue in foreign language teaching technology. In this study, we tracked learners in a beginner-level Chinese Foreign Language classroom to see if flipp...

Abstract: Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) programmes are mushrooming in many different contexts. However, research has mainly focused on their impact on foreign language learning and to a lesser extent on L1 development, whereas the number of studies undertaken in multilingual contexts in which more than two languages coexist is negligible. In an attempt to fill this gap, the overall aim of this research study was to examine the effect of CLIL on the learning of three languages in contact, namely English, Basque and Spanish in the Basque Country, Spain. With this objective in mind, two test rounds were conducted in a longitudinal study spanning one year and in which 285 secondary education students took part. The results revealed significantly higher scores on the part of the CLIL students in English (which represents the L3 and the foreign language in this context) in both test rounds, although a similar linguistic development between the experimental CLIL and the control non-CLIL groups wa...

Abstract: Indonesia is well-known for its diversity of ethnicity, language, religion and tradition. This gives birth to the emergence of local wisdom in every region in this country. Local wisdom is certainly very meaningful because it is a part of characteristic of the nation. Unfortunately, many today’s young people are not familiar, even do not know, with their local wisdoms. This should be paid more attention since local wisdom is one of the self-identity of the nation. One of strategies to preserve and inherit local wisdom is by integrating it into all lessons, including foreign language, taught at school. Local wisdom needs to be in instructional activities of foreign language teaching, even though they need to learn foreign languages, they would not lose their real identity. The application of this concept is not only to equip the students with linguistic competence but also to provide them with cultural competence. This paper discusses the importance, the reason and the practical ways of integrating local wisdom in foreign language teaching for Indonesian students. It is concluded that the integration of local wisdom is very essential and it could be executed by including the local wisdom values into the materials, allocated time for discussion on local wisdom, classroom activities and the process of teaching linguistic skill.

Abstract: Over the past years, there has been a growing interest in intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in English language education. However, not all English language educators in the Vietnamese context and other similar contexts are well aware of intercultural language teaching since there lacks instructional design models to integrate intercultural content into English language classes. This project, therefore, aims to test the effectiveness of a developed intercultural communicative language teaching (ICLT) model. It involved forty-seven EFL learners learning General English at a foreign language center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Three research instruments, namely language test, intercultural competence test and semi-structured group interview were employed to garner data. The findings revealed that after a thirteen week training course, EFL learners’ language competence and intercultural competence had similar patterns of improvement. This project, thus, implies that the ICLT model is effective in facilitating EFL learners’ ICC development, and it can be applied in other similar EFL contexts.

Abstract: Over the years, educational institutions have increasingly integrated Web 2.0 platforms as support tools in the foreign language learning curriculum to facilitate learners’ engagement with the fore...

Abstract: The main focus of this study was to discern the effect of different topics on the dynamics of one of the main variables of positive psychology, foreign language enjoyment (FLE). To do this, we used...

Abstract: Task-based language teaching research has expanded substantially in foreign language (FL) contexts but most research studies have been carried out with young adults in university settings, despite the fact that FL programs for children are on the increase worldwide. However, there is a clear lack of research-based evidence of what children actually do while performing tasks, which is crucial in order to make decisions about appropriate educational provision, to inform policy makers, and to maximize children's learning opportunities. This paper focuses on current research on children in task-supported programs both in mainstream English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) contexts. It reviews studies carried out within interactional and sociocultural frameworks and shows how children successfully negotiate to make language meaningful, how they engage with the tasks and how they collaborate in different ways during task performance. Challenges and future research directions will be highlighted.

Abstract: In many environments in which foreign languages (FL) are taught, the emergent bilingual status of FL learners is often overlooked. The dominant monolingual language pedagogies of conventional FL classrooms do not fundamentally recognise the natural interaction of the first language (L1) and second language (L2) in the learners’ minds. Although the L1 and L2 are both often employed in the FL classroom, their use is kept separate with erroneous connotations that L1 use can have negative impacts on FL learning. Consequently, very rarely is FL learning considered within the realms of bilingual education, nor has the emergent bilingual status of FL learners been recognised as a result. This paper attempts to redefine the parameters of emergent bilingualism to include FL learners in their own right. Grounded in the frameworks of multi-competence and translanguaging, this paper provides further insights into the importance of acknowledging learners of an FL as the emergent bilinguals that they are, and b...