The conviction that L1 and L2/FL learners can acquire unfamiliar vocabulary items in the course of reading, that is, that so-called incidental vocabulary acquisition is a by-product of the reading process, has been held by numerous researchers involved in the study of the relationship between reading and vocabulary (Paribakht & Wesche, 1997). This study investigated whether doing two types of t...

  Abstract Autonomy is the ability to take charge of one’s own learning. However, this ability is not inborn and must be acquired by formal instruction (Holec, 1981). Therefore, to offer a systematic approach to the devel-opment of learner autonomy in language learning process, Benson (2001) argues that learner autonomy is described in terms of learners’ control over the three dimensions of lea...

l2 research has shown that instruction in l2 pragmatics is necessary. the current study evaluated the impact of explicit instruction on efl learner's awareness and production of three speech acts of request, apology, and complaint. it also probed whether learners’ language proficiency plays any role in incorporating pragmatic instruction into the l2 classroom. iranian undergraduate student...

abstract the present study aimed at discovering the practices and strategies autonomous efl learners pursue in their endeavor to master english. it thus set out in the iranian context, with 60 efl learners, both autonomous and non-autonomous, as participants. the gathered data through a questionnaire and an interview were subjected to content and descriptive analysis. the results showed that bo...

The present study investigates the possible influence of foreign language learning on individuals’ divergent thinking abilities. Unlike the large body of research devoted to unfolding the effect of bilingualism on cognitive functions, foreign language learning has gained little attention. This study aimed at bringing into attention the distinctive nature of foreign language learning which deser...

Pragmatic competence is as an essential aspect of communicative competence. Does environment have an effect on developing pragmatic competence? Do levels of pragmatic competence differ between English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) students? Most studies have shown greater pragmatic awareness among ESL students than EFL students, indicating that the target la...

This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of a computer-assisted writing program among EFL learners in a college composition class. A mixed method research design was employed combining both qualitative and qualitative techniques. Forty-five junior students in a Taiwanese college writing class were introduced to the computer-assisted writing program MyAccess. After using the program in cl...