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...

One major hypothesis of the Speech Learning Model (SLM) is that if the sounds in the second language (L2) are dissimilar to the learners’ first language (L1), learners are more likely to form new phonetic categories for these sounds after receiving sufficient L2 input and achieve native-like proficiency. As for the L2 sounds that are similar to the L1, learners often equate them with L1 categor...

This paper reports on the continued activities towards the development of a computer-aided language learning system for teaching Mandarin to Germans. A method for f0 normalization based on maximum likelihood estimation and tone recognition was implemented. Furthermore, a method for detecting the pronunciation errors was tested by calculating the confidence distance between the first and second ...

The issue of natural order in acquiring some morphemes in English has been a controversial one in psycholinguistics and applied linguistics. This article seeks to test Krashen’s Natural Order Hypothesis employing the Competition Model among two age groups of pre-adolescent and adult age in an EFL setting. Research on this issue has been mostly conducted in ESL settings and the results have been...

Abstract The researchers have been interested to explore the impact of personality traits on second or foreign language learning. The current study is an attempt to investigate whether there exists a statistically significant relationship between introvert and extrovert EFL learners’ willingness to communicate and ambiguity tolerance. To this end, a total of 150 EFL learners completed the Intro...

The paper reports on the benefits of a computer-aided phonetic learning system for German learners of Mandarin. In the current study seven German first-year students of Mandarin Chinese participated in a test run of the phonetic training software. The students took four training units of 30 minute each within a week where they practiced their pronunciation and vocabulary with the software. A te...

This study applied design research in designing a mobile-device-supported interactive writing platform (ePoetry Zone, ePZ) for elementary EFL learners in collaborative creation. In the first iteration essential supports needed in interactive writing were identified and became the design foundation of the mobile interactive writing platform (ePZ). In the second iteration, ePZ was developed and t...

The principal aim of the online Mandarin Chinese perceptual test is to understand how learners of Mandarin Chinese identify the language’s four tones and its correlated factors. There are many factors involved in successfully learning a second language. Therefore, aside from a learner’s L1 language and prior experience, his/her attitude and motivation also contribute to L2 learning. That may be...

this study examined the effects of cooperative learning techniques (clt) on vocabulary achievement of reflective/impulsive iranian efl learners. from among 130 students at fajr institute in dehdasht, kohkiloyeh and boyer ahmad province, iran, 90 participants were selected based on their performance on the oxford placement test (opt). the participants were then divided into two experimental grou...

this study investigated the effectiveness of individual and collaborative outputbasedfocus-on-form instructional tasks on the acquisition of english inversionstructures by efl learners. moreover, it explored the developmental trend oflearners’ inversion acquisition. to this end, 60 homogeneous efl learners wereassigned to individual and collaborative output groups. they were exposed to textsenc...