Written witness statements are a unique source for the study of high-stakes textual deception. To date, however, there is no distinction in the way that they and other forms of verbal deception have been analysed, with written statements treated as extensions of transcribed versions of oral reports. Given the highly context-dependent nature of cues, it makes sense to take the characteristics of...

BACKGROUND Expiratory flow limitation (EFL) is seen in some patients presenting with a COPD exacerbation; however, it is unclear how EFL relates to the clinical features of the exacerbation. We hypothesized that EFL when present contributes to symptoms and duration of recovery during a COPD exacerbation. Our aim was to compare changes in EFL with symptoms in subjects with and without flow-limit...

As most traditional classroom environments in English as Foreign Language (EFL) still restrict learners’ collaboration and interaction in college writing classes, today, the majority of EFL learners are accessing Social Networking Sites (SNSs) as online communities of practice (CoPs) for adopting informal collaborative learning as a way of practicing English beyond the classroom. This study aim...

It is generally acknowledged that motivation plays a critical role in second-language (L2) reading. The technology-enhanced learning environment, specifically the computer-assisted reading environment as an interactive tool with distinctive attributes, is said to motivate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners to make more sustained efforts in online reading and show greater perseverance....

This paper considers theoretical issues and practical applications of teaching critical thinking in Asian EFL contexts (e.g., Japanese and Korean). In the first section, I present a definition of ‘critical thinking’ and argue that misconceptions regarding this definition have limited the teaching of critical thinking skills in Asian EFL contexts. The second section focuses on a specific critica...

Most research on second language and culture concentrates on learning the target culture in order to better understand the second language. This survey study looks at culture from a different perspective i.e., from the learners’ own culture point of view. It focuses on the relationship that exists between attachment to one’s home culture and comprehending written texts in a foreign language. Th...

A major gene for the number of days from sowing to appearance of the first flower (time of flowering) was identified in a cross between an extrashort duration chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) variety, ICCV 2, and a medium duration variety, JG 62. The F2 population was advanced through the single-seed-descent method to develop random recombinant inbred lines (RILs). Time of flowering was recorded f...

Oral language proficiency is vital for language learners because it is eventually the skill they mostly use (Warschauer, 1997). Oral interactions account for the bulk of our everyday communications that remain the primary mode of discourse through out the world (Peregoy & Boyle, 2005). It is without question that the development of oral language skill in second or foreign language learners is o...

Like the sequence of words in written language, comic book page layouts direct images into a deliberate reading sequence. Conventional wisdom would expect that comic panels follow the order of text: left-to-right and down - a "Z-path" - though several layouts can violate this order, such as Gestalt groupings of panels that deny a Z-path of reading. To examine how layouts pressure readers to cho...