One of the simple facts of life in the present time is that the English language skills of a good proportion of its citizenry are seen as vital if a country is to participate actively in the global economy and to have access to the information and knowledge that provide the basis for both social and economic development. Central to this enterprise are English teaching and English language teach...

Given the fact that developing an intimate relationship between teacher and students creates a safe learning environment (Harran, 2006), and because teacher immediacy is proved to increase students’ motivation for learning (Velez & Cano, 2008), this study was an attempt to explore the relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ perceived teacher immediacy and their willingness to communicate (WT...

Despite its direct relevance to second/foreign language learning, quality of life has been a neglected area within Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research. The present study sought to investigate the relationship between quality of life factors and speaking skill as one of the most challenging parts of L2 learning. To this end, an adapted version of life quality questionnaire originally devi...

Background: This study investigates the determinants of career change for individuals who change their job to become a teacher in vocational education and training (VET) as a second career. The question of what motivates individuals to forfeit their original occupation to become a teacher is important for policy making not only in times of teacher shortages but also in light of the quality of i...

Young children’s relationships with teachers predict social and academic success. This study examines contributions of child temperament (shyness, effortful control) and gender to teacher–child relationship quality both directly and indirectly through the frequency of teacher–child interactions in the classroom. Using an NICHD SECCYD sample of 819 first grade children, four findings emerged: (a...

With the proliferation of educational reform policies and strategies, the need for high quality professional development (PD) has emerged as one of the most important areas for research in education, particularly in determining the relationship between PD and student learning outcomes (Borko, 2004). Although research has begun to focus on the defining characteristics of quality PD, little has b...

Despite its direct relevance to second/foreign language learning, quality of life has been a neglected area within Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research. The present study sought to investigate the relationship between quality of life factors and speaking skill as one of the most challenging parts of L2 learning. To this end, an adapted version of life quality questionnaire originally devi...

Parent involvement in a child's education is consistently found to be positively associated with a child's academic performance. However, there has been little investigation of the mechanisms that explain this association. The present study examines two potential mechanisms of this association: the child's perception of cognitive competence and the quality of the student-teacher relationship. T...