This research is an exploratory study that investigated teachers’ roles in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum within a Foundation Year Programme (FYP), at an English Language Institute (ELI) in one of the public universities in Saudi Arabia. The study focused on teachers’ roles in three different stages of the curriculum: development, implementation and evaluation. The participants of the study were twenty-two expatriate and Saudi EFL teachers, male and female, with experience in teaching in the FYP. The study adopted an interpretive approach to address the issues under investigation. Three research questions were raised to address the teachers’ roles in each area separately. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with teachers. Based on interpretative principles, data were analysed in the form of explanation and interpretation of the participants’ views about their roles in the investigated stages of curriculum. The findings indicated that EFL teachers had limited roles in the curriculum development process as they participated in only two different curriculum development tasks: the pre-use course book selection and the students’ language needs analysis. In the implementation stage, teachers were more active as they reported that they had the freedom to develop and use their own supplementary teaching materials in addition to having the freedom to adopt the teaching methodology they felt was appropriate for their students. In the evaluation stage, the teachers reported different levels of involvement in the evaluation of certain curriculum elements selected by the ELI administration, namely, course books, pacing guide, tests, the module system and students’ portfolios. Finally, teachers offered various suggestions for engaging them more actively in the curriculum decision-making process in the three stages of curriculum. The study made some recommendations for improving teachers’ roles in the development, implementation and evaluation stages of the curriculum for future consideration.

This research examines the role of mother tongue use in the teaching of English as a foreign language within the context of Libyan Higher education. The present research aims to explore the extent of Arabic use, attitudes towards this use and reasons for it among Libyan teachers and students. Literature within the field indicates that there has been much controversy surrounding the use of the mother tongue in teaching English with shifting views over the centuries. However, recently there has been a swing towards a recognition of potential positive roles that the mother tongue could have in the language classroom. Yet, despite this recognition, the issue is far from resolved and despite research within the field, there are still substantial gaps in knowledge and understanding of teachers and students’ extent and reasons for L1 use, as well as attitudes towards this use. The ongoing debate surrounding this issue requires further empirical research as proposed by the present research, with a focus on the unexplored Libyan context, aiming to add new insights to current discussions. The present research investigates this issue through a mixed method approach, allowing for an elaborate understanding as well as offering greater confidence in conclusions reached. I carried out three studies, in which I employed questionnaires, interviews, and observational as data collection methods with each expanding and adding depth to findings. The results of the three studies indicate that various factors within the Libyan EFL classroom, including lack of teacher training, proficiency level in the TL and course content, lead with some exceptions, to an overall high use of L1 (Arabic) among teachers and students. I also found that attitudes of teachers are mostly positive, and those of students differed according to proficiency level. I reasoned that teachers’ practices could be constrained by many aspects and conditions both internal and external to the teacher. In this regard, I drew out insights to factors leading to teachers’ L1 use within the Libyan EFL classroom, raising awareness of their potential effect on the process of teaching and learning. This highlights the need for future policy change and improvement allowing for a more judicious and well-informed teacher use of L1 based on appropriate, practical, and effective teacher training and continuing professional development programs.

This study examines teachers’ beliefs and practices of feedback in their writing classrooms, focusing particularly on the factors that shape these beliefs and practices. It also investigates junior and senior students’ preferences for feedback and their problems and strategies for handling feedback. It explores students’ reasons for their preferences. Further, it diagnoses the impact of students’ experience on their preferences, problems and strategies. It identifies the matches and mismatches between preferences of students and teachers’ practices. To achieve these objectives, junior and senior students’ data from questionnaire and interview were integrated, and teachers’ data from questionnaire, interview and analysis of teachers’ written feedback were triangulated. The findings suggest that not all teachers’ beliefs about feedback are translated into their practices. The factors shape teachers’ beliefs and practices are contextual factors (time allocated to writing classes, classroom size and availability of resources), teacher factors (teachers’ experiences with feedback as teachers and as student, teachers’ knowledge and their training) and student factors (students’ level of proficiency and students’ needs and preferences). The teachers’ ways of providing feedback are also guided by several pedagogical reasons (e.g. securing students’ understanding of feedback, prompting students’ engagement with feedback, meeting students’ needs). The results also reveal that the students seem to value feedback on their writing. However, there are some differences between junior and senior students’ preferences for the different aspects of feedback and differences between their difficulties and strategies for handling feedback. These results indicate that students’ experience has an impact on their preferences and ability to deal with feedback. Junior students seem to be more dependent on their teachers and classmates than senior students are. The findings also identify some differences between teachers’ practices and students’ views. This suggests that teachers’ practices may not always influence students’ preferences. These findings imply that feedback might be more effective if teachers consider their context of teaching, students’ experience, students’ proficiency level and needs. They also need to work cooperatively for extending their knowledge about feedback and developing their ways of providing feedback. The educational authorities need to offer information resources and training opportunities to enhance teachers’ professional development in responding to students’ writing effectively.

Each learner has a set repertoire of general learning strategies that he or she uses despite the learning context. The purpose of this study is to identify the general learning strategies that beginner learners of English have in their repertoire, the transfer of such strategies to language learning and the predictive value they have in language achievement. It is also intended to discover the effect that the teaching of not frequently used general learning strategies have on learners’ language achievement. Additionally, to identify possible differences in strategy types and frequency of strategy use in low and high strategy users as well as high and low achievers of beginner English language learners. This study followed a mixed-methods research methodology by collecting numerical data by means of a 51-item general strategies questionnaire (Martinez- Guerrero 2004) applied in two administrations. The sample consists of 118 beginner English language learners in a language center at a northern Mexican University. Data were analyzed with the SPSS and Excel software. The qualitative data was collected through twenty individual semistructured interviews; furthermore, three one-hour-forty minute strategy instruction sessions were included as the treatment. Quantitative results show that learners have a more frequent use of Achievement Motivation, Cognitive and Concentration strategies; and less frequent use of Study, Study Organization, and Interaction in Class strategies. Qualitative findings indicate that learners use Study and Study organization and Concentration strategies largely in both general learning and language learning. Qualitative data complement and extend the quantitative data gathered in the questionnaire. No significant differences were found on the type of strategies that learners use in general learning contexts and language learning, which suggests that learners transfer their learning strategies from their general strategy repertoire to language learning as the first tools to deal with language learning tasks. A positive correlation was found between learning strategy use and language achievement test scores. Achievement test scores were primarily predicted by the use of Achievement Motivation and Interaction in Class strategies, and to a lesser extent by affective and study strategies. Strategy instruction sessions had no significant increase in the adoption and use of strategies. Furthermore, high and low achievers and strategy users seem to use the same type of strategies; the frequency of strategy use and how they use the strategy represented the difference between types of learners. Finally, a number of language learning strategies emerge from qualitative data that learners use in language learning. Pedagogical implications of the findings of this study provide a potential framework to help not only teachers but also institutions in identifying and teaching new and specific learning strategies.

The present study investigates teachers’ other-initiation of clarification (CLA) as an action in second language (L2) classroom settings. CLA is a significant aspect of Classroom Interactional Competence and it needs to be studied thoroughly as it contributes to the understanding of the nature of L2 classroom interaction (Walsh, 2011). In the literature there is not a study which solely focuses on CLA in L2 classroom contexts from the perspective of Conversation Analysis (CA). The previous studies are mainly descriptive and quantitative in nature. Consequently, this study aims at unearthing the sequential organization and management of CLA in L2 classroom contexts in order to describe and account for the sequential organization and qualitative aspects of the action of CLA. The data of this study is taken from the Newcastle University Corpus of Academic Spoken English (NUCASE) database. It consists of 10 hours of foundation and pre-sessional English lessons from Newcastle University. The participants are international students who study English in order to proceed to their departments. The data is transcribed using CA conventions and analysed using CA by specifically looking at turn-taking procedures and sequence organization. After that, the types of initiations teachers use to other-initiate CLA are analysed and how CLA is managed through repair mechanism, when problems occur, is studied. The findings suggest that there is a pattern in CLA and this pattern is ordered and organized. CLA basically has four phases and the CLA core adjacency pair is usually a question and answer sequence. In terms of sequential organization, it is usually a post-expansion, but it may also be an insert expansion and this difference has interactional reasons. In addition, basically four types of teacher CLA-initiation are observed in the data: open class repair initiators, type specific questions, partial repetitions followed by question words and checking candidate understanding. A micro-analytic look into the data suggests that these types are linked to the epistemic gap in intersubjectivity between teachers and students. The study also suggests that teachers mainly use three resources to manage student CLA failures: using stronger forms (Schegloff et al., 1977), rephrasing and checking candidate understanding. Pauses and non-verbal behaviour are also observed to be relevant in CLA. The findings of this thesis have implications for L2 teacher training, and repair studies and intersubjectivity studies in L2 classrooms.

In adopting the Conversation Analysis approach as the theoretical framework for this study, this thesis seeks to investigate the multiple other-repair initiation practices that target the same trouble source in second language interactions between L1-L2 and L2-L2 speakers of English. The concept of multiple other-repair initiation in this study is defined as a series of other-repair initiations (ORIs) that are repeatedly generated to address the same trouble source. A review of the existing literature has revealed that the phenomenon of ‗multiples‘ has received little attention. In light of this, this research aims to provide insight into this particular area of research where the dataset for the study comprises either one-to-one or three-party interaction between unacquainted individuals. In order to achieve this, the interactions were conducted using a ‗video chat‘ application of the social networking site Google Plus Hangouts, and the data were video/audio recorded using screen recorder software, Camtasia. All of the Google Hangouts (i.e. video chat rooms) for this study were created1 and online invitations sent to a random four2 participants from selected communities3 by the researcher one week prior to the original day of recording the Hangout session. During the actual event, the researcher was not present or involved in the interaction, all the sessions were recorded by three participants and ―none of [them] had any prior knowledge of, and connection with present study‖ (Jenks, 2014:158). At the start of each chat session, most of the participants were unacquainted with each other and they had joined chat rooms for the purpose of practising their spoken English. Participants in this study were L1 speakers of English from the UK and US and L2 speakers were from different backgrounds. Through analysis of multiple other-initiated repair sequences in English L1-L2 and L2-L2 interactions which took place in an online video chat and out of classroom context, attempts have been focused to explicate the following: 1) factors that trigger multiples, 2) repeated attempts of repair operations that have been employed to restore the same trouble source and achieve mutual understanding and, lastly, 3) to explore the types of action that this practice accomplishes. Close examination of interactions between unacquainted participants in this online setting reveals that multiples have been triggered, not only as a result of linguistic competence (in the case of L2 speakers) or understanding (in the case of L1 speakers), but also as a result of sequential problems and social actions. Analysis also shows that there are recognisable differences between L1 and L2 speakers in terms of the practices in multiple other-initiated repair. In other words, L1 and L2 speakers display different preferences to indicate the types of trouble in their interlocutors‘ prior turn. The L1 speakers seem to have a preference to indicate the problem as hearing rather than a problem in understanding or speaking. This preference has been demonstrated by using some distinctive features, such as ‗apology-based format‘ in the repair initiation. In contrast, the L2 speakers tend to show a preference of displaying all the types of trouble they encountered in their co-participants‘ utterances. Their preference has been associated with exposing the trouble source, not only through employing repeated attempts of other-repair initiations, but also through offering multiple solutions that treat the trouble as understanding. This suggests that there are different interactional goals; that is, while the L2 speakers‘ goals are to exploit the multiple repair sequences as interactional resources in order to accomplish some linguistic functions, as well as interactional goals, the L1 speakers‘ goal is to focus on subject matter. Finally, when talk failed to solve problems, participants employed the interactional resources (affordance) available in this online setting to address the trouble source through written means, even though shifting the current interactional mode was not always the preferred method to repair by the speaker of the trouble source turn. Thus, the findings of this thesis have implications for English teaching materials and also add to L2 interactions in the out of classroom context.

The main aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between positive psychology (PP) variables, namely, self-regulation, mindset, psychological well-being and psychological adjustment, in a sample of Chinese master’s students studying in the UK on the one hand, and the English language learning activities in social and educational settings that they reported using to improve their English language proficiency on the other hand; and how the scores on the variables and the relationships between the variables changed between the beginning of the academic year (time 1) and mid-way through the academic year (time 2). A mixed-method research approach was adopted. Questionnaire and interview data were collected at time 1 (T1) and time 2 (T2). 152 and 167 participants completed questionnaires at T1 and T2 respectively, and face-to-face interviews were conducted concurrently with sixteen and fourteen participants at T1 and T2 respectively. SPSS and NVivo were the statistical tools used for questionnaire and interview data analyses. Analyses of the data indicated that there was a significant decrease in growth mindset and psychological adjustment scores (p<0.01) between T1 and T2. Concerning English language learning activities, there was a significant increase in scores of ‘I join social activities where English is used’; and a significant decrease in scores of ‘I keep a notebook of new vocabulary that I have learned’ between T1 and T2. Regarding perceived language proficiency, however, there were no significant score changes between T1 and T2. In terms of the relationship between scores of PP variables and English language learning activities, more correlations (≧0.2) were found at T2 than T1. Similarly, more correlations (≧0.2) were found between scores of PP variables and perceived language proficiency at T2 than that at T1. In conclusion, this study contributes to our understanding of the complex relationship between PP variables and language learning activities.

Taking the sociocultural theory as theoretical framework, this thesis investigates the process of group regulation. It describes how regulatory mechanisms emerge and evolve in interactions among beginner English language learners considering the complexity of the dimensions involved. In an EFL context, many language learners are unlikely to encounter conditions in which they can practice their L2 and participate in meaningful conversation, even in language learning classrooms. This problem is accentuated when it comes to beginning language learners whose participation in communicative activities is likely to be even more limited. The current study starts from the premise that working in groups generates opportunities for learners to communicate in the L2 and share their learning problems with others instead of dealing with them on their own. The research explores regulatory mechanisms in conversations amongst four groups of Mexican adult beginner learners of English as a Foreign language (N=16). It enquires about the ways in which peer interactions in groups of learners mediate conversation during the completion of three open-question tasks. It also aims to explore the ways in which these language learners exert control over their limited resources to achieve their goals and to solve their emerging problems, without the guidance of a teacher. A mixed method research design was employed with a predominantly qualitative methodology. The main data was collected from the participants’ conversations during their weekly learning meetings in a Self Access Centre at a Mexican University over a nine-week period. Microgenetic analysis of their conversations provides a rich description of the moment-by-moment development of the regulatory mechanisms in play. Secondary data (such as learners' diaries, systematic observations, and group feedback) serves to complement the findings. The study resulted in the design of a new model of regulation, which suggests that during the completion of tasks, learners are confronted with the challenge of finding solutions to problems they draw on the group resources, negotiate the management of the task, and engage in meaningful communication. The findings also suggest that language learners at beginning stages can exert control over their cognitive, affective and social domains to engage in meaningful dialogues while using the target language to communicate, despite their limited resources. Understanding how groups can collaborate and regulate their actions leads to important implications for ELT. It can be concluded that language students need to be provided with favourable circumstances for group work in which they can raise their metalinguistic awareness, improve their interpersonal communication skills, experience support from their peers, use strategies to manage their communication and gain insight into their language learning process.

This study presents the findings of an in-depth exploration of English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ attitudes towards and experience of curriculum change and development at the English Language Teaching (ELT) department in the Higher Institute of Languages in Damascus, Syria. Syria considers English to be a second language and thus the EFL curriculum has not been afforded as much attention as the core subjects, such as Arabic. In the last two decades, Syria has witnessed some major changes within the area of education. Educational change in the Syrian context is seen as an important means of keeping the citizens updated with other events taking place worldwide. In 2009, the Syrian Ministry of Education adopted a change in the EFL curriculum intended to improve the general level of English to facilitate the country’s modernisation and the implementation of information communication technology (ICT). However, the results appear to have been negligible and therefore, and as part of the strategic guidelines of reforms in higher education, the Ministry of Higher Education continues to attach considerable importance to restructuring research in higher education institutions and to establishing a ‘programme for creating appropriate evaluation mechanisms and methods concerning curricula and institutions for EFL’ (2004). In evaluating this strategy by the Syrian government, this study, carried out at the Syrian Higher Institute of Languages at Damascus University, has been guided by three objectives. The first is to investigate how EFL teachers’ use the current ELT materials. The second involves identifying the main challenges faced by EFL teachers in using the ELT materials available at the Institute. The third objective explores how EFL teachers view their involvement in designing a potential curriculum and whether this involvement can indeed contribute to the quality of the new curriculum. By using an interpretive research design and exploratory methodology, the study used semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires as primary data collection methods to elicit the views of EFL teachers at the Institute. Significant findings are highlighted in each of the three areas. With regards to methodology, it was found that many EFL teachers mainly tend to favour and employ communicative language teaching approaches to their teaching. Concerning the challenges faced in the ELT classroom; the study found that various problems such as: lack of motivation; rigid administrative rules; incorrectly-placed students; time limitations; difficulties in achieving goals and objectives; and professional development challenges, all cumulate in predominantly negative perceptions of the current Syrian EFL teaching materials. Finally, EFL teachers have different attitudes towards the design and implementation of the new EFL curriculum. They can tend to see it as a mandatory and onerous task, and often feel that they lack the high-level of awareness and understanding required to design an appropriate curriculum. Mixed reactions towards changing the existing curriculum, needs assessment, and process evaluation are also apparent. These results suggest that any attempts to change the Syrian EFL curriculum would face a number of challenges. The thesis recommends the inclusion of teachers and students in the process as one possible solution to combat problems relating to the EFL curriculum within the Higher Institute of Languages and that of other institutions in Syria.

This study aimed to determine the effects of an explicit instructional treatment, within a study abroad context, for improving the spoken pragmatic competence of Chinese English as a Second Language (ESL) learners in the UK. The intervention in this study specifically focused on the speech acts of requests and apologies, and the effects of differentiated training materials, i.e., paper-based versus computer-based tasks. Instructional effects were compared to a control group receiving no instruction to further investigate the extent to which exposure to the second language environment naturally enhanced the development of request and apology language. The data were captured from 61 undergraduate Chinese learners of English. Two experimental groups (paper-based vs. computer-based training materials) participated in ten hours of explicit instruction on the linguistic and cultural aspects of making requests and apologies in an academic setting. A language contact questionnaire tracked learners’ engagement with English outside the classroom. A pretest and multiple posttest design using oral and written production tasks analysed instructional effects over time, measured against the uninstructed control group. The oral task took the format of innovative computer-based virtual role plays, which were also employed for communicative practice with one of the experimental groups. The data were: i) rated for socio-pragmatic success by experienced tutors, and ii) linguistically analysed, including identifying what were considered the essential components for successful requests and apologies. Results showed that explicit instruction was highly effective, with the group using computer-based tasks outperforming the other groups. Some evidence of attrition was found in the longer term, however. Exposure to the L2 environment facilitated little change in the production of request and apology language though increased L2 interaction appeared concomitant with prolonged L2 stay. The outcomes underline the positive benefits of explicit pragmatic instruction and technology-enhanced teaching, but indicate a need for regular input and practice opportunities for long-term retention of pragmatic knowledge.