During the last four decades, investigations into the use of L1 in L2 classroom have dramatically increased, gaining widespread attention. The current case study took place in the English Department of a Saudi university Teachers College where students are prepared to be EFL teachers after graduating from the BA program. The case study examined the perceptions of teachers, administrators and students, as well as the teachers’ and students’ actual uses of Arabic and their frequency in English language classrooms. In order to reach a good understanding of this issue, three tools were used: two questionnaires, which were answered by 178 students and 18 teachers; 16 interviews (seven students, seven teachers and two administrators); and 13 classroom observations (generally two classroom observations for one teacher). Results of the three methods showed facilitative uses of Arabic by both teachers and students, despite some conflicts between the theoretical understanding of using L1 and how to employ it in the L2 classroom. The findings also revealed that the institutional policy can play a vital role in using or avoiding students’ mother tongue in the classroom. Some of the factors that emerged in the study were students having fluent parents or teachers holding a specific degree, which significantly influenced participants’ opinions of using L1, actual use of L1 and amount of L1 used in the classroom. Teachers and students showed that they preferred using Arabic in certain situations for specific reasons, e.g. explaining a difficult concept to save time; whereas administrators held stricter opinions against the use of L1. A few negative classroom uses of Arabic, nonetheless, were also noted, for instance, students overusing Arabic while working in groups in the classroom. Other issues were revealed in the study, such as the use of Arabic by native English-speaking teachers who have spent some time in Saudi Arabia. The reasons behind utilizing Arabic in the English classroom and the functions of these uses were also discussed.

Although there is a wealth of literature exploring the benefits of annotations on vocabulary learning and reading comprehension, very little exists on whether this tool is useful to young learners. Studies with adult learners show that annotations are, by and large, beneficial but, nevertheless, can be problematic for those learners with a lower working memory capacity. For these reasons it is necessary to establish whether hypermedia annotations are suitable for young learners who naturally have a lower working memory capacity than adults. The effects of annotations must be examined using a theoretical framework and research design that are suitable for this age group. This study investigates the impact of annotations on young learners’ immediate vocabulary recall and reading comprehension. The research was conducted on 112 Kuwaiti EFL learners studying in public schools at year 4. An experimental research approach was adopted using two treatment groups and one control. A within-subjects design was set in place with a counterbalance method whereby all participants sat for three reading conditions: Treatment A (Picture + L2 audio), Treatment B (Picture + L1 translation) and control (no annotations). Quantitative data were gathered using pre-tests, post-tests and software log files. Qualitative data were gathered through focus groups which took place during the last week of the experiment. The findings suggest that reading with annotations promotes immediate vocabulary recall but does not affect reading comprehension either positively or negatively. No significant differences were found between the two treatments for vocabulary recall and reading comprehension. Qualitative data from the focus group indicated that the participants may have experienced some disorientation as they reported difficulty concentrating on both annotations and text. The quantitative data, however, from pre-tests and post-tests did not substantiate these claims. It was, therefore, hypothesised that participants exerted an extra mental effort which compensated for any disorientation. Further research is needed to verify whether this is indeed the case and to determine what, if any, are the long-lasting effects.

The design of courses for training teachers in the use of technology for language learning is a continuing focus of interest in the teacher training community, and standards have been proposed regarding the skills and knowledge that teachers need in order to use technology with their learners. However, the issue is not only what teachers need to know and can do with technology, but how teacher training courses can be created in ways as to help teachers to both implement technology effectively and keep pace with technological advances. Evidence about the process of developing those skills and knowledge is therefore central to the design of teacher training courses which are both effective and sustainable, in the sense of being adaptable to different contexts and changes in the technology. This thesis directly engages with the transformative processes experienced by language educators learning how to use technology for online language teaching. By examining how teachers develop their CALL competence for online language teaching, it is possible to suggest strategies to improve models for teacher professional development in CALL. This investigation is a case study of 8 in-service English language teachers in Chile who participated voluntarily in a guided online training and development course for Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) during 8 weeks. This course supported the teachers’ integration of theory, practice and reflection and was delivered via the virtual learning environment Moodle. The design of the course was based upon four main components, namely socio-constructivism, transformative learning, the community of inquiry model and the skills for online language teaching. Evaluative instruments such as pre- and post-course online questionnaires and interviews, the teachers’ log files and discussion forums and blogs posts in Moodle were applied to collect data. These data were analysed using Content analysis and descriptive statistics in order to uncover the teachers’ developmental processes. ii The findings of this study highlight the relevance of both collaborative and individual reflection to developing CALL skills and knowledge in CALL teacher education. The presence of an online tutor was also identified as key to promoting teaching presence in the online course. Additionally, the results suggest that a spiral rather than a linear of pyramid model provides a better representation of how the teachers developed their CALL skills and knowledge for online language teaching. The outcomes show that the teachers improved their understanding of using online resources and gained the confidence they needed to apply that technology effectively in their language courses, a process that the study refers to as the development of ‘digital self-esteem’. Based on an in depth consideration of the developmental processes revealed in this study, proposals are made for further research and recommendations are made for improvements to the design of the online training and development course.

This cross-disciplinary study draws on theories of linguistics, second language acquisition and language pedagogy in order to investigate the acquisition of the German passive by learners in a formal learning environment whose first language is English. This construction has hitherto received little attention from researchers, possibly because of the complexity of the available means of expressing it. The study focuses on the two periphrastic syntactic alternatives, each of which has a different semantic interpretation. With the general aim of identifying patterns in the learners’ usage of the construction over time, both synchronically and diachronically-collected data are assembled in a learner corpus and examined in a multi-method, multi-level study which differs from the single case study approach to language acquisition investigations which has often prevailed in the past. A quantitative, electronically-driven analysis is followed by a qualitative, judgement-based commentary. A comparative analysis of data from native speakers of German adds a further dimension to the discussion. Results of the analyses indicate differences between the written production of the two research populations and variation in the sequence of development and usage of the two German passives in the formal learning context which, it is suggested, may in part be due to the role played by instruction.

In the era of globalisation with the rapid development of science and technology, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for language learning has become one of the prominent challenges in language teaching, including in the Indonesian context (Kariman 2005). This study aims to investigate how online portfolios as part of ICT tools could be used to facilitate the learning of EFL writing in an Indonesian EFL writing class. This study is concerned with my own teaching experiences due to the growing demand for teachers’ competence to integrate technology for the purpose of facilitating students’ learning. The implementation of the online portfolio over one semester was examined through action research. Students’ experiences in learning EFL writing using the online portfolio were explored with regards to their writing skills development, learner autonomy and motivation. In addition to the action research, the study drew on case study and ethnographic approaches. As for methods for generating data, this study involved questionnaires, interviews, teacher’s reflective journals, and an analysis of online portfolio entries. The findings of the study show that the online portfolios have been beneficial in developing students’ EFL writing skills. Concerning learner autonomy, the online portfolios have facilitated students’ to develop their metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive strategies, social strategies, and critical thinking. As for students’ motivation, the findings of the current study suggest that the use of a blog as the online portfolio platform and the online portfolio elements comprising self-revising, feedback activities and reflection enhanced students’ motivation to learn how to write. They achieved this by raising students’ expectation of success in their learning, making students feel comfortable in working with their writing tasks, and challenging students to write to a higher standard as their writings were published online, read and commented on by others. Moreover, the study suggests that the success of the online portfolio implementation in facilitating students’ learning of EFL writing requires teachers’ understandings of their own roles as well as their willingness to undertake and develop their roles as facilitators in an e-learning environment.

Identity influences the practice of English language teachers and supervisors, their professional development and their ability to incorporate innovation and change. Talk during post observation feedback meetings provides participants with opportunities to articulate, construct, verify, contest and negotiate identities, processes which often engender issues of face. This study examines the construction and negotiation of identity and face in post observation feedback meetings between in-service English language teachers and supervisors at a tertiary institution in the United Arab Emirates. Within a linguistic ethnography framework, this study combined linguistic microanalysis of audio recorded feedback meetings with ethnographic data gathered from participant researcher knowledge, pre-analysis interviews and post-analysis participant interpretation interviews. Through a detailed, empirical description of situated ‘real life’ institutional talk, this study shows that supervisors construct identities involving authority, power, expertise, knowledge and experience while teachers index identities involving experience, knowledge and reflection. As well as these positive valued identities, other negative, disvalued identities are constructed. Identities are shown to be discursively claimed, verified, contested and negotiated through linguistic actions. This study also shows a link between identity and face. Analysis demonstrates that identity claims verified by an interactional partner can lead to face maintenance or support. However, a contested identity claim can lead to face threat which is usually managed by facework. Face, like identity, is found to be interactionally achieved and endogenous to situated discourse. Teachers and supervisors frequently risk face threat to protect their own identities, to contest their interactional partner’s identities or to achieve the feedback meeting goal i.e. improved teaching. Both identity and face are found to be consequential to feedback talk and therefore influence teacher development, teacher/supervisor relationships and the acceptance of feedback. Analysis highlights the evaluative and conforming nature of feedback in this context which may be hindering opportunities for teacher development.

With the rapid growth in high-stakes testing in recent decades, we have witnessed the phenomenon of large groups of test takers investing increasing amounts of time, resources and energy on test preparation. Their goal is to achieve scores that will enable them to make life defining choices. For many of them, I have discovered that test preparation requires engaging in pressurised practice to achieve a high score rather than engaging in meaningful learning. This research has found the test preparation experience to be a critical experience that impacts on an individual’s life. Until now, we have not known why and how learners prepare to take tests, nor how they construct their identities as test takers, or are constructed by the test preparation. One objective of this study is therefore to examine Korean test takers’ preparation practices for English-speaking proficiency tests from the test takers’ perspectives. The second major objective is to examine how the act of test preparation affects test takers’ identity. The qualitative methodology adopted to investigate these issues included interviews with test takers and observation of test preparation classes in Korea. The data were analysed using coding and thematic categorisation. It was found that test takers tended to study in cram schools, and that preparation was dependent upon instructors and the test for which they were preparing. The study revealed a complex situation with regard to identity construction, related to: (1) personal goal and test preparation choice, (2) English mediated identity in speaking activities and (3) self-conflicts over time. It is suggested that the impact of test preparation on a test taker’s identity may be devaluation of a sense of self. The implications of the study are to raise awareness of the importance of links between test preparation and identity in the field of language testing and teaching.

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Language learning strategies (LLS) have been the focus of research since the mid-1970s up to the present; however, teaching them has not received the same attention. The present study is an attempt to bridge this gap by investigating how they could be taught. The overall aim of the study is to investigate the frequency of LLS and the impact of teaching methods on students' choices of their strategies. It also highlights the role of English proficiency level in choosing the LLS. A total of 140 students, 70 as a treatment group and 70 as a control group, and ten teachers from the University of Nizwa participated in this study which used a mixed methods approach. The researcher conducted a questionnaire to find out the frequency use of LLS employed by the university students and follow up interviews were done with teachers and learners to probe the perceptions of teachers and students of LLS and to find out the impact of teaching methods on students' choices. Students' diaries and the researcher's own observations were used to collect the data and to complement other tools. The collected data were analyzed qualitatively by the Grounded Theory approach and quantitatively via descriptive statistics, independent-sample-t-test, and one-way ANOVA. According to the findings, the students participated in the study were 'medium' users of strategies and that the teaching methods have a significant impact on the LLS which can be taught within cognitive and sociocultural theories, based on a clearly designed model. The study also showed that language proficiency has a correlation with the choice of learning strategies. Students' dairies and interviews illustrated that they benefited from the group work, the scaffolding received and from the learning strategies instruction. Moreover, teachers who participated in the study showed positive attitudes towards LLS. Practical recommendations and suggestions for future research are also made.

The aim of this study is to explore which Jordanian-Urban-Arabic-speakers use English loanwords more and how those loanwords get adapted. Two research questions were addressed in the study: Firstly, what phonological repair strategies do English loanwords undergo in the speech of Jordanian-Urban-Arabic-speaking female university students? Secondly, is there an association between frequent use of English and the use of English loanwords and phonological repair strategies in the speech of the respondents? A verbal questionnaire was used to collect the data from two groups of respondents; respondents who specialize in English and those who do not. The data consist of transcripts of audio-recordings of 60 respondents. The data were analysed in the framework of three theories: Odden’s (2005) presentation of Distinctive Feature Theory, Hayes’ (1989) Moraic Theory, and Hayes’ (1995) Metrical Stress Theory. The first theory dealt with segmental issues in the data, the second theory helped analyse the moraic structures of the data, and the third helped capture the metrical structures of the data and lexical stress shift. The findings show that the fashion in which the phonological repair strategies of syncope, epenthesis, glottal stop [ʔ] prosthesis, closed syllable shortening, de-clustering, vowel lengthening, vowel shortening, gemination, and word primary stress shift occur in loanwords has been clearly defined in the Phonological Repair Principle (PRP). According to the PRP, which has been proposed in the present study, repairs occur at the segmental level, which is defined by the Prosodic Hierarchy (PH) as the lowest phonological level, in favour of satisfying phonological constraints at higher phonological levels in the PH. It has been found that frequent use of English and the use of both loanwords and the strategies of consonantal substitution and epenthesis are correlated. There is a clear difference in the percentages of the pronunciations of the loanwords and the use of the strategies in the speech of the two groups; the respondents who specialise in English are more likely to use the loanwords and to maintain English phonemes and final clusters in the loanwords than the respondents who do not. According to the Substitution Optimality Principle (SOP), which has been proposed in the study, the strategy of consonantal substitution applies in a predictable fashion: a consonantal phoneme constitutes an optimal substitute if it shares more phonological features with the foreign one than does any other consonantal phoneme; redundant phonological features do not count. In this way, the optimal substitute for the foreign consonantal phoneme has been clearly defined. The study has drawn on a number of distinctive-feature-based rules, and moraic and metrical rules, which are related to the strategies that the loanwords undergo. The findings of the present study have been discussed in relation to other previous work on loanword phonology, and evaluation of the present study and previous research literature has been provided. The findings have added to the literature of loanword phonology and helped fill gaps. Recommendations for further studies have been suggested.