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Based on an interpretive-constructivist paradigm, this study aimed at probing into the strategic reading processes of Egyptian EFL learners and their relationship with social and personal factors. In other words, it aimed at investigating a) students' perceptions of themselves as readers; b) students' knowledge about the task in terms of reading goals, text structure, and reading criteria; c) students' knowledge about and use of reading strategies, and finally d) students' knowledge about sources of reading difficulty. Moreover, the study intended to investigate the learning style preferences of students and their relationship with strategy use. Finally the study aimed at utilising this investigation for developing a framework for reading curricula planning and design.

The purpose of this case study is to explore the Sudanese English language teachers' perceptions of the use of L1 (Arabic) in university EFL classrooms of the use of L 1 in university EFL classrooms. It intends to describe and analyse what actually happens in university English language classrooms regarding L1 use to find out the extent to which Sudanese teachers used Arabic is used and what portion of the class time is conducted in Arabic. A further aim was to investigate why the English language Sudanese teachers Arabic in their EFL classes. The method of enquiry made use of face to face interviews, classroom observations as well as field notes. Data was collected from interviewing four Sudanese Arabic native speakers who teach English at one of the tertiary institutions in Sudan. Three lessons for each teacher were observed and audio-recorded. Each teacher was interviewed twice. Findings revealed that all four participant teachers think positively about using L 1 in the TL classroom especially when learners' level in the target language is very low as it is the case with the current Sudanese students. They also believe that L1 plays a very important role if it is judiciously used. All teachers used Arabic in their English language classrooms, but not to the extent they thought they do. The most surprising finding is that, apart from one exceptional lesson, none of them used Arabic utterances more than 2.31% of the class time. The results also showed that these teachers used Arabic language for a variety of purposes and reasons. These purposes were both pedagogical and non-pedagogical.

This study explores the sorts of problems Libyan Learners of English as a foreign Language (LLsEFL) learners have in using conjunctions, and seeks to find out whether or not teaching conjunctions in the context of reading can help improve these learners' use and variation of these devices. In so doing, Halliday and Hasan's (1976) definition and classification of conjunctions is adopted as the framework for the study. A quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-intervention control group (CG) and treatment group (TG) was used to collect data. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the pre- intervention results of both groups showed that the problems LLsEFL experience in using conjunctions can be classified into three categories: misuse, underuse and overuse. Misuse was found to be the most common, followed by underuse and overuse. Adversatives were found to be the most misused whereas additives were the most overused. Moreover, the results show that these learners seem to have a limited repertoire of conjunctions and therefore tend to often rely on a small set of conjunctions such as 'and', 'but' to link their writing. An intervention course was then conducted where the treatment group was taught conjunctions in the context of their use in texts, while the control group was taught conjunctions in the traditional way (i.e. the way conjunctions are taught in the Libyan context). The results for the control group showed little or no improvement in using conjunctions. However, post-intervention results for the treatment group showed significant improvements in the use and variation of conjunctions. This improvement was reflected in greater properties of correct use and fewer cases of misuse, underuse, and overuse. More diversity in using conjunctions was also evident, including in the treatment group participants' use of conjunctions which had not been used before.

The principal aim of this study is to investigate the experience of novice English language teachers in the Sultanate of Oman. Within this broad perspective, the study focuses on the critical period of transition of these novice teachers from teacher education into the actual world of teaching. It also highlights the challenges of this transition and emphasizes issues related to it such as the socialisation process and the support required in this regard. The ultimate aim of the study is to develop insights into the experience of novice ELT teachers in Oman from their own perspectives in order to make this transition easier and their experience a more positive one. The study followed the experience of four novice ELT teachers over the course of a full academic year, their first year of teaching. The study adopted a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews as the principal method of data collection. A total of six interviews were conducted with each novice teacher during their first year of teaching. The study highlights the interaction of a range of inter-related factors which collectively shape the experience of ELT novice teachers. It provides evidence of the complexity of this experience and focuses on the importance of considering the novice teachers' own perspectives on this experience. The study also emphasizes the impact of the work-place context on their experience especially on their socialisation process. The study shows that the four novice teachers of this study went through a number of stages in their development during their first year of teaching. They moved from their initial enthusiasm and unrealistic expectations to reality shock, therefore they faced some major challenges. In order to deal with these complications, these novice teachers started by acknowledging these difficulties and then they began their quest for survival. Some of the major challenges that the participants of this study encOW1tered were: reality shock, classroom management, assessment of students' performance, the impact of workplace context, and pressure of workload and time management. The study findings also emphasize these novice ELT teachers' vital need for both the practical and emotional support to facilitate their adjustment into the teaching profession. The type of support required could be internal, received from people around them at school; or external, such as the support provided by the supervisors or the training programmes.

The interest in on line education has attracted many researchers in many fields. This research was also interested in discovering the possibilities of online education among Saudi female university students. Synchronous computer-mediated communication is considered to increase participation, balance participation and provide an anxiety-free context for learners. This study was interested in examining the effects of synchronous computer-mediated communication in a Saudi context. The study's main aim was to investigate what happens when Saudi female students who are reluctant to use the English language for communication are asked to communicate with other students through written discussions in the context of CMC. The total number of participants in this study consisted of 58 students. The investigation included two groups of first year Medicine and Medical Sciences students; each group was further divided into 5 Medicine and 5 Medical Sciences groups. Students were involved in five synchronous computer-mediated communication activities. This research used a mixed methods approach which included both quantitative and qualitative data. The data included student written electronic discussion transcripts, written pre and post questionnaires, and interviews with the students. The findings in this study reveal that the synchronous computer-mediated communication context was one that fostered student participation. The results of this study were encouraging as they revealed that all the participants participated in the discussions. However, as everyone participated, the quantitative data showed that participation was unbalanced. Additional results showed that Saudi female language learners were able to sustain a forty minute electronic discussion mostly in English; although the language that they used was simple language based on the type-token ratio and students' accounts.

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The current study investigated aspects of language learning motivation among Arab learners of English in Israel.  The study involved 385 participants from 6 public (state) schools in Israel in years 9 and 10.  The study examined a number of motivational components including attitudes, motivational orientations (reasons for studying English) and demotivation with a special focus on the effect of the immediate learning environment on each of them.  In collecting the data, a mixed methodological approach was followed combining survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The results of the study suggested that Arab learners of English in Israel had positive attitudes towards learning foreign languages in general and English in particular but possessed rather negative attitudes to native speakers of English.  The participants rated high the instrumental and intrinsic orientations but quite low the integrative one.  Results on language learning demotivation showed that there were two main sources of demotivation.  The first related to factors external to the learner and linked to the immediate learning context and the other included factors that were mainly linked to the perceived difficulties with learning English.  On the whole, the participants expressed light satisfaction with their immediate learning contexts although there were sharp differences among students coming from different classes. Some differences were found between male and female students. The interviews with students confirmed many of the above findings though they indicated that some aspects of the instrumental, in particular, were not applicable to Arab learners.  The results of the study were analysed by considering the socioeconomic and political conditions of the Arabs in Israel and by considering some of the cognitive motivational theories.  The results of the interviews opened new ways in which attitudes, motivation and demotivation in language learning could be understood.

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