First language acquisition (FLA) is defined as the acquisition of a single language in childhood, regardless of the number of languages in a child’s natural environment. Second language acquisition (SLA) is the language learned after the first language (L1) where the language is used widely in the speech community. According to Houmanfar, Hayes, and Herbst (2005), the first and second languages are interrelated and the history of the first language is a participatory factor in the acquisition of the
First language acquisition (FLA) is defined as the acquisition of a single language in childhood, regardless of the number of languages in a child’s natural environment. Second language acquisition (SLA) is the language learned after the first language (L1) where the language is used widely in the speech community. According to Houmanfar, Hayes, and Herbst (2005), the first and second languages are interrelated and the history of the first language is a participatory factor in the acquisition of the
In second language acquisition, it is a key tenet to explore how individual differences influence on students’ learning. There is no doubt that each person is different from each other in many ways and, of course, being different does not only mean having different learning styles, but also acquiring a foreign language differently. Consequently, individual differences have a strong impact on students’ language acquisition and their overall performance in school, being of crucial importance to take
stated that, at the beginning of twenty-first century English language learning and English language teaching have become the center of attention in comparison to the twentieth century. As Crystal (1997) indicated "English language today has a special status in at least 70 or so countries and is most widely taught foreign language in over 100 other countries" (p.109). According to Selcuk (2009) these days, owing to the fact that English language includes various disciplines ranging from technology to the
have demonstrated comparing the difference of using fluency reading strategies and practices among L1 and L2 teachers and understanding the effectiveness of reading fluency on improving reading skill in different studies of applied linguistics and language learning educational contexts: Goh Hock Seng and Fatimah Hashimi (2006) carried out a study with the purpose of examining the use of L1 as students read in L2 texts, identifying the reading strategies that are expressed most in the L1. Four undergraduate
freshmen on the factors of ethnocentrism; intercultural communication apprehension; language interest and competence; prejudice, intolerance of ambiguity; and expectations of study abroad programs. The authors concluded in their research that levels of language interest, low ethnocentrism, and low intercultural comprehension were the variables that best predicted favorable expectations of study abroad. Female students participating in the research were found to have greater language interest and less
teacher beliefs and practice about language teaching and reading in a foreign language. The finding of this research can bring about insights to EFL teachers, material designers, and educational policy makers since the teachers and teacher trainers can gain sight to develop the teaching agenda. Also, the result can act as an eye-opener in teaching and designing material based on reading strategies. 1.5 Research questions 1. What beliefs do Iranian private language institutes’ EFL teachers hold about
the extent to which the test is useful, a language test must be developed in consideration of three elements consisting of a specific purpose, a particular group of test takers and a specific language use domain. According to Bachman and Palmer’s (1996) theory, there are six test qualities of useful tests including reliability, construct validity, authenticity, interactiveness,
Introduction English as a second or foreign language has gained much attention during the past decades in almost every country. In Iran English is taught as a foreign language in high-schools as well as in universities (Mirdehghan, HoseiniKargar, Navab, & Mahmoodi, 2011). Aside from different language courses presented in different levels of public academic centers, there are also private institutes that teach different levels of foreign language. As a branch of English language teaching, English for
1. Introduction The history of English language teaching is perhaps as old as the language itself and hence the history of language teaching methodologies. Gebhard (1990) mentions that there is no one method which can be said to be perfect for ally teaching context and situations. This suggests that language teaching involves a blend of different approaches which are underpinned in theoretical perspectives, for instance, the Audio-lingual Method can trace its theoretical foundations in both structuralism