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The effectiveness of explicit training on the second language (L2) offline comprehension and production has been demonstrated by numerous studies. Yet only a few studies have investigated training effects on online processing, and the findings to date are inconclusive. The current study investigated the effects of teaching explicit knowledge with input-based practice on L2 English relative clauses learning. In addition, how native English speakers process and produce relative clauses was also investigated. 79 Chinese-speaking L2 learners and 21 native speakers were involved in the study. The L2 learners were randomly assigned to either a parsing (n=27), input flood (n=26), or test-only (n=26) group. The tests measured offline (aural sentence-picture matching) and online (self-paced reading and visual-world eye-tracking) comprehension, oral production (picture description), and metalinguistic knowledge (written sentence-picture matching with explanations), administrated in a pre-, one-week post- and three-week delayed post-test design. The L2 learners attended all test phases, and the native speakers only attended the pre-tests. Between the pre- and post-test, the parsing (parsing strategies with explicit information and practice) and the input flood (exposure to the target structures) group received two 30-minute training sessions. The results from the native speakers demonstrated the expected asymmetry between subject relative clauses (SRC) and object relative clauses (ORC). The results from the L2 learners suggested that the explicit training developed offline comprehension, production and metalinguistic knowledge. Very small improvements were also found in one online measure, but only for SRCs. The input flood group did not have significant gains in any measures, relative to the test-only group. The findings contribute to our understanding about the effects of explicit training on online and offline processing, production and knowledge of syntax. Following the small amount of practice, effects of explicit training seemed to be reliably observable on offline measures, potentially observable on online measures for a structure that is easier to process (SRCs), and not likely to be observed on online measures for a structure that is more difficult to process (ORCs).

Previous studies investigating methods of providing oral corrective feedback (OCF) have found that 'recasting' is the most frequently used, though learners are usually less aware of it compared to other forms. Most studies on OCF have been carried out in contexts with adult learners in classrooms with relatively communicative aims where recasts have been used to maintain the flow of communication and reduce the anxiety that more direct OCFs can cause, with little focus placed on the role of the teacher in the selection of the form of OCF used. Thus, the frequency of use of recasting as an OCF method in less communicative contexts with adolescent school learners is poorly understood, as well as teachers' motivation for providing different forms of OCF. The current study aimed to better understand teachers by investigating their perceptions and use of different types of OCF in the Saudi secondary school context, where sustaining communicative interaction and reducing explicit correction are not as prioritised as explicitly focussing on form, rules, and translation. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Qualitatively, 10 teachers participated in one-to-one interviews, a total of 100 hours of systematic, audio-recorded observation; and 100 stimulated recall (SR) sessions; quantitatively, 207 teacher questionnaires were collected from teachers throughout Saudi Arabia. These methods allowed for an in-depth exploration of the teachers' perceptions and behaviours in use of OCF. Recasting was found to be the most commonly used OCF in this context, despite the differences in the instructional goals (e.g. less communicative aims). It appears that in this foreign language (FL) context, the general patterns of OCF were not wildly different to those found in other, more communicatively-oriented contexts investigated to date, yet the teachers' justifications for their use of OCF may be different. The study concluded with some recommendations for FL teachers practice.

This study was conducted in two UK schools / year 9 classrooms. It adopted a quasi-experimental design to compare PI with Enriched Input (EI), which focused learners' attention on lexical items and / or overall sentential meaning, but allowed an implicit mode of learning the target verb inflections. This shares many similarities with current listening and reading activities in UK classrooms. Progress in learning the target features was also monitored in a non-active control class in school 1. A battery of pre, post and delayed post tests was used to assess the short and longer term impacts on learners' ability to understand and use, in oral and written modalities, a selection of French verb inflections in the present and perfect tenses. Lessons were monitored in all three classes prior to and throughout the study and the pupils' and teachers' reactions to the materials were surveyed to strengthen the study's validity. In general, instructional type alone did not have a significant impact on the pupils' learning. However, it was found that in school 2 (class B) the learners who experienced PI made and maintained statistically significant learning gains in all the measures taken, whereas the EI learners did not. This suggests there are potential benefits of using PI to promote the learning of verb inflectional system with such learners. In contrast, in school 1 (Class A), both the EI and PI learners made and maintained statistically significant learning gains, suggesting that with these learners a more incidental mode of processing was equally beneficial. This may be due to a background school ethos of teaching and testing grammar, as the parallel, non-active control class also made some gains between pre and post test. However, this does not account for the extent of the gains by EI learners in class A in the listening, reading and writing measures. It is therefore suggested that the EI learners in class A, unlike those in class B who were at a lower developmental stage, had sufficient processing resources to interpret the meaning of verb inflections as well as lexical items and/or sentential meaning (i.e. engage in incidental / multiple processing). In addition, it is acknowledged that it is possible that more general characteristics of the normal class teaching in class A (e.g. sequencing of grammar pedagogy tasks) may have enabled learners in class A to benefit from EI more than learners in class B.

This study sought to explore UK primary teachers’ attitudes towards the implementation of activities which utilise and value EAL (English as an Additional Language) pupils’ linguistic and cultural knowledge. Whilst research has advocated such use of home languages, it has largely been conducted in highly multilingual classrooms, with researcher involvement and with a focus on outcomes for bilingual children (Kenner, Gregory, Ruby, & Al-Azami, 2008; Kenner, 2009; McGilp, 2014). However, utilising children’s linguistic and cultural knowledge could also enhance monolingual pupils’ awareness of languages and foster inter-cultural understanding. These are particularly important advantages for highly monolingual contexts that are often overlooked by research in this area. Conducted in a large UK county with predominantly low numbers of pupils who use EAL, societal divisions and poor representation of diversity in schools in the area have previously received national media attention. Data were collected from electronic questionnaires (N = 200) and focus groups (N = 6) with practising teachers as well as pre- and post-tests following a quasi-experimental intervention given to trainee teachers about how linguistic diversity can be utilised in their classrooms (N = 293). The data revealed numerous, often conflicting, attitudes held by the teachers that may influence their classroom practice regarding home languages. The role of English as the dominant language in schools and society overarched many other themes within the data, representing perhaps the most substantial obstacle to any future implementation of such practice. However, results from the intervention with trainee teachers demonstrated how even small amounts of input can provide teachers with practical classroom strategies for using home languages. In sum, the data suggest that without a top-down change, conflicting ideologies and subsequently, monolingual perspectives and practice may endure creating a cycle in which monolingual classrooms produce ‘monolingual-minded’ teachers and members of society.

Within the field of L2 metaphoric competence (MC) research, Low’s (1988) and Littlemore and Low’s (2006a, 2006b) metaphor-related skills and (sub)competences have existed for 29 and 11 years respectively, but have never been elicited or used to develop tests. Consequently, the extent to which they are underpinned by more fundamental (sub)constructs is unclear. With a few exceptions (e.g., Littlemore, 2001), L2 MC tests to date have been limited in scope (e.g., Aleshtar & Dowlatabadi, 2014; Azuma, 2005; Hashemian & Nezhad, 2007; Zhao, Yu, & Yang, 2014). Available research shows that L2 MC correlates with L2 vocabulary knowledge and proficiency (Aleshtar & Dowlatabadi, 2014; Zhao et al., 2014), but negligibly with time spent in an L2 immersion setting (Azuma, 2005). However, the ability of these measures to predict L2 MC is unknown, as is the change in the receptive/productive correlation strength as L2 proficiency increases. In response to these gaps, a large battery of L2 MC tests aimed at eliciting Low’s (1988) and Littlemore and Low’s (2006a, 2006b) constructs was developed and administered to 112 NNSs of English (L1 Chinese) and 31 English NSs, along with vocabulary knowledge and (NNSs only) general proficiency tests. Data cleaning showed inherent, operationalisation problems. Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed four metaphor-related factors, with MANOVA and independent samples t-tests showing statistical NNS and NS differences for only one of these: English Grammatical Metaphoric Competence. Multiple regression revealed that the Oxford Online Placement Test best predicted L2 receptive MC, whereas L2 vocabulary depth measured by the Word Associates Test (Read, 1998) best predicted L2 productive MC. Time spent living in the UK had no predictive power, and the receptive/productive correlation weakened with increased L2 proficiency. Implications for theory, test development, the transferability of models and predictors (e.g., to NNSs with other L1s) and EFL teaching are discussed.

This thesis reports on a study conducted in English secondary schools investigating choices made regarding the teaching and learning of modern foreign languages. Data was collected from head teachers (n = 70) and heads of modern languages departments (n = 119) as well as from students in Year 10 (n = 666) to examine not only the decisions made by schools and students, but also the impact of these choices on students’ self-determined motivation. Whilst there are many studies investigating students’ motivation in schools, many investigating foreign language learning motivation and many using self-determination theory (SDT) this study is unique in bringing them together and linking motivation to choice. The study collects data on the languages taught in schools, which is well-documented, but goes further in examining both the reasons reported by schools for these choices and the factors and stakeholder views which schools take into account when making their decisions. The primary data collection method used was questionnaires, completed principally online. In addition, interviews were conducted with head teachers and students. Echoing previous work in SDT, findings suggest that students’ motivation is linked to having a choice, and that providing a free choice is significantly more motivating than ‘guiding’ students onto particular pathways (often done by ability). It was also found that decisions in schools tended to be made by looking inward at language learning in the school itself, focusing on the views of stakeholders closest to the process such as head teachers, heads of department and students rather than those beyond the school gates, and in an operational, rather than strategic way, focusing again on internal factors such as staffing. Students also made their decisions by looking inward at themselves, and did not report being influenced by the views of others. In line with previous work considering the importance of languages, students’ view of the usefulness of a language to them personally was the key factor in deciding whether or not to take a language. On the basis of this new area of study for MFL, recommendations for practice are made, namely that schools provide a free choice to all students or make languages compulsory in order to increase motivation, and that schools carefully consider the ways students view the usefulness of a language in designing their curriculum.

Within the input-poor foreign language classroom, opportunities to draw on implicit learning mechanisms are limited. Yet little research has explored the effectiveness of explicit instruction for young learners. The current study investigated the extent to which English learners of L2 German (aged 9-11) benefitted from instruction on accusative case-marking (den) for masculine definite articles in German, a problematic feature for L1 English learners due to a reliance on word order when assigning grammatical roles (as predicted by MacWhinney’s Competition Model and VanPatten’s First Noun Principle). Two input-based interventions provided explicit information plus EITHER: Task Essential Form-Meaning Connection (TE-FMC) activities forcing attention on the article and its role-assigning function; OR Task Essential-Form (TE-F) activities forcing attention on the article only ('spot the form'). Learners were randomly assigned to the TE-FMC (n = 45) and TE-F (n = 41) treatments. A control group (n = 52) received instruction on lexical items, but no exposure to den. Two untimed written tasks (sentence matching, gap fill), three one-to-one oral tasks (act-out comprehension, act-out production, elicited imitation), and a metalinguistic task were administered as pre-, post-, and delayed post-tests to assess knowledge of der and den. Both interventions yielded large, durable gains across the written and oral tasks. The Control group made no improvement. The TE-FMC and TE-F learners’ verbalisable knowledge also improved at post-test, but deteriorated by delayed post-test. Under both conditions, learners had developed explicit knowledge of the target feature, available on untimed written tasks, as well as more automatized knowledge, accessible under time and communicative pressure. Fine-grained analysis revealed that group-level gains could be accounted for by a sub-group of learners within each condition, reflecting the influence of individual differences on instructional effectiveness. The findings contribute to previous research by demonstrating the beneficial role of explicit instruction and knowledge for child L2 learning.

Results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) places Mexico at the lower end of a list of 32 countries in the evaluation of students’ reading ability. Research suggests that students’ reading comprehension can be improved by the direct teaching of reading strategies. Previous studies analysing the effectiveness of strategy training have demonstrated that comprehension can be enhanced by making students aware of their thinking while reading, and by teaching them to monitor their understanding. However, these studies focus only on comprehension of texts in English language and it is unclear whether these findings can be transferred to the Mexican context. It might be hypothesised that the direct teaching of reading strategies might also foster the comprehension of Spanish texts but few studies have attempted to test this hypothesis empirically. This thesis reports on a quasi-randomised experimental intervention that was carried out in a secondary school located in a low-income working class neighbourhood in Mexico City. All students (N=177) in their last year of compulsory education were selected to participate in the project. All participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups: a) strategy group (direct teaching of reading strategies) and b) active control group. Students in the strategy group were taught cognitive and metacognitive strategies to test whether this would improve their reading comprehension. The intervention was carried out over a 6-month time period. The researcher taught both groups during the first two months and introduced the strategies. Two Spanish teachers subsequently practiced the strategies with the students for another two months. No further teaching of strategies was provided in the last two months. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative data analyses. Improvements in comprehension were assessed using a comprehension test developed on the basis of material from PISA assessments. A self-reported instrument helped to examine differences in the reported use of reading strategies and findings from this instrument were corroborated with evidence from a ‘think aloud’ verbal report. Reading comprehension was assessed before the intervention and at two and six months. Strategy use was elicited before the intervention and at two months. The results suggest that both groups improved their reading comprehension after the intervention but only the strategy group maintained their gains over time. Students in the strategy group more often reported to be aware of and use reading strategies than their peers in the control group. Both findings are statistically significant. However, a correlation test found no statistical significant correlation between gain scores of self-reported use of strategies and reading comprehension. This highlights the importance of employing multiple outcome measures to assess the effectiveness of reading comprehension instruction.

In some instances, first-time native English speaking teachers embarking on one-year contracts in South Korea have little or no experience with either teaching, or with the English as a Second Language (ESL) context. Further, research on the knowledge base of first-time teachers and how this knowledge base links to their experiences in the classroom is relatively limited. This thesis argues that there are certain patterns and coping mechanisms that first-time native English speaking teachers use in the preschool classroom in order to complete their first year of ESL teaching. It proposes that these teachers are faced, not only with teaching dilemmas, but with external issues relating to ‘culture shock,’ which influence their practices in the classroom. This mixed methods case-study examines four first-time native English speaking North American ESL teachers employed at a private preschool (hagwon) in South Korea over the first 12 weeks of their year-long contracts. The data derive from interviews, journal entries and classroom observations collected in Korea in 2010-2011. Findings, which were coded and evaluated using the software programs atlas.ti and SPSS, suggest that the use of ‘practical knowledge’ (experiences or reflections teachers have based on past experiences) in the classroom is necessary, as little direction is given by the staff and training is unavailable. Moreover, teacher enthusiasm and motivation in the classroom and with administrative tasks is quickly muted due to various cultural differences. Main differences include the disparity between levels of support expected and those offered by Korean staff, a language barrier between Korean and English and difficulties when coping with some external issues specific to life in Korea. Further, findings related to some of the discipline techniques in the classroom suggest that consistency in the classroom is an issue when dealing with instances of ‘specific misbehaviour’ and strategies employed by first-time English teachers are often ineffective in the classroom as a result. Based on these findings it is questionable as to whether native English speaking teachers are the best option for private preschools in Korea.

The current classroom experiments examined the effects of two types of oral corrective feedback (CF), recast and metalinguistic information, during oral production tasks on the learning of English modals (will, can and must). These techniques were compared to an intervention with identical oral production tasks but in which CF was not provided. The study also investigated the extent to which instructional setting (EFL in Saudi Arabia and ESL in the United Kingdom) and learners' attitudes towards CF mediated the effect of CF on learning. Pre-intermediate adult learners of English as a second language (ESL) in the United Kingdom (UK; n=36) and of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Saudi Arabia (SA; n=64) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: metalinguistic information; recast, or task only (no CF). Participants had four sessions within these conditions, over four consecutive weeks, delivered by a trained and experienced EFL teacher (the author). In the UK context, learners’ knowledge was measured, in pre, post and delayed posttests, using a free oral picture description, a timed grammaticality judgment and a written gap fill. In the SA context knowledge was measured by similar written gap fill and the same picture description, but also an elicited imitation, and un-timed grammaticality judgment with explicit knowledge probes. In both contexts, an exit questionnaire (similar to Sheen’s, 2006) was administered after each test to check awareness of the target feature being tested. In addition, an attitudinal questionnaire was used to measure the possible role of participants’ attitude towards error correction and grammatical accuracy. Tests of normality were used to decide whether parametric or non-parametric statistical tests were required. Equivalence between groups at pre-test was checked to determine whether actual scores or gain scores (or ANCOVAs, if parametric tests) should be analysed. The results suggested that both metalinguistic information and recasts can be beneficial for the development of English modals, though effectiveness was influenced by the outcome measures used, the length of time between intervention and test, and the context (UK and SA). Recast and metalinguistic information were generally found to be beneficial in most measures regardless of contexts. In most measures, task only group in the UK had no significant gains but in SA had significant gains. The study indicated that learners had an equal preference for recast and metalinguistic information CF in the EFL context but preference for recast was pronounced in the ESL context.

Processing Instruction (VanPatten, 1996, 2002a, 2004) contains two types of input activity: Referential activities, which force learners to focus on a form and its meaning, and affective activities, which contain multiple exemplars of the target form but focus learners' attention on the meaning of the sentences in which the form is embedded. To date, these two types of PI activity have been treated as one pedagogical technique, and no study has been empirically conducted to investigate the instructional impact of them individually. Furthermore, whether or not PI activities can promote learners’ implicit knowledge has not been addressed empirically. 120 12-year-old Taiwanese learners of L2 English were quasi-randomly assigned to four groups: Referential + Affective, Referential-only group, Affective-only and a Control. Pre, post and delayed post tests were administered to assess learning of the English 'ed' verb inflection. The measures included three tests aiming to elicit implicit knowledge: A timed grammaticality judgment test, an oral picture narration, and a short structured conversation. Following these tests, a self-report technique was employed to check whether or not learners drew on explicit knowledge. A gap-fill test without a time constraint and a written vocabulary test were also included to examine instructional impact. Findings suggest that referential activities are responsible for the learning gains observed and that the gains are held for up to six weeks after completion of the intervention. However, the issues regarding the role of affective activities in vocabulary learning and PI’s impact on implicit knowledge need further study. An implication of this study is that the claims of previous PI studies regarding the causative factors for its effectiveness require more refined exposition.