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Introduction
Although I have published on a wide range of topics, I am mainly interested in strategic language learning and use, sources of learning regulation, and (innovative) qualitative research. Aside from these interests, I consider it an ethical responsibility to help my postgraduate students publish their work, and I do so often. I am an Associate Editor for the journal System. I taught in China and Thailand for 10 years and consider this practical experience crucial for guiding my scholarly work.
Publications
Publications (61)
Scholarship on language learning strategies has evolved from small-scale, practitioner-oriented studies to predominantly large-scale, questionnaire-driven research. This general shift has been instrumental in contributing to the field’s increased popularity. Robust quantitative studies are valuable. However, many scholars have called for more quali...
A key mission of many applied linguists is to understand how language-related processes work. The inner workings of a process can be explained by theorizing about the underlying causal mechanism that enables the process to unfold and evidencing the mechanism with empirical material. However, the methodological repertoire of applied linguistics is l...
Mobile technologies have transformed L2 listening. These technologies provide learners with an abundance of materials that transcend the limitations of traditional classroom instruction. Understanding how learners engage with such materials is crucial if teachers are to facilitate students' development of self-regulated listening strategies. Thus,...
The present study conducted a synthesized review of the literature on SRL in L2 settings over the past two decades. Drawing upon the Web of Science Core Collection database, this study initially employed bibliometrics to conduct a visualization analysis of 195 research papers on SRL in L2 contexts from 2005 to 2023. This analysis systematically exa...
Across China, English language teaching curricula have advocated for task-based language teaching (TBLT) for more than 20 years. Yet, there is reason to believe that practice varies widely. As such, this multiple case study sheds light on two Chinese teachers' understandings and implementation of TBLT in a public primary school in Chongqing, southw...
This review was conducted to explore the use of digital technologies with young children in early childhood language and literacy education. It centers on peer-reviewed empirical journal articles published during the past two decades. An initial sample of refereed journal articles (N = 631) was compiled from systematically searching the Web of Scie...
This Special Issue aims to focus, qualitatively, on what may be regarded as the temporal turn in applied linguistics.
In System’s 50th anniversary we celebrate the same aims and accomplishments that have made the journal a significant resource for applied linguistics. We also aspire to continue addressing established and cutting-edge research topics, to open for readers new ways of looking at second, foreign or heritage language learning by including new or revise...
In a world where language contributes to a complex and interconnected network of understanding, linguistically oriented careers continue to extend beyond academia. Indeed, linguistic expertise can be harnessed in a wide range of domains, some more commonly associated with language studies than others. In this book, Trester draws on the power of sto...
English-medium instruction (EMI) has burgeoned alongside two decades of L2 self-regulated learning research. In both areas, listening remains under-researched, longitudinal designs are under-employed, and in-depth studies are necessary to unpack learner development. In a context believed to initiate self-regulated learning, the current study employ...
Internationalisation trends in higher education have catalysed the rapid growth of English medium instruction (EMI). A central question in EMI research is whether students can process content knowledge in depth when it is taught through a language that they have limited proficiency in. Previous studies have primarily examined the impact of EMI on c...
English Medium Instruction (EMI) has become a prominent facet of Thai higher education. However, research in this area is in its early stages, with few studies reporting on “foreign” lecturers’ experiences. This chapter brings together the experiences of three “foreign” lecturers working at major universities in Bangkok. Using a qualitative, reflex...
The Self-Regulated Learning Toolkit is a companion resource to the free Oxford University Press position paper: The Key to Self-Regulated Learning: A Systematic Approach to Maximizing its Potential (Reinders et al., 2023). Anyone who downloads the position paper will also receive a link to download the toolkit. https://elt.oup.com/feature/global/ex...
An Oxford University Press position paper on self-regulated learning
Review of Self-regulated Learning and Second Language Writing, Lin Sophie Teng. Springer Nature, Cham, Cham,
Switzerland (2022). 221 pp E-Book £71.50, $89.00
The global expansion of English has raised a call for English-language teachers around the world to frame English as an international language (EIL). This is especially true in rapidly developing contexts such as China, where teachers are expected to prepare learners to engage effectively in intercultural interactions. As such, the present study so...
In the field of educational psychology, self-regulation is part of a well-established research paradigm that has been extensively applied to learning contexts. However, despite proposals highlighting its benefits, some researchers claim that its cross-pollination into applied linguistics has been slow. In their recent Applied Linguistics' Forum art...
As access to video-viewing technology has increased, so has researchers’ interest in understanding how the viewing of captioned and subtitled videos can lead to effective vocabulary learning outcomes. Previously, there has been one meta-analysis on the effects of this type of video-viewing on vocabulary acquisition. However, the variables investiga...
The importance of feedback in writing classes has long been recognised. However, most feedback centres on writing products (e.g., drafts, completed essays) with feedback on writing processes difficult to provide. This paper explores the potential of keystroke logging software (KSL) to provide process-oriented feedback with a secondary focus on incr...
Teaching science through English as a medium of instruction (EMI) is a growing phenomenon around the world. In Hong Kong, this was realised on a large scale in 2010, with the implementation of a “fine-tuning” compulsory language policy. This allowed Chinese-medium schools to adopt EMI fully. Yet, despite such rapid and widespread adoption, an adequ...
International higher-education systems position teachers in ways that require an ecological perspective to understand the complexities of identity formation. Accordingly, we apply a model of legitimisation that combines Positioning Theory and Bourdieu’s analogy of capitals, means/codes, and marketplaces to investigate the roles, identities, and inv...
This article is open access. Download the original here: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-021-00095-1
As the broader field of individual differences in second/foreign language learning has
grown tremendously over the past few decades, its subfields have expanded with a similar intensity. Language learning strategies (LLS) is one such area. Developme...
International higher-education systems position teachers in ways that require an ecological perspective to understand the complexities of identity formation. Accordingly, we apply a model of legitimisation that combines Positioning Theory and Bourdieu’s analogy of capitals, means/codes, and marketplaces to investigate the roles, identities, and inv...
The field of language learning strategies (LLS) has grown significantly, experiencing many twists and turns over the years. Consequently, this study takes stock of, and reports on, definitional and conceptual changes, because how we define a concept can greatly affect its impact on teaching and research. We collected 461 journal articles from promi...
The importance of feedback in writing classes has long been recognised. However, most feedback centres on writing products (e.g., drafts, completed essays) with feedback on writing processes difficult to provide, particularly in online writing classes (OWC). This paper explores the potential of keystroke logging software (KSL) to provide process-or...
Interaction has been established as an important mechanism for language learning and science learning. As such, English medium instruction (EMI) science classes are home to a unified interest in the role of interaction for learning English and content knowledge. While a lack of interaction has been commonly found in previous EMI research, this stud...
... Over nine chapters, Thompson builds an academic foundation (Chapter 1); crafts LX English teacher narratives firmly situated within academic literature on Senegal, Vietnam, Egypt, Argentina, Turkey, Ukraine, and Estonia (Chapters 2-8); and concludes by tying together the underlying themes of teaching an LX, English as a global language, and ide...
Research has repeatedly shown that problems arise when students are asked to link information co-textually and contextually across larger phases of discourse. Within Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), a text-oriented theory of language, co-textual and contextual links are analyzed and operationalized in terms of textual and logical metafunction...
English Medium: During and post-COVID-19 took place on 16 June and shined light on current and future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on English medium instruction (EMI) in higher education. The event was chaired by Roy Cross of the British Council’s English for Education Systems team and featured experts from the University of Edinburgh (Nicola G...
English medium instruction (EMI) is a growing phenomenon in many countries. Some researchers have investigated the difficulties and strategies students use to cope with EMI. However, the pedagogical challenges faced and strategies used by other key participants, teachers, have been surprisingly under-researched. This study utilizes questionnaire an...
The current monograph contributes to a growing number of publications on study abroad. It reports on the lived experiences of eight Arab university students undertaking master’s degrees in the UK. Using a longitudinal, qualitative approach, Hajar traces the participants back to their learning of English in their home countries in chapters 4 and 5 a...
Reading in a Foreign Language, 32(1), 49-60. https://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/April2020/ The incidental or implicit learning of vocabulary has long been a topic of interest in various disciplines. In studies on foreign language acquisition, reading is often the activity that researchers use to generate their findings. Reading in a Foreign Language has...
One of the aims of TESOL’s Research Professional Council, as indicated in the TESOL Research Agenda, is to support the efforts of those new to conducting research. This blog post explores why stories are so important to sound research and how new researchers can communicate their project stories.
This is the pre-print version of an article (before peer review) that will be published in the Journal of Second Language Writing.
A review of Doing research in applied linguistics: Realities, dilemmas, and solutions, McKinley, J. & Rose, H (Eds.), Abingdon: Routledge, 2017. Pp. 262.--to appear in BAAL News 118.
This is a practitioner inquiry/discussion paper published in PASSA: A Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, Volume 59, 236-251. http://www.culi.chula.ac.th/Publicationsonline/current_volume_p1.php
Classroom assessment practices can be confusing for many teachers. Terminology is numerous and elusive. Different types of assessment serve differen...
Despite differing opinions regarding theoretical-conceptual concerns, strategy instruction is generally believed to be a worthwhile endeavor. It is for this reason, among others, that the current edited volume is so important. It attempts to bridge the gaps between theory, research, and practice regarding language learning strategy instruction (LLS...
Book Review
Thomas, N. (2019). Sloganization in Language Education Discourse: Conceptual Thinking in the Age of Academic Marketization. Barbara Schmenk, Stephan Breidbach, and Lutz Küster (Eds.). Mutilingual Matters, Bristol. pp. ix+178. System.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2019.102129
For this commentary, I have been tasked with choosing and describing a technological innovation in language learning, selecting several studies that report on using this technology in second or foreign language (L2) classes, and then evaluating how well the activities used by the teachers/researchers exploit the possibilities of the technology. I h...
rEFLections: A Journal of Language Education, 26(1). 134-145
Speaking is often considered one of the most difficult skills to develop in a second or foreign language. Many traditional approaches to language teaching focus on text-based skill development or emphasize aural receptive skills. However, as English continues to grow as a global language...
This is the first article of its kind in the journal Language Teaching, as part of a new strand titled Pedagogical Implications. In this strand, practitioners are asked to critique a recently published article in the journal from the angle of their own teaching experience.
The herald of the seminal work on language learning strategies by Rubin (1975) and Stern (1975) has undoubtedly impacted how we view learning and teaching nowadays. Such impact was not so much felt in the 1970s, when this work just started. Scholarly embracing of such an approach was evidently witnessed in the very first article on reading strategi...
A review of Griffiths' (2019) The Strategy Factor in Successful Language Learning: The Tornado Effect (2nd ed.) published in System, 82, 181-182.
A review of Isaacs and Trofimovich (2016) Second language pronunciation assessment: Interdisciplinary perspectives. It was published in BAAL News, Issue 115 (Summer 2019).
This article provides an overview of the field of language learning strategies, focusing on definitional and conceptual issues as they relate to strategy use in formal education settings. The article first provides evidence of the conflation of language learning strategies with concepts related to self-directedness. It provides evidence via a corpu...
This is a work-in-progress paper published in Studies in Self-Access Learning Journal, "Special Issue: Papers from the Third Psychology of Language Learning Conference". It presents an updated account of my ideas regarding learning spaces as presented at the PLL3 conference in Tokyo, June 7-10, 2018. I discuss my original thought process and then h...
In this brief contribution, we will summarize the main arguments in Dewaele’s (2018) Why the Dichotomy ‘L1 versus LX User’ is Better than ‘Native versus Non-native Speaker’ and discuss our Language-Usage-Identity State Model, showing how it builds on the core features of Dewaele’s proposal.
In this brief contribution, we will summarize the main arguments in Dewaele’s (2018) ‘Why the Dichotomy “L1 versus LX User” is Better than “Native versus Non-native Speaker”’ and discuss our Language-Usage-Identity State Model, showing how it builds on the core features of Dewaele’s proposal.
This is a book review for the journal REFLections: Journal of Language Education. Thomas, N. (2019). Introducing Global Englishes. REFLections, 26(2), 105-107. Retrieved from https://www.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/reflections/article/view/233127
This is a book review for the AAALGrads Newsletter Fall 2018 Edition. Thomas, N. (2018). Oxford, R.L. & Amerstrofer, C.M. (Eds.) (2018). Language learning strategies and individual learner characteristics: Situating strategy use in diverse contexts. Bloomsbury. AAALGrads, 3 (1). 19-20. https://www.aaal-gsc.org/newsletter
While language learning strategiesgenerally appeal to teachers’ intuition about how best to teach languages, the existence of themis difficult to define “at the rigorous scientific level”(Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015, p. 144). The lack of a “tight definition”(Dörnyei, 2005, p. 188) has generated criticism of the concept, both from field outsiders (e.g. Bia...
The principles of having affordance-rich, interactive classrooms are well used in daycare and kindergarten settings; however, for the most part, they remain underdeveloped in adult English language instruction. By examining practices in educational settings for young learners, we should be able to glean much useful information that can be transferr...
A traditional, or conservative, curriculum is designed based on universal standards, assessment in the form of tests, and usually taught through teacher-centered approaches to instruction. Constructivist theory, as popularized by Piaget, opposes the traditional aims of education and proposes that learners construct and reconstruct their understandi...
Thomas, N. & Osment, C. (2016). Identity, diversity, and the ownership of English: A preliminary discussion. The 1st RMUTT International Conference on English Language Teaching (RtICELT) 2016 “Diversity: Our Identity” Conference Proceedings. 189-200.
Edited by Nathan Thomas, Katherine Kerschen, Mariana Lima Becker, and Sooyoung Kang. https://www.aaal-gsc.org/newsletter-spring-2022
Edited by Nathan Thomas, Katherine Kerschen, Mariana Lima Becker, and Sooyoung Kang. Contributing authors (in order or appearance): Anna Piotti, Xiao Tan, Frances K. Wenrich, Zakaria Fahmi, Sarvenaz Balali, Suganya Rajendran Schmura, Pramod K. Sah, Kevin W. H. Tai, Yoko Mori, Charles McKinney IV, Ahmad A. Alharthi, Lupe Rincon-Mendoza, Maria (Masha...