Abstract-In this research, it is proposed that student portfolios should be used as a mediated tool in English as a foreign language (EFL) education. It aimed to study to what extend student portfolios could assess and develop students' metacognition in language learning. A total of 53 Thai secondary students of English were divided into a control and an experimental group. Their attitudes toward language learning were assessed through pre-and post-intervention questionnaires. The students in the experimental group were asked to participate in keeping reflective portfolios, and some of them were chosen to participate in an open-ended interview. The data reveal that the student's metacognitive beliefs and strategies can be accessed through a written portfolio, though evidence of change in their beliefs and strategies is only limited. The results contribute to the understanding of metacognition development through a mediated tool in language learning, and suggest EFL teachers and language educators to be aware of the importance of metacognition and reflective skills training in order to reach the full potential of the portfolio approach in language learning to be realized.Index Terms-metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive strategies, learner autonomy, portfolio

This study aims to construct a model to explain Chinese college students’ psychological and cognitive processes underlying their demotivation to learn English. Grounded theory method and cognitive maps were creatively combined to analyze the interview data from 21 college students in China’s universities. This study found three paths underlying students’ demotivation to learn English: 1) the large discrepancy between students’ actual selves and their possible selves might firstly produce motivation for a short period but then could cause low self-efficacy and negative affects. The large discrepancies might also directly generate negative affects among college students; those different negative affects could lead to demotivation of English learning. 2) college students’ low ought-to selves could cause their low ideal selves and then demotivation of English learning; 3) demotivation to learn English might also associate with low value of English learning in college students’ minds. At the end of this research, some pedagogical implications are given based on those findings.