Online learning becomes the means of education during COVID-19. Blackboard is one of the learning management systems that has been widely used before and during the pandemic. This study focuses on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ use and perceptions of Blackboard. It explores and compares EFL students’ use and perceptions of Blackboard considering three phases: before COVID-19 in 2019, during online learning in 2020, and during online learning in 2021. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. A total of 381 Saudi EFL students participated in the study. The results show that there are statistically significant differences in EFL students’ use of Blackboard between the three phases. EFL students’ use of Blackboard increased during online learning in 2020 compared to 2019, especially concerning the frequency of visiting Blackboard and the time students spent using it. Further, EFL students’ use of Blackboard increased significantly during online learning in 2021 compared to 2019 with regard to visit frequencies, time spent, and Blackboard tools used. Considering perceptions, the results indicate that there are statistically significant differences in students’ perceptions of Blackboard in terms of easiness and usefulness between the three phases. Interestingly, students had more positive perceptions of Blackboard before COVID-19 in 2019 and during online learning in 2021. The technical problems that students faced while using Blackboard during 2020 might have affected their perceptions. The study results of students’ use and perceptions of Blackboard are discussed in light of institutional policies and support.

This study investigated the effect of consciousness-raising instruction and corpus-based instruction on EFL (English as a foreign language) students’ development of compliment responses. It employed a quasi-experimental design with 136 EFL university students divided between three groups: control, consciousness-raising, and corpus groups. A discourse completion test (DCT) was used as a pre- and post-test with all the groups to investigate any significant differences between them. Further, a questionnaire with open-ended questions was used to explore students’ perceptions of pragmatic instruction of compliment responses. The results showed the effectiveness of pragmatic instruction of compliment responses through both consciousness-raising instruction and corpus- based instruction. More specifically, significant differences were found between consciousness-raising group and the corpus group on one hand, and the control group on the other. No significant differences were found between the consciousness-raising group and the corpus group. The results also revealed that the students value the importance of pragmatic instruction indicating that it was important, necessary, useful, and enjoyable at the same time. The article ends with some pedagogical recommendations for pragmatic instruction.

Demotivating factors are one of the sources that can reduce students’ motivation toward language learning. This study investigated language learning demotivating factors among high school EFL students. It also explored the educational implications and recommendations for promoting EFL students’ motivation from teachers’ perspectives. A total of 365 Saudi high school EFL students and 18 secondary English language teachers from six public schools participated in the study. The data of the study were collected via two research instruments: a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with students and teachers. The results revealed that subject- related and teacher-related demotivating factors were the most reported demotivating factors for Saudi high school EFL students. The results also showed that lack of interesting topics, lack of activities for practicing English, overemphasis on grammar, and incompetence of teachers were the most demotivating factors for EFL students toward English learning. Moreover, several recommendations for promoting students’ motivation have been suggested by teachers such as technology use, extrinsic motivation and encouragement, and competitive and collaborative work. 

Current theories of teacher education and teaching expertise as a process consider teacher/ student teacher reflection one of the main ways of learning how to teach effectively. Such theories of teacher expertise reinforce the claim that teachers who engage in reflective practices can develop a deeper understanding of their teaching, assess their professional growth, develop informed decision-making skills, and become proactive and confident in their teaching. Given the importance of reflective teaching, this case study focused on exploring pre-service teachers' perceptions and practices of reflection in teaching. Three student teachers took part in the study. Portfolios, reflective journals, observations and discussions were used to collect the data. The qualitative analysis showed that pre-service teachers generally believed that reflection was useful and helpful, particularly at the beginning of their teaching experience. Then, it became just a repetitive routine act. Analyzing pre-service teachers' practices, the study indicated that student teachers' reflection was general, brief, and mostly descriptive in nature. Pre-service teachers did not really engage in effective reflection practices. The study suggested that there is a need for reconsidering reflective teaching in undergraduate courses of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).

The last decades have witnessed the introduction of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into the field of education. This introduction has brought in major changes in the traditional view of language teaching and learning. Accordingly, the implementation of technology through Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and its success has become of particular interest. However, the success of CALL implementation does not merely depend only on economic investments. In fact, teachers play a major role in using technology successfully in classrooms (Galvis, 2012). Thus, it is important to investigate teachers' beliefs about CALL implementation and see whether they practically practice their beliefs in classrooms. Of equal importance is to investigate and question why some teachers do not practice their beliefs. This paper attempts to shed light on teachers' beliefs and practices of CALL implementation in classrooms. First, teachers' beliefs are defined and their importance and formation process are presented.  Then, teachers' beliefs about CALL implementation in language classrooms are discussed along with the factors that affect them. A discussion of whether teachers' beliefs about technology entail their actual practice is then provided. Finally, barriers hindering teaches' practices of technology in language classrooms are explained.