Abstract-For second language acquisition (SLA), having access to language input is critical. Although the theories of SLA attach different importance to the role of language input, they all acknowledge the need for it (Ellis, 2008). Learners of English as a second (ESL) or a foreign language (EFL) are always encouraged to avail themselves of all forms of authentic language input within the classroom and beyond. In contexts with limited social interaction in the English language, however, various audiovisual technologies are available to be utilized as sources of authentic language input for enhancing language learning in both formal and informal learning settings. In the same line, the present aims at considering the role of language input for SLA development in informal setting.Index Terms-second language acquisition, informal setting, authentic language input I. LANGUAGE INPUT AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITIONIn this section, the role of language input in SLA is discussed. This is done based on: firstly, the importance which is given to the role of input in various theories of language learning, and secondly, some frameworks for SLA such as those introduced by Gass and Selinker (1994) and Ellis (1997) with the direct focus on language input for SLA. Additionally, Krashen's input hypothesis is followed by critiques of his hypothesis.The role of input in second language acquisition There are many internal as well as external factors which influence SLA. Among them, the language input that learners receive in SLA is one of the external factors which plays a fundamental role. Corder (1967) is one of the pioneers among SLA researchers who underscored the importance of language input for SLA by drawing a distinction between input and intake. According to Corder, language input refers to what is available to be utilized by language learners for SLA which should be differentiated from intake which is that part of the input which is comprehended by the language learners.The review of the literature on language input and SLA reveals that much work in this area of research has been concerned with the importance, the role, and the processing of linguistic input (Doughty & Long, 2003;Ellis, 1994;Ellis, 1997;Gass & Selinker, 1994;Gass, 1997). From a large pool of research, it can be deduced that SLA simply cannot take place in a vacuum without considering having exposure to some sort of language input (Gass, 1997).However, while the importance and the role of language input have been advocated by various theories of language learning, there has been a difference between those theories which attribute a small or no role to language input and those attributing it a more important role. According to Ellis (1994;2008), SLA theories attach different importance to the role of input in the language acquisition process but they all acknowledge the need for language input. In many SLA theories, language input is considered as being a highly essential factor while in other theories it has been given the secondary role. In fact, what ha...

The present paper focuses on the role of audio/visual mass media news in language learning. In this regard, the two important issues regarding the selection and preparation of TV news for language learning are the content of the news and the linguistic difficulty. Content is described as whether the news is specialized or universal. Universal contexts are likely to be more comprehensible than specialized contexts. As for the linguistic difficulty, it consists of acoustic, lexical/syntactic and text-type difficulties. Accordingly, audiovisual texts with greater iconic combinations are likely to be more comprehensible for language learning. Moreover, the present paper provides empirical evidence of the role of exposure to news from mass media on speaking fluency.

Numerous studies are available on L2 learners' strategy use; however, there is no study investigating the Iranian tertiary level EFL learners' listening strategy use. The present paper reports the findings of a cross-sectional study that explored a group of Iranian EFL learners' (n = 100) use of listening comprehension strategies. The instrument that was used for collecting the data was called the Listening Strategy Use Questionnaire (LSUQ) by Nowrouzi, Tam, Nimehchisalem, and Zareian (2014). The instrument divides listening strategies into cognitive, metacognitive, and socio-affective categories. Based on the results, on average the respondents reported low levels of self-perceived use of cognitive, metacognitive, and socio-affective strategies. The results indicate a serious need to focus more on the students' listening comprehension skills in general and their listening strategies in particular.

Learning vocabulary forms a major part for any language learner. Apart from direct teaching of vocabulary, language teachers are always searching for ways to increase their students' vocabulary to enable them to use the language more effectively. Therefore, this study sets out to investigate whether the use of computer textual glosses can aid vocabulary development. With a sample of 99 English as second language students, this study examines whether a computer-aided textual glosses embedded in a narrative text is able to aid students in developing their vocabulary knowledge. Using ANOVA and descriptive statistics, it was found out that students with different language proficiency levels used the gloss in a similar pattern. The similarity was that there were gains after immediate use of the glosses but the gains were not maintained over time. High proficiency students made the most gains followed by mid and low proficiency students. What can be learnt from this study is that computer textual glosses can be used to develop students' vocabulary knowledge in the short term. However, this should be supplemented with other vocabulary teaching/learning activities for more robust vocabulary knowledge development. The implications of measuring vocabulary knowledge by using vocabulary tests in the study could have resulted in the students having more gain in productive vocabulary knowledge compared to receptive vocabulary.

The teaching of English in China is increasingly focussing on reading (Bao, 2006) and in recent research, metacognitive aspect of reading strategies has been gaining interest in the field of L2 reading (Zhang & Wu, 2009). This study investigates Chinese EFL high school students' metacognitive awareness of reading strategies and its relationship with students' actual reading performance. 118 Chinese high school students were involved in the study. Data were collected through the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) and one internal school-based reading exam. One bivariate regression test and one multiple regression test through SPSS were applied to examine the relationship between metacognitive awareness of reading strategies and students' actual reading performance. The results revealed that the metacognitive awareness of reading strategies as measured by SORS was positively associated with students' actual reading performance. Further individual factor analysis showed that Global strategy was a significant predictor of reading performance. This study proved the significant role of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies in EFL high school students' reading performance.