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This study examines the collaboration patterns of authors, affiliations, and countries/regions in articles published in the top fifteen Social Science Citation Index–indexed linguistics journals from 2014 to 2023. Social network analysis is conducted through Gephi and VOSviewer to analyze the collaboration patterns, research foci, and trends of 4,731 co-authored articles using quantitative data and qualitative interpretations. The findings indicate a robust increase in academic collaboration in the top fifteen linguistics journals over the decade, growing by over 10% to encompass almost 80% of the 6,417 articles. Pair collaborations dominate at the author, affiliation, and country levels. Also, the collaboration networks of authors, affiliations, and countries all possess small-world properties, facilitating smooth information flow. Despite their inclusion in the prolific country list, non-native English-speaking Asian countries and regions like China, Japan, Hong Kong (China), and Taiwan (China) lag behind Anglo countries in academic leadership. Major research themes include second language acquisition, second language writing, and English as a foreign language, with significant trends towards sociocultural and multilingual approaches and the broadened application of technology-enhanced measures. The implications and limitations of the findings are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

English is used as a first language, foreign language and second language. In India teaching English as a Second Language has always been a challenging and interesting area of research. Today, learning English as a Second Language is rather chaotic because of the disorder in the LSRW learning sequence. Listening is the primary tool in language acquisition. When listening is enhanced, all the other three skills can be acquired naturally. Also, Creativity is an important aspect in an ESL classroom. So, in connection with this, a good language teacher should also act as a researcher. Action Research is a self-reflective, critical, and systematic approach to exploring one's own teaching context. The main aim of conducting action research is to identify a significant problem among the language learners. The steps involved in Action Research are - Planning, Action, Observation and Reflection. There are three categories in teacher-research orientation, and they are Descriptive, Interactive and Ideological. Action Research is used to create knowledge and implement change, which will thereby improve practice and performance. Thus, Action Research is conducted by teachers and for teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attaining a high level of proficiency in speaking a second language (L2) is a formidable challenge, particularly in many English as a foreign language (EFL) settings, such as Taiwan. In such environments, students often encounter limited opportunities for English-speaking practice within formal classroom settings due to the prevalence of form-focused instruction. Nonetheless, certain students manage to achieve elevated levels of proficiency. This exploratory investigation aims to uncover the strategies employed by such learners beyond formal classroom instruction and identify key factors contributing to high proficiency. Individual studies have underscored the importance of metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive strategies, and practice in L2 learning. To explore how these elements operate synergistically to facilitate self-regulated learning of L2 speaking ability, this exploratory study constructs a model, Metacognitive Practice Speaking Strategies (MPSSs), to delineate their interconnections. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 Taiwanese students, aged 15–25. By comparing the use of MPSSs among speakers of different proficiency levels, key factors contributing to high proficiency are identified. It communicates that the strategy use of high proficiency speakers aligns with established theories of second language (L2) speaking. Given that they received no instruction on these theories, their strategies were presumably guided by task beliefs developed from their initial, use-focused education. Alongside their strategic knowledge, these beliefs led them to perform use-focused MPSSs. The study's context shares similarities with numerous EFL contexts, making the findings broadly applicable to a wide range of L2 learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of Positive Psychology in second language acquisition has placed greater emphasis on the vital role of engagement in learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Although previous research has established that EFL learners' engagement is affected by ideal L2 self, boredom, and grit respectively, sporadic studies have attempted to address the simultaneous link between these factors and engagement. To fill the gap, this study aims to examine the association between the ideal L2 self and engagement among EFL learners, with a special focus on the mediating role of grit and boredom in the relationship. A total of 466 EFL learners were enrolled in two public universities in Northern China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results revealed that grit positively predicted engagement and mediated the relationship between the ideal L2 self and engagement. Moreover, boredom negatively predicted engagement and acted as a mediator between the ideal L2 self and engagement. However, ideal L2 self did not directly predict engagement. These findings contribute to the current knowledge by elucidating the complex relationships between the three factors and engagement, which can provide insights for pedagogical practices and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposed a three-step writing conference in which foreign/second language (L2) students, under the guidance of their writing instructor, first fastened their attentional focus on a form-related error, analysed a collection of standard L2 samples to deduce the underlying knowledge, and then planned for their error correction as well as future learning of this knowledge. The ultimate goal of this formative assessment practice was to scaffold student engagement with written corrective feedback (WCF). Using a between-group experiment design, the present study compared the effects on the success rate of error correction and L2 uptake of the above writing conference (n = 14) against those brought about by a typical Teacher–Student (n = 12) and a typical Student–Student one (n = 12). Research participants were 38 intermediate learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) recruited from three intact classes at a language-learning center in Vietnam. The suggested writing conference was indeed found to yield better error correction and L2 uptake than the other counterparts. A closer look at the students' mental engagement with WCF revealed that such engagement was moderately correlated with their L2 uptake. These findings altogether suggest that student engagement with WCF should not be taken for granted or, in other words, this engagement should be contingently supported by the writing instructor in order to foster learning from WCF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilises a holistic approach of positive psychology (PP) in the second language acquisition (SLA) domain to test a model of willingness to communicate in English language (L2WTC) among 328 Saudi learners. The model examines how potential connections among learners' negative emotions (anxiety and boredom), positive emotions (enjoyment and grit), and motivation have a positive effect on learner L2WTC. Questionnaire data were analyzed using a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis to identify and verify direct, indirect, and total effects in the model. The final model adequately fit the data. All learner emotions except boredom significantly directly predicted L2WTC. The strongest direct predictors of L2WTC were motivation, followed by anxiety. Grit directly affected motivation, and enjoyment mediated the relationship between motivation and L2WTC. Significant negative direct paths were detected from anxiety to motivation, enjoyment, and grit, and indirect paths from anxiety to L2WTC were shown through the mediation of these variables. Anxiety had the largest total effect on L2WTC, followed by motivation. These findings support the feasibility of a holistic perspective of PP in the SLA by which positive and negative emotional/affective variables can inherently interact to account for L2WTC via classroom pedagogical interventions for emotion regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second language (L2) learners hold different learning beliefs that influence their interpretation of classroom experiences and their L2 learning process. Developing a thorough understanding of such beliefs is therefore imperative. This article reports the representations of Iranian English‐as‐a‐foreign‐language (EFL) learners' beliefs about L2 speaking fluency as revealed by elicited metaphors and follow‐up interviews. A group of 24 Iranian EFL learners majoring in teaching English as a foreign language were asked to conceptualize L2 speaking fluency through metaphor. Learners' metaphorical representations were examined using metaphor analysis and organized into eight metaphor themes through thematic analysis. The findings suggest that metaphor is a suitable tool for gaining insight into learners' beliefs about L2 speaking fluency and capturing its complex, multifaceted nature. Various aspects were conceptualized, which revealed that learners had a deep understanding of L2 speaking fluency and could represent its multifaceted nature in the learning process. Additionally, this research sheds light on contextual factors that might contribute to learners' beliefs. The findings fill a gap in research concerning EFL learners' beliefs about L2 speaking fluency and have useful implications for L2 teachers, learners, and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collocations (e.g., target audience, highly controversial, abject poverty, abysmal failure, extenuating circumstances, obviate the need) have continued to attract a lot of attention from corpus linguists, applied linguists, and second language acquisition (SLA) researchers, due to their ubiquitousness in academic English. Furthermore, the effective use of collocations has been perceived to be of paramount importance to English as a second (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' language proficiency, especially as evidenced from the empirical studies that have emerged copiously during the last three decades or so. However, mastering collocations is considered as one of the most formidable aspects of vocabulary acquisition, especially for adult ESL/EFL learners. Therefore, in the general domain of vocabulary learning and teaching, the issue of 'how to address collocations' has remained a point of contention among researchers and pedagogically-oriented scholars, not to mention its status as a persistent professional concern for many English language teaching (ELT) teachers, particularly in EFL contexts. The most perennial question raised in this regard has been the extent to which L2 learners will learn collocations in an implicit laissez-faire atmosphere of enriched surrounding contexts -- i.e., incidental learning -- than in an instructed sequence of direct attention to them -- i.e., explicit instruction. In this narrative overview, I provide theoretical, linguistic, and pedagogical evidence which buttress several arguments for the explicit teaching of collocations in EFL contexts. These arguments are used as evidence against the claims made by Reynolds (2019, 2022) against teaching collocations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the influence of a 10-week teacher emotionally supportive quasi-experimental intervention on the perceived teacher emotional support (PTES), basic psychological needs (BPNs) satisfaction, emotions of anxiety and enjoyment, and emotional engagement of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Strategies targeting the three dimensions of TES, that is, positive climate, teacher sensitivity, and regard for students' perspectives, were deployed exclusively in an experimental group (N = 63), which was compared to a control group (N = 58) in which a more typical teaching approach was followed. Classroom observations and questionnaires were used to capture three time points of changes in learner behaviors. The results of multivariate analyses revealed significant positive changes over time in students' self-reported PTES behaviors, BPNs satisfaction, emotions, emotional engagement and observed behaviors solely in the experimental condition. Learner BPNs satisfaction showed the largest group differences by mid-term treatment. With the continuous deployment of the treatment, the between-group differences peaked toward the end of the experiment for all learner behaviors. The largest variance at this stage was in learner PTES. These experimentally driven findings provide compelling evidence for the advantages of TES pedagogical interventions for second language learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of two learner-related factors on English as a first language (L1E) (n = 20) and English as a foreign language (EFL) (n = 20) learners' incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading an authentic novel. Central to the study was the participants' reading of the novel: A Clockwork Orange by British novelist Anthony Burgess. The novel contains slovos, which are words from nadsat, a foreignized argot used by the teenage gang members in the novel. Two unannounced tests followed the reading to measure the participants' word meaning recall and recognition of target words. Regression analyses revealed that reading speed was a robust factor that affected both the L1E and the EFL learners' acquisition of both word meaning recall and recognition; apparently, the faster the reading, the more words the readers acquired. However, positive affect, measured as reading enjoyment, did not turn out to be a factor in word acquisition. The findings indicate that the cognitive factor, i.e., reading speed, overrides the positive affect of reading enjoyment in determining L1E and EFL learners' incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading. This research concludes with a discussion of the pedagogical implications of repeated and extensive reading, which promote the development of reading speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the specific contributions of derivational, inflectional, and compounding morphological awareness to reading comprehension through decoding and syntactic awareness. A total of 181 Grade 3 and 4 Chinese primary school children learning English as a second language in Hong Kong participated in this study. The results of structural equational modeling show that all the three types of morphological awareness contributed to reading comprehension through decoding and syntactic awareness, and they explained about 66% of the variance in decoding and 47.2% of the variance in syntactic awareness. Derivational and inflectional morphological awareness affected decoding more strongly than compounding morphological awareness. Derivational and inflectional morphological awareness had stronger effects on decoding than on syntactic awareness, whereas compounding morphological awareness had stronger effect on syntactic awareness than on decoding. In addition, derivational and inflectional morphological awareness had unique direct effects on reading comprehension beyond decoding and syntactic awareness. The unique effect of inflectional morphological awareness was stronger than that of derivational morphological awareness. These results advance our understanding of the multiple roles of the three types of morphological awareness in reading comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

While peer feedback has been a staple in second and foreign language (FL) writing for decades, most research explicitly examines the role of second language (L2) proficiency in written feedback among reviewer–writer pairs. The impact of L2 proficiency pairing in oral peer feedback remains under‐researched as does research on peer review among writer–reviewer triads, a commonly practiced peer review activity in FL classrooms. In the present study, 62 undergraduates participated in an oral peer feedback group discussion in an English as an FL writing context, providing and receiving oral peer feedback on two drafts of an argumentative essay topic. A rotary triadic role design was adopted to allow each group member to experience the role of both writer and reviewer, receiving two reviewers’ oral feedback as a writer and giving feedback for two writers as a reviewer in the same group. Self‐initiated L2 proficiency pairing was then examined from a reviewer–writer perspective in relation to the quantity and quality of oral feedback given and incorporated. Results showed significant differences in feedback quantity and uptake between different reviewer–writer pairings. Writers of high proficiency levels would receive and incorporate significantly more oral feedback when paired with reviewers of the same proficiency levels, compared to when paired with reviewers of different proficiency levels. Low‐level reviewers offered significantly more total oral feedback for low‐level writers than high‐level writers. Pedagogical implications could then be drawn as to how to pair learners of different L2 proficiency levels in oral peer feedback activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the present study is to examine the effects of immediate and delayed corrective feedback (CF) on L2 learning as well as to explore whether individual differences in working memory (WM) have differential associations with the two CF conditions. To this end, 84 EFL learners were randomly assigned into two experimental conditions and one control group. During three treatment sessions, the participants of the immediate feedback group received CF (operationalized as prompts) immediately after making errors while doing a communicative activity. The participants in the delayed feedback group performed similar tasks but received CF at the end of the communicative task. Learners' development was measured on three occasions before and after the treatment sessions through two testing instruments, an oral production task (OPT) and an error correction test (ECT). The learners also completed a WM measurement task known as operation span. The results indicated that both immediate and delayed CF equally contributed to the development of L2 knowledge. Furthermore, hierarchical regression analysis showed a significant association between CF timing and individual differences in WM. More specifically, it was found that learners' WM was a significant predictor of the efficacy of immediate but not delayed CF. ملخص البحث: الهدف من الدراسة الحالية هو اختبار تأثير التغذية الراجعة الفورية والمؤجلة على تعلم اللغة الثانية، بالإضافة إلى استكشاف ما إذا كانت هناك ارتباطات متفاوتة بين الفروق الفردية في الذاكرة العاملة وبين الحالتين المختلفتين للتغذية الراجعة. ولتحقيق هذا الهدف، تم توجيه ٨٤ من متعلمي اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية عشوائياً إلى مجموعتين تجريبيتين ومجموعة واحدة يتم التحكم بها، خلال ثلاث جلسات علاجية، تلقى المشاركون في مجموعة التغذية الراجعة الفورية تصحيحا (تم تحقيقه عبر إعطاء تلميحات) مباشرة بعد ارتكاب الأخطاء أثناء أداء نشاط يتعلق بمهارة التواصل، أما المشاركون في مجموعة التغذية الراجعة المؤجلة، فقد قاموا بأداء أنشطة مشابهة ولكنهم تلقوا التغذية الراجعة في نهاية النشاط، تم قياس تطور المتعلمين في ثلاث مراحل قبل وبعد المعالجات من خلال استخدام أداتي إختبار، وهما مهمة الإنتاج الشفهي واختبار تصحيح الخطأ، كما أكمل المتعلمون مهمة من أجل قياس الذاكرة العاملة المعروفة باسم نطاق الاسترجاع (operation span). أظهرت النتائج أن كل من التغذية الراجعة الفورية والمؤجلة ساهمت على حد سواء في تطوير المعرفة في اللغة الثانية. علاوة على ذلك، أظهر تحليل الانحدار الهرمي وجود ارتباط كبير بين توقيت التغذية الراجعة والفروق الفردية في الذاكرة العاملة. وبصفة أكثر تحديداً، تبين أن الذاكرة العاملة لدى المتعلمين كانت عاملًا مهمًا في تنبؤ فعالية التغذية الراجعة الفورية ولكن ليس التغذية الراجعة المؤجلة. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: One question that is worth considering by language teachers in classrooms is whether to correct language learners' errors immediately following the errors, that is, through immediate feedback, or at the end of a communicative activity using delayed feedback. Furthermore, it is worth investigating whether learners' working memory (WM) capacity can impact the benefits of immediate and delayed feedback. To this end, this study investigated the effects of correcting English language learners' errors immediately following their errors during interaction or at the end of a communicative activity. In addition, the study explored the role of learners' WM in the effectiveness of immediate and delayed feedback. 84 English language learners participated in the study and were assigned to (a) immediate feedback, (b) delayed feedback, and (c) control groups. The participants in the three conditions performed communicative activities with an interlocutor during three sessions. The participants in the immediate feedback condition were corrected immediately after making a language error with regard to English wh-questions while the participants in the delayed feedback condition received similar feedback for their wh-question error after they finished the communicative activity. Learners' knowledge of wh-questions was assessed before and after the corrective feedback sessions. In addition, the learners' WM capacity was measured through a task known as operation span. Data analysis indicated that immediate and delayed feedback is equally effective to promote language learning. In addition, the results suggested that benefiting from immediate feedback was affected by learners' WM capacity. In other words, immediate feedback was more effective for learners with higher WM capacity. No association was found between WM and delayed feedback effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a newly developed principle of language teaching, critical language awareness (CLA) has great potential to promote social justice through language learning. However, the implementation of CLA pedagogy in Chinese educational settings has not been fully explored yet. Informed by the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this case study investigated the implementation of CLA pedagogy in a Chinese EFL writing class by exploring the teacher's attitudes and perceived barriers, and how these factors influenced her intention to adopt the pedagogy. The analyses of multiple qualitative data sources (semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, teaching lesson plans, and course curriculum) revealed that the teacher's intention of adopting CLA pedagogy was positively affected by her high appraisal of CLA. Several challenges were also found to limit the teacher's choice of pedagogy, including the pressure from standardization examinations, the mismatch between the aims of CLA pedagogy and students' actual needs and expectations, as well as insufficient teaching materials and resources. Based on these findings, several implications were suggested for the research of CLA pedagogy in Chinese EFL contexts. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Although many current L2 teaching approaches are well-established and beneficial for learners' language development, there is no breakthrough for the promotion of language and social justice. Scholars have proposed an approach (CLA pedagogy) to overcome this limit in language teaching. Specifically, when L2 teachers implement CLA pedagogy, they encourage learners to challenge linguistic hierarchy and supremacy, such as standardized English. The current study explores how a Chinese EFL university writing teacher, Rebecca, perceives the implementation of CLA pedagogy in her writing class, including her attitudes towards CLA and perceived challenges. The study indicates that although Rebecca held positive attitudes towards CLA, the implementation of CLA pedagogy was still limited by some contextual factors, signifying that the implementation of CLA pedagogy in Chinese EFL contexts requires further efforts from many sources, such as language teachers, educational institutions, and educational researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning English as a second language (ESL) has garnered significant attention from researchers and practitioners over the past few decades, with numerous ESL learning outcomes examined in the literature. However, self-sustained learning (SSL), a crucial factor in promoting students' sustained learning and development within a sustainable society, has long been overlooked. To deepen the understanding of SSL, especially in the context of ESL in China, this study examined the direct and indirect effects of intercultural communicative skills, language mindset, and positive L2 self on sustained English learning among 1238 Chinese college students through descriptive statistics and a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) mediation analysis. The results indicated that Chinese college students exhibited a strong language mindset and positive L2 self. They also scored high in intercultural communicative skills and long-term self-sustained English learning. SEM analysis showed that, after controlling for students' demographic characteristics, both intercultural communicative skills and language mindset positively predicted positive L2 self and self-sustained English learning. Moreover, intercultural communicative skills and language mindset had significant and positive indirect effects on self-sustained English learning through positive L2 self, underscoring the significant mediating role of positive L2 self in the relationships between intercultural communicative skills, language mindset, and self-sustained English learning. These findings suggest that, to promote self-sustained learning among English learners, instructors should enhance students' intercultural communicative skills, foster a growth language mindset, and cultivate positive language learning beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional L2 pronunciation teaching puts too much emphasis on explicit phonological knowledge ('knowing that') rather than on procedural knowledge ('knowing how'). The advancement of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) offers new opportunities for L2 learners to proceduralize their declarative articulatory knowledge into production skills more efficiently through systematic practice. Within the framework of skill acquisition theory, and using a mixed-methods design including production tests, articulatory awareness quizzes, and a semi-structured interview, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using an augmented reality (AR) filter app during pronunciation practice to improve Chinese L2 students' segmental production and articulatory awareness of the targeted English consonants (dark/ɫ/,/ð/and/θ/), and their attitudes towards this application. The experimental results indicate that the app with AR technology, facial detection technology, and digital zoom technology played a positive role in promoting students' segmental production and raising their articulatory awareness. The interview results show that the AR filter helped to alleviate the learners' speaking anxiety and embarrassment related to interacting with the teacher for corrective feedback, and encouraged daily practice by providing more fun. Combining all the qualitative and quantitative results, we conclude that an AR filter app can offer academic, psychological, and social support for L2 pronunciation skill learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second language (L2) learning research suggests that virtual reality (VR) has the potential to enhance the development of language skills due to its immersive nature and its situated learning opportunities. This quantitative, between-subjects study compared the effectiveness of three learning conditions. University students (N = 63) studied vocabulary annotated on: (1) 360° pictures viewed using a VR headset, (2) 360° pictures viewed on a desktop monitor, and (3) standard two-dimensional (2D) pictures viewed on a desktop monitor (control condition). After the experiment, the students completed productive and receptive posttests measuring vocabulary recall. Through multiple analyses of variance (MANOVA), the study revealed that learning new vocabulary with annotated 360° pictures viewed on a desktop monitor is associated with significantly higher posttests scores, compared with learning using a VR headset or standard 2D pictures. Kruskal-Wallis H tests showed vocabulary learning with 360° to be engaging, but effective only when studied on the 2D monitor. This study has practical implications for VR-assisted language learning and for the design of teaching materials to enhance L2 vocabulary learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of pronominal reference on the integration of syntactic and semantic information in second language (L2) processing. We conducted a self‐paced reading task involving 60 adult Korean‐speaking learners of English and 44 native English speakers. The experiment manipulated the semantic congruity between a subject and its adjectival predicate, as well as the reference type (pronoun vs. full noun) within the intervening relative clause. The results showed that the native speaker group consistently displayed sensitivity to the incongruity between the subject and the predicate, regardless of the reference type. Similarly, the nonnative speakers exhibited sensitivity to the mismatch in the critical region. However, this effect did not persist in subsequent regions including the spill‐over and wrap‐up regions. Instead, in the wrap‐up region, the L2 learners' processing patterns were affected by the reference type, with sensitivity exclusively observed in the pronoun condition. The L2 learners' processing pattern remained consistent across varying levels of English proficiency. These findings provide insights into the role of pronominal reference in L2 sentence processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on the effectiveness of the word‐writing strategy in vocabulary learning have yielded mixed results. However, this strategy has been widespread among learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). This study examines whether the word‐writing strategy is effective and whether learners overestimate its effectiveness. Sixty‐eight Japanese EFL learners acquired new English words through either a writing or a nonwriting condition. Immediately following the learning phase in each condition, the Behavioral Engagement Scale, the State Engagement Scale, and the global judgments of learning (global JOLs) were administered. A multiple‐choice test for form and a productive test for meaning were administered at the end. The results showed no significant differences between the conditions in terms of learning outcomes. However, the writing condition outperformed the nonwriting condition on two engagement measures and the global JOL for form retention. These results suggest that the word‐writing strategy has no effect on learning outcomes, but increases the sense of engagement during learning and misleads students into overestimating learning outcomes. EFL teachers should educate their students about the limits of this technique and recommend more effective learning strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between L2 linguistic skills and the ability to use language for social purposes is still under-explored. While previous research suggests that higher proficiency coincides with better pragmatic and interactional performance, incongruities are also apparent with some low-proficiency learners being able to communicate effectively, and some high-proficiency learners showing pronounced weaknesses in interactional performance. In this study, 150 ESL learners completed a standardized speaking proficiency test, the TOEFL iBT Speaking section, followed by a test of interactional competence consisting of role plays and monologues. Quantitatively, we found a fairly strong correlation between measures of speaking proficiency and interactional ability, but our qualitative analysis showed a more nuanced picture with some interactionally relevant features apparently impacted by speaking proficiency, whereas others were largely independent of it. We discuss implications for the conceptualization of second language ability, language teaching, and language testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the causes, consequences, and solutions of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' technophobia. To this end, a semi-structured interview was held with 48 Chinese EFL teachers working in different institutes. The results of MAXQDA indicated that technophobia is a multi-face and multi-source phenomenon, which can affect different areas of second language (L2) education. The most frequent causes of technophobia were teachers' "low technological knowledge and skills", "unfamiliarity with technology", and "lack of professional training". It was also found that EFL teachers' technophobia could engender "technology avoidance", "innovative teaching prevention", "inconvenient and outdated teaching", and "emotional distress and burden" on EFL teachers. Furthermore, it was revealed that this aversive emotion could be addressed by "attending professional development courses", "having a positive mentality", and "making psychological preparations". The discussion of the findings and their implications for EFL teachers and educators are presented at the end of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a quantitative study that focuses on the language education policy of distance learning classes with particular attention to the policies regarding the use of the first language in teaching the second language. Previous studies show that the viewpoint of teachers and students, who are involved in distance learning, towards policies of the English language departments of Saudi universities has not been explored before. The main objective of this paper is investigating teachers’ and students’ awareness of the English department’s policy regarding L1 in distance learning classes and the participants’ attitudes towards using L1 in the distance learning classes of L2. Teachers of English as a foreign language with various academic ranks and undergraduate students from different colleges took part in this study. The main research tool of this study is an online questionnaire. The same questionnaire was given to the two types of participants. Data analysis shows that the majority of the participants were not familiar with the policy of the English language department regarding the use of L1 in distance learning classes. Data analysis indicates that both teachers and students acknowledged that they use L1 in the distance learning classes. On the other hand, half of the teachers contended that L1 enhances students’ comprehension in the distance learning classes whereas the vast majority of the students supported this argument. Policy-makers in the English language department are invited to implement an “English-mainly” policy that perceives students as bilinguals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of the multilingual speakers all over the world has been increasing steadily, which calls for closer analyses of multilingualism as a phenomenon. The current study aims at investigating multilingual speakers' spoken and written English productions in formal and informal contexts within the boundaries of social context of migration. As for the purposes of the study, data coming from four groups in Germany and the US (32 participants and 24 speakers from RUEG corpus, 56 people in total) via data collection tools such as Language Situations (Wiese 2018), Linguistic Background Questionnaire and c-tests were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The results were divergent. The comparison of -ing use only revealed that the acquisition of the progressive marker in L3? English differs in Germany and the US while -ing use in total Communication Units (henceforth CU) ratio signaled some cross-linguistic effects. However, there was no difference in within group comparisons obscuring multilingual-monolingual dichotomy within both Germany and the US. Also, task modality and registers were found to have a prominent effect on L3 patterns of English progressive morpheme -ing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Higher Education & Science / Yüksekögretim ve Bilim Dergisi is the property of Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit Universitesi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Both Broaden-and-Build theory and Control-Value theory (CVT) posit that enjoyment contributes to academic achievement. However, empirical studies show mixed results concerning the predictive effects between these constructs in Second Language Acquisition (SLA). This study examines the link between second language (L2) achievement and Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) among 1,360 Chinese tertiary-level students learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Participants completed a national standardised English language test and an FLE questionnaire. Data analysis involved the use of Mplus to perform factor mixture modelling (FMM), a technique that identifies latent subgroups within the sample based on their response patterns. Results revealed four distinct profiles, each displaying different FLE-L2 achievement profile characteristics. The importance of this study lies in its analytic approach, which recognises the non-uniform connections between the three dimensions of FLE and L2 achievement across learners. This finding challenges the notion of straightforward correlations and sheds light on the complexities of these relationships, thereby addressing inconsistencies observed in previous studies and paving the way for more nuanced future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between pausing and revision behaviors, as captured by pause bursts (P-bursts) and revision bursts (R-bursts), and text quality in digital L2 writing contexts among young English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. The study involved 22 elementary school students aged 10–11 years, with English proficiency levels ranging from A1 to A2 (CEFRL). Participants completed a picture description writing task, and their writing processes were recorded using keystroke logging software. The results revealed that frequent pauses (P-bursts) were negatively correlated with text quality, suggesting cognitive overload or difficulties in language processing. In contrast, revision bursts (R-bursts) exhibited a positive correlation with text quality, indicating that the revision process played a crucial role in refining and improving the written output. Regression analysis further demonstrated that R-bursts significantly predicted text quality, underscoring the importance of revision behavior among young L2 writers. These findings contribute to our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying L2 writing in digital contexts and highlight the central role of revisions in enhancing text quality among young EFL learners. Educational implications emphasize the need for instructional practices that encourage and support the revision process in writing instruction for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analysed Education First’s Standard English Test scores coming from 2 mln learners of English in 109 countries world-wide. Proficiency in English as a global lingual franca is an important skill in various areas of international communication. A larger linguistic distance between English as a second language and a learner’s first language has been put forward as increasing the efforts or costs of learning English. Instead of the subjective measures used in the past, we constructed a quantitative linguistic distance measure based on comparing words (lexicon), constructions (morpho-syntax), and sounds (phonology) between English and 59 mother tongues. Mixed regression analyses were carried out on the countries’ proficiency scores with a country’s human capital index, the official status of English in a country, and linguistic distance as predictors. All three predictors turn out to be robust proficiency determinants. Language skills constitute an essential component of human resources in today’s emerging and growing knowledge economy. These skills cannot be taken for granted and additional language training is required when linguistic distances are large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As studies of second language (L2) learning and motivation typically focus on English as a foreign language (EFL), L2 motivation for Arabic has been less studied. Instruments measuring two sources of L2 Arabic motivation, identity-related motivation, and motivation arising from the L2 learning environment (L2LE), were developed and piloted among L2 Arabic learners. Pilot study results showed strong motivation due to Islamic identity and desire for cultural exposure, but also revealed speaking anxiety in the L2LE. In this study, the objectives were to determine: a) What evidence exists for or against the validity of the subscale measurements from these instruments? and b) how this evidence can be used to explain what appear to be contradictions in the pilot study results. In this mixed-methods study, instruments were administered twice to learners at an L2 Arabic learning institute in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and a sample was interviewed. Quantitative analysis showed evidence of instrument reliability, and analysis of interview data revealed several findings. First, consistent with pilot data, we found that learners, who were all Muslim, were motivated to learn L2 Arabic as part of desiring cultural and social exposure in KSA and to become closer to Islam. Interview data revealed that these learners aimed to adopt the customs and lifestyle of those in KSA as part of becoming closer to Islam, some of which they did through social interaction. Second, L2 Arabic learning of Classical Arabic (CA) at the institute was impeded by the learners' lack of knowledge of the conversational Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) dialect, which made practical communication with those in KSA difficult. Recommendations are made for instrument improvement, as well as a strategy to incorporate some MSA instruction into the CA curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers and practitioners in the field of second language acquisition have come to realize the importance of non-cognitive skills such as self-efficacy and self-regulation in students' learning of a second language. However, there has been limited systematic research on such measures in the second language context and the validity and reliability of their intended use and interpretation. The Questionnaire of English Self-Efficacy (QESE) was designed to measure English language learners' self-efficacy beliefs. This study applied the Rasch model to evaluate the item-level psychometric properties of QESE and its adequacy for use in the Vietnamese context. The results demonstrated that the QESE items predominantly measured a unidimensional construct (i.e. self-efficacy beliefs in learning English as a second language). The scale was highly reliable, and its rating categories functioned effectively, reflecting varying levels of self-efficacy beliefs. Although the item difficulty hierarchical order was generally consistent with the anticipated hierarchy within the Vietnamese context, there were a few surprising results, contradicting what was previously found with Chinese students. For example, item 28 (writing diaries in English) was a very difficult task for Vietnamese students, but a previous study showed that it was a moderately difficult task for Chinese students. Item 5 (writing blogs on the Internet) was an easy task for Vietnamese students, but it was a difficult task for Chinese students. The findings provide directions for future research and have implications for helping professionals provide best practices that meet the unique educational needs of English language learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explored (1) the most common speaking and vocabulary problems of 12 senior high students; (2) the implementation of 3 ESL teachers of dialogic discussion to address the identified students' problems; (3) the improvement of students; and (4) the insights and implications of the intervention. Using a qualitative mosaic approach, the study used field notes and conversations with students and teachers. During preliminary data collection, it was found that the students' speaking and vocabulary problems comprised fluency and accuracy issues, language function deficiencies, negative affective state, and poor classroom atmosphere. To address these problems, the three teachers implemented five dialogic discussion sessions. The implementation characterizes structure, scaffolding, and socialization. For students, the sessions helped them increase their confidence and speaking skills. These findings suggest that dialogic discussion may function as a platform engendering processes such as agency, exploration, and enhancement. The study recommends actions for teachers and future researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), self-regulated learning strategies (SRLSs), and writing proficiency of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) in English as a second language writing learning context, using Bourdieu's theory of social practice as a framework. This study's conceptual model specifies that both SES and SRLS positively predict CAF, and SES moderates the relationship between SRLS and CAF. This study collected questionnaire data and argumentative writing samples from 381 Chinese university students and analyzed the data using partial correlation and structural equation modeling. The results showed that SES and SRLS were significantly related to complexity and accuracy but not to fluency. SES significantly moderated the relationship between SRLS and writing complexity and accuracy but not fluency. SES's moderating effects on the relationship between SRLS and complexity and accuracy increased from low SES to middle SES to high SES. SES's moderating effects on both SRLS's and SRLS facets' relation to fluency were complex and mostly nonsignificant. The implications of these findings are discussed, and limitations are noted. Educational Impact and Implications Statement: This study found that socioeconomic status (SES) and self-regulated learning strategies (SRLSs) significantly relate to writing complexity and accuracy but not to fluency in a university second language writing learning context. SES also has a significant moderating role in the relationship between SRLS and writing complexity and accuracy, with the effect increasing from low to middle to high SES. These findings highlight the importance of addressing both SES and SRLS in improving writing proficiency in university students. Educators and policymakers can use this information to develop targeted interventions and support for students from different SES backgrounds and to promote the development of SRLS in all students to enhance their writing skills and proficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, we sought to establish whether adult non-native English speakers interpret aspectual phrasal verbs by means of the continuous or discontinuous position of the particle that goes with them and whether this is related to their level of proficiency in English as a second language (L2). An image selection task was designed and applied to adult native and non-native English speakers, the latter were divided into four groups based on their hours of exposure to the target language (100–200 h, 300–400 h, 600–700 h, +1000 h.). The results obtained suggest that the position of the particle can sometimes affect the interpretation of phrasal verbs of English by non-native speakers; however, this does not occur in the same way for all phrasal verbs, since the interpretation is also linked to the category to which they belong and to the particle present in each case. Finally, non-native speakers of English with a greater number of hours of exposure to the target language do not have a significantly different performance from non-native speakers when interpreting phrasal verbs, although in some cases the differences are pronounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has revealed the positive impact of intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) on L2 learners' oral development and learning attitude. These studies, however, focused mostly on the in-class use of IPAs, with existing research on the out-of-class use being exploratory. To fill the gap of lacking empirical investigations on IPA-based autonomous second language learning (ASLL), this study recruited 34 college EFL learners to use Google Assistant (GA) in their respective homes for six weeks and examined their listening and speaking development afterwards. Each week, participants received an email about the new commands for them to explore, and half of them were additionally given sustained teacher guidance (i.e. weekly evaluation forms) on the usefulness of each command to better enhance their participation. Statistical analysis on the participants' learning gains demonstrated that participants receiving weekly evaluation forms made significant improvement in both listening and speaking skills, and they even outperformed those without weekly evaluation forms in their oral development. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference in the two groups' listening gains. These findings demonstrate that, with sustained teacher guidance, IPAs have great potential in L2 oral development in ASLL context, but more long-term studies on IPAs' impact for L2 listening should be conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores hospitality's utility as a conceptual framework to assist writing tutors. The study, described in the article, investigated tutors' perceptions concerning how Haswell & Haswell's elaboration of hospitality—as a disposition—might bring about more positive, generative, and encouraging outcomes in writing center work. The data collected in the form of audio-recorded tutorials, post-tutorial interviews, and a focus group suggests that hospitality offers an open but promising schema to help tutors consider what responsible and ethical use of power and authority might look like for their appointments—particularly when working outside their disciplines and with multilingual students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the education field across the globe. This transformation has made education more accessible through the emergence of online distance learning. Therefore, this systematic literature review presents an extensive review and analysis of existing studies on online distance learning in the English as a Second Language context. The study's main aim is to explore the effectiveness of online distance learning in the English as a Second Language context. The significance of the study lies in its potential to inform educational stakeholders about the advantages and areas for improvement in online distance learning for learners and teachers, thus enhancing educational practices and policies. The primary research question guiding this review is: What are the experiences and perceptions of teachers and students regarding online distance learning in the English as a Second Language context? The study follows the PRISMA 2020 statement guidelines for systematic literature reviews, investigating peer-reviewed articles from the SCOPUS and ERIC databases (2019 - 2023). Seventeen (17) studies were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The findings indicate growing research interest in online distance learning in the English as a Second Language context. Most of the studies employed qualitative design in which university students mainly were used as participants. The findings also provide invaluable insights regarding the benefits enjoyed by both students and teachers from online distance learning. Key benefits derived from students' perceptions are comfort, enjoyable, time-saving, autonomous learning, improved communication, and collaborative skills. Teachers, on the other hand, stated that the benefits they enjoyed through online distance learning were time savings, a positive learning environment, improved teaching efficiency, money savings, and enhanced students' psychological factors. To summarise, these findings suggest that stakeholders should take the appropriate measures to effectively implement online distance learning and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4), which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable education for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Set against a body of research which tends to either overlook ideological differences between Eastern and Western conceptualizations of motivation or which positions Chinese students as ideologically monolithic, this study aims to explore the dynamic interaction between neoliberal and Neo-Confucian paradigms in shaping motivation for English language learning. By incorporating primary concepts from the Neo-Confucian motivational construct and Dörnyei's (2005) second language (L2) Motivational Self System, this study bridges the gap between Eastern and Western L2 motivational research and investigates how neoliberal/Neo-Confucian ideologies interact to influence Chinese university students' motivations for learning English. More specifically, it explores how this develops during study abroad in Ireland. It was found that the motivational trajectories of eight participants comprised a complex synthesis of both ideologies during study abroad. Furthermore, their ought-to L2 selves and ideal L2 self imagery underwent dramatic alterations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arabic students frequently encounter errors while learning English as a second language (ESL). This study investigates prevalent interlingual and intralingual errors observed among Arabic learners of English. The authors posit that by addressing morphological, lexical, and semantic inaccuracies, English instructors can assist Arabic learners in cultivating a more comprehensive and nuanced proficiency in the English language, thereby enhancing their communicative abilities across various contexts. The instructional strategies explained in this paper offer valuable insights for ESL teachers and tertiary-level Arabic students aiming to mitigate or eliminate such errors. Additionally, the teaching recommendations presented in this paper serve as beneficial resources for experienced and novice instructors, facilitating the reduction of errors commonly encountered by Arabic students in their English language acquisition journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the speech acts most frequently performed by learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) through the Dialogue Annotation and Research Tool (DART), a semi-automatic annotation tool. The study used learner corpus research and an English as the first language (L1) speaker corpus as a reference to compare the speech acts performed by the EFL learners. The study involved 90 EFL learners of four nationalities. A spoken learner corpus was built with the dyadic interlanguage English conversation register. The most frequently performed speech acts were generally different for the English L1 speakers and the EFL learners. The speech acts labeled as correctSelf, referProcess, expressNonAwareness, and stateReason were in the top 10 for EFL learners, whereas they were not in the top 10 for the English L1 speakers. This difference was caused by three factors: the English proficiency of the EFL learners, the frequently used formulaic phrases, and the task requirements. Moreover, the corpus annotation has a problem with unrecognized speech acts, primarily due to the redundancies and fragments in the learner discourses. The findings of this study reveal the complementary relationship between grammatical and pragmatic performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second language acquisition studies have mainly considered transfer between two or more languages as a binary setting, it either happens or does not. However, research emerging out of usage-based approaches show that such transfer effects might be more gradient than ever thought before (e.g., Goschler & Stefanowitsch, 2019). Investigating a construction that has been reported to pose problems such as overpassivization to L2 English learners, i.e., unaccusatives, this study aims to trace gradient transfer effects between Turkish and English in the intransitive-unaccusative construction in Turkish learners of English. Following Goschler and Stefanowitsch's (2019) method to analyze, extract experimental items from English and Turkish corpora, and experiment with collostructional transfer effects, the study revealed similar findings. Findings suggest that learners are likely to transfer strongly entrenched L1 items into the L2 even at advanced proficiency levels. Interestingly, when the item is weakly entrenched in L1, speakers attune to the input in L2 with growing proficiency. Furthermore, proficiency or experience helps with preempting non-optimal constructional combinations. Pedagogically, the study suggests that collo-profiles may help teachers and students with mitigating unconventional item-construction combinations at advanced levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Western Anatolia Journal of Educational Sciences (WAJES) / Batı Anadolu Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi is the property of Dokuz Eylul University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The integration of technologies and social media into second/foreign language education has recently gained momentum in different contexts. Given their nature, social media have been empirically identified to improve different aspects of L2 teaching and learning. However, their facilitative role in enhancing EFL/ESL students’ language skills and academic engagement has been limitedly explored. To fill this lacuna, the present study intended to provide a theoretical analysis on the utility and power of injecting technologies and social media into L2 classes and improve students’ language skills and academic engagement. In so doing, the conceptualizations, definitions, dimensions, and empirical studies that provide evidence for the interplay of these constructs are presented. Moreover, a variety of implications are enumerated for EFL/ESL teachers, learners, teacher trainers, language policy -makers, curriculum designers, and scholars in L2 education, who can recognize the facilitative role of social media in English language teaching learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In global trends and current curricular policy reforms in second language (L2) education, there is a great emphasis on repositioning of teachers as assessors and teachers' role as responsible agents in assessment. However, various factors affect the agency of teachers as assessors in the classroom. This study explored the ways English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers perceived the impact of the language assessment teacher education course on their agency as assessors. Likewise, it scrutinized the challenges and opportunities teachers confronted in leveraging the acquired knowledge and skills to enhance their assessment agency and contribute to their overall professional development. As for dataset, this phenomenological study targeted 50 EFL teachers, with 25 participants completing an open-ended questionnaire and the other 25 composing narratives. The research findings, using MAXQDA software (v. 20) for content and thematic analysis, revealed that EFL teachers perceived a significant positive influence of language assessment teacher education courses on their agency as assessors in the classroom. This led to their increased confidence and competence in assessment practices. They found limited institutional support and resources as their main challenges. However, they claimed opportunities would arise from collaborative professional networks and tailored mentoring to effectively apply knowledge and skills gained from language assessment teacher education courses for their professional development. The findings offer valuable implications for language assessment teacher education and professional development initiatives, illuminating the potential predicaments and expediters in enhancing teachers' assessment agency and fostering their continuous professional growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from (Dörnyei's, The Psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition, 2005) L2 Motivational Self System, this case study delved into the L2 learning motivations of liberal arts and science English majors at a transnational university in China, where English Medium Instruction (EMI) is prevalent. The study aimed to uncover how the EMI educational setting, alongside disciplinary backgrounds, shapes students' motivational landscapes. Utilising a mixed-methods approach, a 4-point Likert scale questionnaire was first administered to 182 students, followed by semi-structured interviews with six purposively selected participants to ensure a representation of diverse perspectives. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and an independent samples t-test to pinpoint motivational differences between the two groups, with Cohen's d effect size test further elucidating the significance of these differences. Thematic analysis of qualitative data provided a deeper layer of insight, which, when cross-examined with quantitative results, revealed a nuanced understanding of motivational dynamics. Key findings highlighted that both student groups were driven by factors such as ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, international posture, and instrumentality. However, within the EMI context, liberal arts students exhibited heightened sensitivity to their ought-to L2 selves, language anxiety, and teacher influence compared to their science counterparts (p < 0.05, dCohen > 0.8). These distinctions underscore the EMI context's role in modulating motivational profiles, particularly accentuating certain motivational factors among liberal arts students. In light of these EMI-mediated motivational nuances, the study proposes several educational implications, including enhancing teachers' professional development training, integrating English learning in EMI programmes with students' aspirations, and fostering intercultural interactions to enrich students' language and cultural experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thus far, glossing studies have remained at the level of individual words rather than including their lexical environment. To fill this gap, the present study explored if different glossing conditions would have a distinct impact on L2 reading comprehension and incidental lexical and collocational learning. Sixty-three first language (L1) Cantonese speakers read two English stories that contained 12 adjective-pseudonoun collocations. The participants were placed in one of the three conditions, i.e., unglossed, single-word glossed, and collocation glossed. Participants' reading comprehension was measured with twelve true-or-false statements for each story, and their lexical and collocational learning was assessed using unannounced recognition and recall tests. The results revealed that collocational glossing promoted reading comprehension significantly compared to the other two reading conditions. In addition, while both glossing conditions promoted lexical and collocational knowledge in the immediate posttest, collocational glossing demonstrated a more durable facilitative impact in the delayed posttest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the increasing application of task-based frameworks to second language (L2) writing research, there has been a pressing need to examine TBLT views on the interactions between task conceptualization, task performance, and L2 writing outcomes. To address this need, the present study was designed to explore the synergistic effects of task complexity and task repetition on different facets of syntactic complexity as a key construct of proficiency and development in L2 writing. In doing so, 96 ESL learners performed written argumentative task versions with varying cognitive complexity in a counterbalanced fashion and then complete a task difficulty questionnaire. Afterward, they repeated the tasks in the opposite order at a one-week interval. The essays were analyzed using fine-grained syntactic complexity measures (reported by Lu's L2 syntactic complexity analyzer, 2010). Linear mixed-effects models indicated significant main effects of task complexity and task repetition on different facets of syntactic complexity with robust effect sizes. However, no significant interaction effect between task complexity and task repetition was observed. These findings provide a reliable and accurate understanding of how syntactic complexity plays a role in the current accounts of connections between task features, implementation variables, and L2 writing task performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines a classroom-based study on the timing of explicit language instruction. It also provides an alternative to the CALF (Complexity Accuracy Lexis Fluency) framework for analyzing learner language, which may not always be appropriate for EFL contexts. Two groups of learners, assigned to either a TBLT or a PPP condition, completed a speaking task. A follow-up task was given three months later, but with no explicit language focus for either group. Data from these interactions were analyzed for use of target grammar structures and overall speaking proficiency. Results suggest that explicit introduction of language through PPP benefits immediate task performance, but that ultimately post-task focus on language through TBLT leads to greater language development. The framework for analysis was effective in showing differences in performance between the groups in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context or the teaching/learning environment has only recently been recognized as a mediating variable in L2/FL written performance. These studies are multisite and have not yet targeted another feature of context: the sociolinguistic status of the target language. Likewise, scarce research exists examining the prolonged effects of collaboration. The present classroom-based study fills this void by investigating the effects of collaboration on the (a) jointly written texts; (b) subsequent individual texts; and (c) texts written in two distinct sociolinguistic status target languages of two groups of 11–12-year-old Spanish primary education students. Distributed into a control (CG) (N = 17) and an experimental group (EG) (N = 10 pairs), they wrote three descriptive texts in each language, L2 Basque and FL English: the first and third individually and the second one individually by the CG and in pairs by the EG. The texts were examined qualitatively with a rubric and quantitatively for fluency and accuracy measures. Immediate and prolonged effects of collaboration were observed on accuracy, while fluency decreased and global qualitative scores varied very little. Additionally, unlike in the CG, language-dependent differences were not attested in the EG which suggests that collaborative writing is an expedient tool to increase attention to language and limit the mediating effects of the learning context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined structural priming during online second language (L2) comprehension. In two self-paced reading experiments, 64 intermediate to advanced Chinese learners of English as a foreign language read coordinated noun phrases where the conjuncts had either the same structure or different structures. Experiment 1 showed that the second conjunct was read faster when it had the same structure as the first. This effect occurred for the structurally marked adjective phrases (e.g., a simple to grasp problem) but only showed a numerical trend for the less marked relative clauses (e.g., a problem that was simple to grasp). Experiment 2 compared unmarked adjective phrases and relative clauses (e.g., a simple problem vs. a problem that was simple) and found significant priming for both. Together, the two experiments showed that L2 comprehension priming could occur without repetition of the lexical head. Moreover, this priming was susceptible to inverse frequency effects, with the less frequent structure exhibiting greater priming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]