Bilingualism is a powerful experiential factor, and its effects have been proposed to extend beyond the linguistic domain by boosting the development of executive functioning skills. Crucially, recent findings suggest that this effect can be detected in bilingual infants before their first birthday indicating that it emerges as a result of early…

Theoretical approaches within the cognitive-interactionist framework (Long, 2015) have identified various aspects of L2 input and characteristics of instruction that predict learners' L2 outcomes. Such strategies of L2 teaching relate to shaping characteristics of communicative activities in which the L2 is embedded and modifying L2 input, L2…

This study investigates how learners use a freely available web-based multimodal language learning environment based on videos and newspaper articles with corresponding exercises and learning support in the form of help options, "NedBox," for learning L2 Dutch. In order to measure learners' use, a combination of eye movement and screen…

The current study examined the effect of speaker variability on children's cross-situational word learning (XSWL). The study also examined the role of bilingual experience and sustained attention. Forty English monolingual children and 40 Spanish-English bilingual children ages 4-7 completed a XSWL task in a Single Speaker Condition and a Multiple…

Parent language input is a well-established predictor of child language development. Multisensory attention skills (MASks; intersensory matching, shifting and sustaining attention to audiovisual speech) are also known to be foundations for language development. However, due to a lack of appropriate measures, individual differences in these skills…

Comprehension of many types of texts involves constructing meaning from text and pictures. However, research examining how second language (L2) learners process text and pictures and the relationship with comprehension is scarce. Thus, while verbal input is often presented in written and auditory modes simultaneously (i.e., audio of text with…