This mixed-methods study investigates whether and to what extent positive psychology constructs (classroom enjoyment, grit, and growth mindset) and Extramural English predict primary school students' willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) both in the classroom (a fictitious but common setting for English communication among…

Based on Fredrickson's (2001) broaden-and-build theory, this study investigates how Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE; consisting of "teacher appreciation, personal enjoyment," and "social enjoyment") mediates the relationship between Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) and EFL secondary students' willingness to…

This study examined proficiency levels and attitudes of main languages in use among ethnic minority students in Hong Kong. We surveyed 260 students from primary and secondary schools with English as the medium of instruction. They were multilingual speakers who were proficient in spoken English and Cantonese. Our results revealed asymmetric and…

In many theorizations of L2 motivation, the discrepancy between actual and possible L2 selves has been closely associated with motivation generation, and L2 selves are considered as highly interactive with the context. This article centres on the interplay between L2 self-discrepancy, motivation, and context by following two Chinese university…

Fluent speakers of a target language choosing to enrol in beginner-level courses at tertiary institutes could be considered unfair. In this paper, however, based on data obtained from in-depth qualitative interviews with 12 students at a Hong Kong university, we show that fluent speakers of Japanese -- a widely-spoken foreign language in Hong Kong…

As the content knowledge of English language learners and immigrant students is assessed in their less proficient language, the validity and fairness of assessments related to those students have been widely discussed. However, such assessment issues have not received much attention in rapidly expanding bilingual education programmes, where…

Against the backdrop of rapidly growing attention to FL learners' emotions, the present study investigated learners' classroom emotions (anxiety, boredom, and enjoyment), literacy outcomes (reading and writing proficiency), and a largely neglected factor in FL emotions research to date -- maternal education as a proxy for socio-economic status.…

To understand long-term motivations for second language (L2) learning/socialisation, this study analyses the biographical narratives of 30 Hong Kong Chinese who are proficient in Japanese by using ethnographic interviews. From a situated learning perspective, our research findings originate in the participants' transformational episodes and centre…

The present study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire assessing parents' beliefs about, and attitudes toward, supporting young children's English as a second/foreign language development -- Parent English Language Belief and Attitude Questionnaire (PELBA-Q). The PELBA-Q was piloted with 173 parents of kindergarten-aged children and…

This paper contributes to our conceptualization of linguistic identities in English as a lingua franca (ELF) communication by analyzing a group of multilingual international students' narrativized accounts of their ELF communication experiences in an international university in Hong Kong. The findings of the study indicate that despite their…

Post-colonial Hong Kong is an officially trilingual city with significant numbers of residents speaking English, Cantonese, Mandarin, or some combination of all three. Competency in these languages is promoted through educational policies and practices at all levels of schooling. Using concepts from the Deweyan framework of democracy and…

This mixed-methods study explored learners' perceptions of ten L1 and L2 English accents. These participants (n = 97) were bilinguals who spoke English as a first/second language. From the experiments, the findings showed that the L1 accents, although overall viewed more positively than the L2 ones, were not perceived consistently in: suitability…

Despite evidence of the acculturation benefits of social media engagement with mainstream culture, there is limited understanding of what motivates or demotivates ethnic minorities' social media engagement with mainstream culture. Adopting the theoretical construct of investment, this study interviewed 31 ethnic minority secondary school students…

As an intimidating school subject for students globally, writing requires a high level of motivation, especially for second language (L2) learners. Despite abundant research on motivation in both first language (L1) writing and L2 learning, L2 writing motivation warrants more attention. To bridge the gap, the study intends to present an overall…

In the context of the exponential growth of multicultural campuses worldwide and the consequent need for students to engage in intercultural interaction, this article reports on parts of the findings of a study examining the relationships between learners' backgrounds (language and intercultural experiences) and their intercultural views and…