When inferring the meaning of unknown words in a second language, learners make use of a variety of cues including the cross-linguistic formal similarities of loanwords and cognates. However, because learners do not always recognize these cross-linguistic relationships, cognate strategy training has been recommended. The present study investigated…

This report proposes a number of tasks which help learners become more aware of how their feelings are moulded in their L1 and notice crosslinguistic similarities and differences between their L1 and a target language. The proposed tasks are motivated by findings in the crosslinguistic influence literature and a study that investigated Japanese…

The positive effects of bi-modal input on language learning are becoming a largely accepted experimental finding. However, experiments looking at bi-modal reading in a foreign language are normally limited by the common experimental situation of classroom-based researchers studying university age participants for the limited timespan of a…

Increasing linguistic and cultural diversity has led to an increased need for plurilingual pedagogy in the language classroom. This study expands the scope of the existing literature on plurilingual pedagogy in a different context: a Japanese language classroom at an English-medium instruction (EMI) university in Japan. It focuses on students'…

Studies comparing writing media typically compare different modes of writing (e.g., keyboard typing vs. writing, smartphone tapping vs. writing, etc.). The current study sought to investigate the cognitive outcomes of a more direct comparison: tablet- versus paper-based writing. Thirty-two speakers of L1 English were tasked with memorizing 20…

This article focuses upon the Japanese government's decision in 2009 to direct an 'English-only' strategy for English language education in senior high schools from 2013. In the "Course of Study 2009," and more recently again in the "Course of Study 2018," the Japanese government implicitly blames the local grammar-translation…

Laufer (1988) introduced the concept of synform errors, where second language (L2) learners confuse a word for a different but similar looking or sounding L2 word. Stubbe and Cochrane (2016) reported that of 1,187 commonly repeated errors on a Japanese to English non-contextual translation test, 461 were synform errors (39%). This study introduces…

Globalization and migration have led to a multicultural and diverse global society. With increasing numbers of immigrant children, Japanese schools are experiencing diversity. We aimed to fill the gap in understanding the difficulties experienced by immigrant children in Japanese schools with a particular focus on their social, emotional,…

Studies examining decontextualized associative vocabulary learning have shown that long spacing between encounters with an item facilitates learning more than short or no spacing, a phenomenon known as distributed practice effect. However, the effect of spacing on learning words in context is less researched and the results, so far, are…

This study adopts Oxford's (2017) definition of language learning strategies (LLS) framed by self-regulation theory and explores the longitudinal development in the use of three second language (L2) writing strategies (global planning, local planning, L1-to-L2 translation) by Japanese university students as it interacts with cognitive, affective,…

This multidisciplinary collection examines the connections between education, migration and translation across school and higher education sectors, and a broad range of socio-geographical contexts. Organised around the themes of knowledge, language, mobility, and practice, it brings together studies from around the world to offer a timely critique…