The aim of this personal reflection is to revisit the major concepts that have informed my academic research in the area of applied linguistics and second language development, and show how my overall pedagogical approach has evolved, thanks to the contribution of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory (SCT). The main focus of this paper is on the…

An enduring contribution of Richards Sparks' work has been his exploration of the relationship between a learner's first language (L1) and a language that he or she learns subsequently (L2). The present paper considers that relationship from the perspective of learners and teachers of a 'foreign' language in classroom settings. The paper first…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has penetrated English language learning and teaching, and this penetration parallels a surge of research on its potential and challenges for learners and teachers altogether. This paper provides a glimpse of the status quo of generative (Gen) AI in contexts where English is not used natively. Adopting a holistic…

Building on Jack Richard's interest in vocabulary, this paper looks at the importance of morphology (how words are formed) in language learning and teaching. It describes why knowledge of morphology is important, and how it affects vocabulary learning. It provides clear guidelines on what word parts to focus on, how much time to spend on word…

The purpose of this paper is to describe and reflect on the position of what are called second additional languages in the language teaching landscape of South African schools. This landscape is crowded, with different South African languages vying for attention. Amidst efforts to increase the number of learners who offer an African language as…

This conceptual paper deals with ways in which gesture or embodied utterances create deictic expressions (i.e., deixis) that are relevant to second language teaching and learning. While many gesture types have been found to be material carriers of meaning (McNeill, 1992; Vygotsky, 1986), deictics have the ability and function to create new…

Classroom language assessment aims to gather various types of information related to student language learning and use and use it to inform a range of formative-summative decisions, including how to provide feedback to help students improve their learning efficacy, what teaching adjustments are needed, and whether students have demonstrated their…

The Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES), created by Brain MacWhinney and Catherine Snow in 1984, is one of the earliest Open Science and data sharing initiatives in child language development research, and probably in developmental psychology and the behavioral sciences more generally. It is the cornerstone of TalkBank--a repository of…

Young learners' language aptitude is understudied due to a lack of tests covering this period of life. Young learners, in contrast with adults, are still acquiring their L1. Consequently, a language-dependent aptitude test should be carefully designed for it to be valid. An additional challenge is found when the young learners who are to take the…

This paper examines evidence for relationships among individual differences (IDs) in L1 achievement, L2 aptitude, and L2 achievement. It begins by providing an overview of my academic journey from L1 educator to L2 researcher and explains the development of the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH). Next, I review Peter Skehan's…

The present systematic review examines Glenn Fulcher's contributions, works, philosophy, and research in language testing and assessment. The data includes his published articles, book chapters, books and interviews (except the one in this special issue) relevant to language testing and assessment from 1987 to March 2022. This study is conducted…

Despite undeniable advances in research on language learning strategies in the last several decades, empirical investigations of actions and thoughts that learners engage in to better understand and use grammar structures in different contexts, or grammar learning strategies (GLS), remain scarce. Moreover, there is a paucity of studies examining…

The present article summarizes various aspects of teaching foreign languages to learners with dyslexia. In particular, although it is a matter examined broadly around the world, in Greece there are few references and limited research in this field. Furthermore, the lack of foreign language teachers' training in the field of specific learning…

The introduction of the CEFR was welcomed by researchers and practitioners in language education, given its potential for increasing transparency of test results and the meaningfulness of test scores. In this paper, I reflect on Glenn Fulcher's (2004, 2016) critical take on the use of the CEFR in the context of mapping (linking or aligning) test…

In this paper, the role and nature of language and language development will be discussed. Research and theory in second language acquisition has demonstrated that (i) language is an abstract, implicit and complex system. Input (ii) plays a key role in language development; despite the fact that some knowledge of language is innate (iii). Overall,…