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…

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…

Research into the role of individual difference (ID) factors in the process of second and foreign language (L2) learning and teaching has been one of the most robust lines of inquiry in the field of second language acquisition (SLA; Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015; Griffiths & Soruç, 2020; Pawlak & Kruk, 2022). Most of these empirical…

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…

This paper discusses the stage of second language acquisition known as attrition and what learners and teachers can do to prevent attrition and promote retention. Attrition is the stage at which a learner's attained proficiency declines due to a reduction of contact with the second language, whether from lack of contact with other speakers of the…

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…

A great deal of research has focused on tasks, particularly for adult second language learners. In this paper we provide an account of studies that have investigated children and tasks -- an age group that have received far less attention. We consider, in particular, the impact of tasks on children's language learning, how their design features…

Second language (L2) motivation research has been thriving for the past decades by emphasizing L2 motivation theories and describing the motivated learner, while relatively few studies have dealt with how to motivate students in a systematic way. Approaches in these studies either included investigations into the role of different motivational…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

?he CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) approach has been proposed as an effective approach for students' education in the 21st century. Although it was initially proposed for students of higher education, CLIL has become especially attractive for students even in pre-school education. This paper focuses on the importance of CLIL…

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…

An important question in the field of English language teaching and learning is 'What is the relationship between research and second language (L2) instruction?'. A second question is 'What should the relationship be?'. This keynote speech explores these two questions. The speech provides a general overview of some of the important insights that…