Young children can exploit the syntactic context of a novel word to narrow down its probable meaning. This is "syntactic bootstrapping." A learner that uses syntactic bootstrapping to foster lexical acquisition must first have identified the semantic information that a syntactic context provides. Based on the "semantic seed…

As a public compulsory course for Non-English majors in colleges and universities, College Public English should not only develop students' language and cross-cultural communication skills, but also cultivate their correct outlook on life, values, world and native land emotion, which is consistent with the ideological-political goals of the…

Many scholars and teachers in EFL education should agree that compared with reading and writing, listening has received much less attention. This brief article discusses important gaps existing in EFL listening and overall proficiency development. It presents the case for a greater focus on sounds and actual listening in the classroom and spoken…

In this opinion piece we problematise foreign language (FL) learning curricula which are rigidly based on carefully sequenced input and constrained learning opportunities. Whilst an important component in language learning, language knowledge constitutes more than phonics vocabulary and grammar. Our stance is premised on the understanding that,…

The incidental or implicit learning of vocabulary has long been a topic of interest in various disciplines. In studies on foreign language acquisition, reading is often the activity that researchers use to generate their findings. "Reading in a Foreign Language" has maintained its position at the forefront of this research, consistently…

Language researchers and teachers have long been interested in the timing of learning, and the distributed practice effect, whereby greater inter-session intervals result in longer retention, is well-known (Kim & Webb, 2022). Many L2 studies have focused on the intentional learning of lexis (Edmonds, Gerbier, Palasis, & Whyte, 2021),…

Learning and Reading Assistant (LARA) is an open source platform that enables conversion of plain texts into an interactive multimedia form designed to support second- and foreign-language (L2) learners. In this workshop, we illustrate the open source aspects using collaborative work carried out during a six-week summer project at the Árni…

The correct use of English verb argument structure is crucial for foreign learners of the English language. Based on an experimental study recruiting 162 Chinese English learners at different proficiency levels, this book suggests that the acquisition of English transitivity alternation follows as a consequence of the cognitive processing of…

Mathematics has been defined by researchers as a 'second or third language' and, as a result, it should be taught as a second language. Results of the literature reviewed from the theories on the teaching of mathematics and English as a second language, as well as on mathematics learning and English as a second language acquisition, have resulted…

L2 input, such as a reading text, constitutes a rich source of information on how meanings are expressed in the L2. Helping learners to use this information effectively should be one of the main goals of L2 teaching. In this article, I propose textbased guided output (TBGO) as a technique for "pushing" learners to make better use of the…

Stephen Krashen's theories can appear "seductive" to teachers of languages, in that they identify a seemingly clear way forward for language acquisition in the classroom. However, reification of Krashen's theories, in particular the notion of attaining "i+1" through comprehensible input, is demonstrated to be problematic. Based…

This paper is a response to an article, "Creepy White Gaze: Rethinking the Diorama as a Pedagogical Activity" (Sterzuk & Mulholland, 2011), published in the "Alberta Journal of Educational Research," in which Sterzuk and Mulholland critiqued a heritage fair entry, "Great Plains Indians." I report on a…

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has repeatedly mentioned that immigrants to the United States should do what he did to acquire English: Avoid using their first languages and speak, listen to, and read a vast amount of materials in English--a combination he referred to as "immersion." Yet, Schwarzenegger's real path to successful English…

Following from Lewis, Jones, and Baker (this issue), this article analyses the relationship between the new concept of "translanguaging" particularly in the classroom context and more historic terms such as code-switching and translation, indicating differences in (socio)linguistic and ideological understandings as well as in classroom…

In this paper we present a comprehensive model of instruction for providing consistent, high quality teaching to L2 students. This model, the SIOP Model (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol), provides an explicit framework for organizing instructional practices to optimize the effectiveness of teaching second and foreign language learners.…