This article puts forward several proposals for replicating two well-known "First Exposure" studies dealing with the earliest stages of adult second language acquisition. Both of them enquire into the word-level knowledge that complete beginners are able to extract from minimal input when exposed to a new language for the first time.…

This commentary discusses the recent keynote article by Westergaard (2021), which is an interesting contribution to the field of language acquisition and multilingualism, especially because it attempts to provide a wider perspective by embracing first, second and third language acquisition. I address major claims put forward by Westergaard, to…

In Germanic and Slavic languages, the Verb is the most extensive grammatical item, which causes most of the troubles for second language learners. It has been noticed that Slavic L1 learners of English make mistakes in using verb forms due to the transfer of their L1 grammatical system (grammar concepts) onto the English language. The goal of the…

This paper investigates the role of supplementary schools as grassroots educational initiatives whose reach extend beyond individual educational trajectories for minoritized youth. We examine how these schools serve as community forces, emphasizing the importance of resources and relationships. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of funds of…

We examined case-marking variation in heritage Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian. Comparing heritage to homeland Polish and Ukrainian speakers, we found only a few types and a few tokens of systematic distinction between heritage and homeland varieties. A total of 6,291 instances of nouns and pronouns were extracted from transcribed conversations…

This article draws on chaos theory to critically analyse the recent higher education reforms that have been taking place in Poland. The argument launched in this article aims to show that the reforms are based primarily on neoliberal foundations and to expose the linguistic dominance of the English language in neoliberal settings. The English…

This paper aims at describing the way in which online translation platforms can facilitate the process of training translators. "Zooniverse," a website hosting a variety of citizen science projects in which everyone can take part, was used as an example of such a concept. The first section of this paper is focused on the history, idea…

In this examination of monolingual and multilingual pedagogies I draw on literature that explores the position of English globally and in the curriculum for English. I amplify the discussion with data from a project exploring how teachers responded to the arrival of Polish children in their English classrooms following Poland's entry to the…

The paper considers directions of the formation of a competence approach. The emphasis is placed on the nature of the socio-cultural content line that is interrelated with the speech line and is necessary for successful socialization in the development and training of students from national minorities of the Ukraine and the United States,…

This paper examines cross-linguistic influence in third language acquisition relative to language typology, psychotypology and proficiency level. In particular, it observes how learners make use of their background languages when faced with a language they know little to nothing about. The participants, native French speakers with English as a…

The language in which to publish is a complex issue for academics in Poland. With the growth of English as the global lingua franca it may appear to be the obvious language of choice. Yet, publishing in English inevitably brings with it linguistic challenges. It also raises concerns of a social and ideological nature. Choosing to publish in Polish…

The age at which one begins learning a second language (L2) has been shown to influence the rate of acquisition and ultimate proficiency in various aspects of that language. Less is understood about L2 acquisition for adolescents, particularly immigrants, and ways in which age on arrival (AoA) influences the circumstances in which they learn their…

Learning invariably proceeds by relating new facts to the already familiar and present in the conceptual structure. In the context of FL study the familiar is, of course, the student's mother tongue. Drawing on the learner's L[subscript 1] (or another mastered tongue) and showing comparisons and contrasts between the languages mirrors, facilitates…

This article addresses the question of how second language (L2) learners understand idiomatic expressions in their second/foreign language and advances the proposition that literal meanings of idiom constituents enjoy processing priority over their figurative interpretations. This suggestion forms the core of the literal-salience resonant model of…