Adults typically struggle to perceive non-native sound contrasts, especially those that conflict with their first language. Do the same challenges persist when the sound contrasts overlap but do not conflict? To address this question, we explored the acquisition of lexical tones. While tonal variations are present in many languages, they are only…

Languages differ in the importance of acoustic dimensions for speech categorization. This poses a potential challenge for second language (L2) learners, and the extent to which adult L2 learners can acquire new perceptual strategies for speech categorization remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of extensive English L2 immersion on…

Within the communicative language teaching approach, current instructional materials often lack explicit guidance or fail to provide L2 learners with a wide range of resources in the target language. Conversation analysis (CA), which focuses on authentic talk, has been proposed as a potential resource for language classrooms. This study examines…

The foreign language classroom affords conversations related to heteronormativity, language, and power, but instructional approaches often center upon discrete aspects of grammar and vocabulary. Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) disavows such approaches, instead utilizing personalized questions and co-created stories.…

This study aimed to explore how gender restructuring might interact with immigrant second language (L2) learning in the new trends of feminized marriage migration in Asia, using Mandarin-language education in Taiwan as a case study. Drawing on positioning theory to analyze classroom discourse in a Mandarin-language class for marriage-migrants,…

Queer theory problematizes societal norms related to sex, gender, and sexuality, while resisting normalcy. The authors utilize a queer theoretical approach in analysis of participant observation in adult Spanish and Mandarin classes as well as interviews with world language teachers. Analysis of interview data reveals how educators and adult…

In this study, the researcher strives to build on earlier work in which the roles of motivation and identity in language learning in adult higher education were examined. In the present connection, the focus falls on the roles played by a seldom researched group consisting of staff members in an intergovernmental organization. This group is…

Instruction in second language (L2) English phoneme pronunciation almost invariably includes a focus on improving the learners' use of their articulatory organs to pronounce the relevant sounds. However, the pronunciation of many English sounds also relies on effort from the abdominal region, and under-utilization of this region can often…

Two experiments were conducted to examine adult learners' ability to extract multiple statistics in simultaneously presented visual and auditory input. Experiment 1 used a cross-situational learning paradigm to test whether English speakers were able to use co-occurrences to learn word-to-object mappings and concurrently form object categories…

The role played by working memory (WM), that is, the capacity to temporarily maintain and cognitively process information, has been extensively studied in second language (L2) research. In a general sense, WM has been shown to be related to various aspects of L2 learning and use; however, little information is available regarding its relationship…

This study investigated how adult second language (L2) learners of Mandarin Chinese use knowledge of phonological and lexical statistical regularities when acoustic information is insufficient for word recognition. A gating task was used to test intermediate L2 learners at two time points across a semester of classroom learning. Native Mandarin…

For monolingual English-speaking children, judgment and production of stress in derived words, including words with phonologically neutral (e.g., -ness) and non-neutral suffixes (e.g., "-ity"), is important to both academic vocabulary growth and to word reading. For Mandarin-speaking adult English learners (AELs) the challenge of…

Retrospective Miscue Analysis (RMA) has proved to be a useful instructional tool in language arts classrooms and for English learners from various cultures. However, it has not been used with native Mandarin-speaking English learners. This qualitative case study explored the reading process of two adult Mandarin-speaking ELs through RMA. They read…

High-impact educational practices can promote student involvement and learning outcomes, but are rarely tested in the community college setting--where involvement is a typical challenge to student success. For Family Child Care (FCC) providers, who tend to be older and overworked, higher-education training can be especially difficult. The present…

This study explores adult education programmes under the auspices of multiculturalism at a Chinese cultural centre in Canada in helping immigrants with their cultural development and integration in Canadian society. The study employs an exploratory case study approach combining methods of document analysis and personal interviews. The findings…