Categorization is the foundation of many cognitive functions. Importantly, the categories we use to structure the world are informed by the language we speak. For example, whether we perceive dark blue, light blue, and green to be shades of one, two, or three different colors depends on whether we speak Berinmo, English, or Russian, respectively.…

Studies of language evolution in the lab have used the iterated learning paradigm to show how linguistic structure emerges through cultural transmission--repeated cycles of learning and use across generations of speakers . However, agent-based simulations suggest that prior biases crucially impact the outcome of cultural transmission. Here, we…

Augmented reality is a technology that is bringing great benefits in the educational field. This study focuses on knowing the performance and scientific production of augmented reality in the field of education. This research has been approached from a bibliometric perspective. A novel documentary analysis technique based on scientific mapping and…

Topic models are mathematical and statistical models used to analyze textual data. The objective of topic models is to gain information about the latent semantic space of a set of related textual data. The semantic space of a set of textual data contains the relationship between documents and words and how they are used. Topic models are becoming…

AI-based simulations for educational and assessment purposes are gaining global recognition. Informed by cultural comparison research, this study investigates cross-country variations in users' utilization and perceptions of a simulation-based assessment. Specifically, we conducted a comparative analysis between a sample of South African and…

This study examined the semantic features of the simulated mini-lectures in the listening sections of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) based on automatized semantic analysis to explore the content validity of the two tests. Two study corpora were utilized, the IELTS…

Purpose: The previous coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has forced pre-service English teachers to conduct their teaching simulation virtually. In the context of online teaching, social presence is vital for effective learning. This skill is perceived as a way to humanize the online learning process. This article explores how social…

Teacher-parent communication is one of the domains in teacher education where the gap between theory and practice is evident. Although teacher-education programmes are responsible for developing preservice teachers' (PSTs') effective parent-teacher communication skills, such interactions are rarely practiced during the training. Simulation-Based…

The present study takes a variationist perspective to explore the varietal repertoires of adult learners of German as a second language (L2), that is, their variable use of standard German, Austro-Bavarian dialect, and mixture varieties. Forty L2 learners completed a virtual reality task involving interactions with dialect-speaking and…

Sociolinguistic awareness is crucial for L2 learners because language is not just a set of grammatical rules and vocabulary; it is deeply intertwined with social and cultural context. The linguistic landscape serves as a conduit for discerning facets of language use in a given community. This study focuses on raising sociolinguistic awareness…

Speakers may resort to different inferences and expectations in intercultural encounters. These expectations are influenced by speakers' socialization processes in speech communities and networks, as well as by the local interactional demands and power dynamics in the communicative situation. While interactional sociolinguistic studies have…

The integration of augmented reality (AR) into children's literature has transformed traditional reading experiences, creating immersive and interactive environments that engage young readers. This study examines the creative methods of comic language within AR children's books, positing that the combination of humor and visual storytelling can…

Scoring divergent-thinking response sets has always been challenging because such responses are not only open-ended in terms of number of ideas, but each idea may also be expressed by a varying number of concepts and, thus, by a varying number of words (elaboration). While many current studies have attempted to score the semantic distance in…

This study investigated negotiations for meaning as conditions for second language (L2) learning in the context of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft (WoW) (Blizzard Entertainment, 2004). Varonis and Gass's (1985) and Smith's (2003a) models were used to identify negotiation episodes during on-task and off-task…

This study experimentally investigated the effectiveness of feedback on learner refusals in a computer-simulated academic advising session. Ninety participants were assigned to one of three conditions: implicit feedback, explicit feedback, and comparison group. Oral and written discourse completion tasks (DCTs) were administered in a pretest…