The extent to which negative bias toward foreign-accented speakers originates from social categorization (in-group/out-group categorization) and/or from processing fluency (ease in processing information) is not clear. Some have argued that accent first induces a social identity effect and that processing fluency later modifies the impact of this…

This study investigated classroom interaction through the framework of "stancetaking" (Du Bois, 2007) to understand how Spanish second language (L2) learners positioned themselves when participating in communicative language learning activities. Data came from transcribed audio and video recordings of three 90-minute lessons in one…

This article introduces the nonmedievalist reader to the multilingual landscape of England 700-1400. Building on recent work exploring in particular the relationships among English, French, and Latin in medieval England, it discusses a series of "multilingual moments" from a range of sources, including letters, poems, travel writings,…

As part of the shift within second language acquisition (SLA) research toward complex systems thinking, researchers have called for investigations of social network structure. One strand of social network analysis yet to receive attention in SLA is network statistical models, whereby networks are explained in terms of smaller substructures of…

This study investigates the role of components of intercultural competence in the use of intercultural mediation behaviors. Through the use of the Revised Intercultural Mediation Measure, an instrument revised by the authors, 291 Anglophone and 161 Francophone participants in Canada were asked to indicate their likelihood of employing various…

Using data from a multisited ethnography of Ecuadorian transnational musicians, I applied Lave and Wenger's (1991) concept of legitimate peripheral participation and Jacoby and Ochs's (1995) notion of co-construction to examine two musicians' attempts to learn Quichua, an Ecuadorian indigenous language. Through an analysis aided by constructivist…

Describes a study in which subjects varying in both language aptitude and attitudinal/motivational characteristics were studied to see how quickly they learned French vocabulary using a paired associates paradigm. Two different modes were used. In one, the stimuli were presented visually; in the other, they were presented aurally. All three…

Examines the nonlinguistic outcomes of an immersion versus a nonimmersion program in Cape Breton. Dependent variables included attitudes toward learning French, orientations for learning, willingness to communicate, communication anxiety, perceived communicative competence, and self-reported frequency of communication in both English a a first…

This study examined the language anxiety level felt during 3 stages in the second-language acquisition process (input, processing, and output) among 97 college students learning French as a Second Language. It found that language anxiety and language proficiency were strongly related in each of the stages. (37 references) (MDM)

Reviews research on student motivation for second-language learning from the standard applied linguistics approach. The utility of other concepts of motivation to such research conducted at the micro, classroom, and syllabus levels is discussed as well as informal, out-of-class, and long-term factors. (188 references) (Author/CB)

A study was conducted among college students of Spanish to determine whether certain linguistic and ethnic attitudes can predict proficiency in Spanish as a second language. Attitudinal data did not predict second language proficiency, but evidence suggested that a positive orientation toward the Chicano community was not necessary for the…

Relations between various measures of attitudes toward self, the native language group, the target language group, reasons for learning ESL, reasons for traveling to the U.S. and attained proficiency in ESL were investigated. Attitudes toward self and the native language group were positively correlated with attained proficiency in ESL. (CHK)

Based on a synopsis of research studies, the relationship of second language learning to affective factors, such as language shock, attitude motivation, ego permeability, etc., is examined. Also, it is suggested that affective variables may be more important than maturation in the problems of adults in learning a second language. (MS)

Examines: (1) correlations between attitudes of Japanese students toward various variables, and their proficiency in English; and (2) the validity of attitude measures. (Author/AM)

To mark the 40th anniversary of "Language Learning," the journal's first article is reprinted and identifies five motives for studying foreign languages: (1) "knowledge of a foreign language is the sign of a cultivated man"; (2) foreign insularism; (3) necessity of creating a political fusion; (4) trade and colonization; and (5) scientific and…