This study explores the effects of receptive derivational affix knowledge, derivative frequency, part of speech, and vocabulary breadth on production of derivatives. Twenty-one speakers of English as a first language and 107 learners of English as a second language were asked to produce derivatives for 90 prompt words on a decontextualized…

Adequately responding to linguistic diversity in the classroom is imperative in European school contexts, not least because of current migratory movements. This article presents the results of an intervention study with primary school English-foreign-language learners in Germany (N = 42, M[subscript age] = 8.70 years) from linguistically diverse…

The study aimed to identify different second language (L2) learner motivational types drawing on the framework of the L2 motivational self system. A total of 1,278 secondary school students learning English in Iran completed a questionnaire survey. Cluster analysis yielded five different groups based on the strength of different variables within…

Recent theorizing on second language (L2) motivation has proposed viewing motivation as a function of the language learners' vision of their desired future language selves. This would suggest that the intensity of motivation is partly dependent on the learners' capability to generate mental imagery. In order to test this hypothesis, this study…

This nonexperimental study explored the predictive strength of English proficiency levels on academic achievement of middle school students in a sample of 17,470 native English-speaking (NES) students, 558 English language learners (current ELLs), and 500 redesignated fluent English proficient students (former ELLs). Results of multilevel analyses…

Describes a study which examined the relationship between learner chatacteristics and achievement in French as a second language. Results indicate that subjects who have more schooling, a higher degree of nonverbal reasoning ability, and make greater use of French outside the classroom are more likely to benefit from formal language instruction.…

The effect of three affective student characteristics, in comparison with selected student ability characteristics, on course grade in elementary language courses is examined. Results imply that affective characteristics have at least as much influence on learning as do ability factors. (Author/RM)

Studied the relationships between the personality types of a group of English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students in Indonesia and various measures of their academic performance in a course with EFL language measures. Students were almost evenly divided between extroverts and introverts with a distribution of types similar to those of…

This study investigated a causal model of second language learning, in particular, three situation-specific constructs: language class discomfort, language class risktaking, and language class sociability. Findings indicate that discomfort negatively predicted risktaking and sociability, risktaking positively predicted participation, and…

Examines the behavior of university students of Italian in Australia as they study the meanings of new Italian words. Repetition of the new words and their meanings was the primary learning strategy employed. Results indicate a need to distinguish between the use of context for "generation" of a new word and the use of context for…

Reports on a study of the influence of cognitive/affective variables on the second language learning ability of adults. Two variables, field independence and ambiguity tolerance, were found to be significant predictors of English as a second language proficiency for international students studying in the United States. (SED)