Since Swain's (1985) Output Hypothesis, producing output in second language (L2) has been assumed to be a crucial cognitive process that promotes L2 acquisition, by actively facilitating various cognitive processes (e.g., noticing, hypothesis testing, conscious reflections of own language use, and automatization of the linguistic knowledge) (de…

This research is about the underlying process language learners rely on to be able to engage effectively in unscripted conversations without premeditation, or "improvisation." To engage in improvisation in another language, one needs to recognize those elements of the evolving cultural context that are significant at the moment. By…

Given breakthroughs in information and communication technologies (ICTs), language learners are increasingly presented with opportunities to advance their proficiency in a target language (herein English as a foreign language or EFL). The attitudes of learners toward the use of ICTs (ICT attitudes) can be predictive of their adoption of ICTs for…

This dissertation presents the findings from interviews conducted with language nest workers, teachers, language nest coordinators, administrators of language revitalization programs, principals and directors of language immersion schools that work in close proximity with language nests, and linguists involved in language revitalization efforts.…

Second language (L2) learners of tone languages do not perceive and produce the different tones of the target language with equal ease. The most common explanation for these asymmetries is that acoustically salient tones are the easiest to learn. An alternative explanation is that tones are easiest to learn when they are highly frequent in the…

This study contributed to the continuing dialogue of quality language programs and student outcomes for classroom language learning and assessments within the standardized testing era to language learning programs within Colombia. The particular purpose of this one-phase, embedded, mixed-method study examined students' and teachers' beliefs about…