Dynamic visuospatial support (DVS) is an effective tool for helping people learn linguistic tones (Hannah et al., 2017, Morett et al., 2022, Zhen et al., 2019), and learn words with these tonal categories (Baills et al., 2019, Morett et al., 2015). Progress in the field of embodied cognition and learning has led to recent emphasis on the pitch…

While language aptitude and motivation are considered to be important contributors to second language (L2) attainment, two major gaps in the past research have been (1) a lack of nonlinear models stemming from a naive and tacit assumption that learning outcomes are linearly related to their predictors, and (2) a lack of unified and integrative…

Gestures and other bodily movements are frequently used as instructional strategies in second language classrooms. Research has demonstrated that gestures are an effective strategy to improve L2 vocabulary recall. However, previous studies have only used vocabulary items that are known to participants in their native languages. Additionally,…

Millions engage in learning a Second Language (L2) using their mobile devices with a wide range of success. Concomitantly, there exists a growing interest in research on the effects of mobile-assisted language learning and predictors of learner outcomes (e.g., Loewen et al., 2020; Sudina & Plonsky, 2023). However, few of these apps and studies…

This study discusses the relationship between Taiwanese adult learners' identity development and language curriculum, exploring how students (re)constructed their identities within the Taiwanese social context. Influenced by exam culture and educational credentialism, Taiwanese language education is mainly exam-oriented and teacher-centered.…

Researchers have investigated the promise of unimodal and bimodal input in enhancing vocabulary learning from meaning-focused activities. Compared to unimodal input, the simultaneous presentation of written and aural input in bimodal input has been argued to direct L2 learners' attention to words and enhance the form-meaning links for new…

The current study investigates the use of alternative assessments in English as a foreign language (EFL) classes in Saudi Arabia. While alternative assessments have been recently recognized as a prospective approach to assessing EFL learning, little research has examined how language learners perceive this approach to assessment in an EFL context,…

Strategic competence, or the cognitive resources necessary for utilizing language knowledge, is widely recognized as an essential component of second language (L2) ability. However, research on strategic competence in the context of L2 speaking assessment has been limited, and findings have been inconsistent, making it challenging to discern the…

Adult second-language learners are a growing population of students in many countries throughout the world as the global community continues to expand beyond not only physical borders, but cultural and language borders as well. 200 expatriates, who lived in Denmark during the time span of 2006-2016, who were required to show proficiency in their…

Skill acquisition theorists conceptualize second language (L2) learning as the acquisition of a set of perceptual, cognitive, and motor skills. The dominant view in skill acquisition theory is to regard L2 skill acquisition as a three-stage process "from initial representation of knowledge through initial changes in behavior to eventual…

The digital transformation in educational assessment has led to the proliferation of large-scale data, offering unprecedented opportunities to enhance language learning, and testing through machine learning (ML) techniques. Drawing on the extensive data generated by online English language assessments, this dissertation investigates the efficacy…

The present study sought to evaluate trial designs and training designs that are commonly used in popular commercially available computer-assisted language-learning (CALL) programs. The first two experiments (Experiment 1a and 1b) compared the effects of passive viewing and active student response methods in vocabulary learning. Contingencies on…

Despite some rises and falls in the numbers due to various reasons, including the political climate in the Trump era and the COVID-19 pandemic (Laws & Ammigan, 2020), each year universities in the United States host a large number of multilingual international students from different parts of the world. Based on their TOEFL scores, many are…

Learning new languages is a complex task involving both explicit and implicit processes (i.e., that do/do not involve awareness). Understanding how these processes interact is essential to a full account of second language (L2) learning, but accounts vary as to whether explicit processes help (e.g., DeKeyser, 2007), hinder (e.g., Ellis &…

This dissertation focused on comparing the academic achievement and language proficiency in both English and Spanish of students at risk for language and learning difficulties, with bilingual typically developing students in two bilingual educational contexts: English as a Second Language program and Spanish two-way immersion program. Data was…