This paper attempted to investigate the relationship between English major learners' use of metacognitive strategies of listening to overcome the difficulties they face while learning listening skills at Al-Balqa Applied University (BAU). The data was collected by administering an online Microsoft Form questionnaire to 168 first-year English major…

Positive psychology (PP) is currently employing its modern research toolkit to examine how individual differences of hedonic (i.e. pursuing pleasure, fun, and painlessness) versus eudaimonic (i.e. pursuing meaning, self-worth, and growth) well-being motives play out against emotional and learning challenges or outcomes in life. Similarly oriented,…

Few studies have considered bilingualism's impact on cognitive development within the sociolinguistic and cultural context of the immigrant communities where bilingualism is commonly practiced. In the United States, many Mexican-origin bilingual youth practice their bilingual skills by "brokering" (i.e. translating/interpreting between…

This study explored speaking anxiety and attitudes towards speaking English in the classroom setting. The data collected from 91 Thai EFL grade 11 students, using questionnaires, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews. The findings showed moderate levels of speaking anxiety and attitudes among grade 11 students. The Pearson…

There is currently much controversy surrounding the cognitive advantages that are often associated with bilingualism, especially regarding the so-called executive control advantage. Recently, it has been suggested that bilingualism emerging from immersion education may not lead to an advantage in executive control, but rather to an improvement…

Eye-tracking is primarily used as a tool to capture attentional processes in second language (L2) research. However, it is feasible to design visual displays that can react to and interact with eye-movements in technology-mediated contexts. We explored whether gaze-contingency can foster L2 development by drawing attention to novel words…

This article offers a conceptual and analytical framework for understanding the 'understandings' generated through practitioner research, and specifically exploratory practice (EP), based on Aristotle's philosophy of knowledge. Drawing on Olav Eikeland's interpretation of Aristotle's philosophy of knowledge as a gnoseology, it illustrates how a…

Self-repairs, that is revisions of speech that speakers themselves initiate and complete (Salonen and Laakso in J Child Lang 36:859, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0305000908009240), are frequently used to observe the cognitive and linguistic processes underlying second language (L2) speech production. Previous research has shown that factors such…

Cognitive factors have been recognised as important in the interpreting process, but whether they could serve as valid components of interpreting aptitude still awaits further investigation. This study explores the predictive value of cognitive fluency in the simultaneous interpreting (SI) performance of trainee interpreters. Cognitive fluency…

Listening comprehension is important for daily communication and at school, yet relatively little is known about the variables contributing to listening comprehension, especially in the upper elementary years. The aim of this study was to explore whether vocabulary, verbal memory, but also self-efficacy and self-reported concentration contribute…

This study investigated the influence of cognitive ability on bilingual children's vocabulary development in both their languages. Sixty-nine bilingual immigrant children participated, with data collected at three annual intervals. At Time 1, the participants were 5 or 6 years old. Receptive vocabulary was tested in the minority (Turkish, Tarifit)…

According to some accounts, the bilingual advantage is most pronounced in the domain of executive attention rather than inhibition and should therefore be more easily detected in conflict adaptation paradigms than in simple interference paradigms. We tested this idea using two conflict adaptation paradigms, one that elicits a list-wide…

How does multilingualism affect thinking and behavior? Recent findings demonstrate that multilingualism influences executive functioning, as well as personality traits and dimensions. Concordant outcomes show that multilingual individuals are more likely to be successful at inhibiting certain types of conduct (e.g., impulsivity) than monolinguals.…

One of the aspects of L2 English phonology which poses a challenge for L2 learners is learning how to decode the language, especially as spoken by native speakers. This difficulty may be due to the way the native speakers speak by 'draw[ing] [the sounds] together' (Clarey & Dixson, 1963), which results in realization of consonants and vowels…

This study examined the concurrent relations of English (EL) and heritage language (HL) proficiency to executive functions (EF) among low-income dual language learners (DLLs) from immigrant families. In a sample of 90 children (age = 38-70 months) from Chinese-speaking Chinese American and Spanish-speaking Mexican American families recruited from…