Originating in adult education, the approach of task-based language teaching (TBLT) has been promoted in young language learner (YLL) education. However, its application often encounters challenges due to varying interpretations of what constitutes a "task." Previous research has repeatedly highlighted gaps in teachers' understanding of…

The "ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners" are designed to describe language performance that is the result of explicit instruction in an instructional setting. A companion to the "ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines," a document that describes broad, general language proficiency regardless of when, where or how…

This guide aims to make corpus building and corpus analysis feasible and practical for language instructors and/or researchers who may view building a corpus as difficult or believe that linguistic analysis requires advanced programming skills. Many avoid creating custom corpora due to these perceived barriers, instead relying on existing corpora…

Vocabulary experts recommend first language (L1) translation equivalents for establishing form-meaning mappings for new second language (L2) words, especially for lower proficiency learners. Empirical evidence to date speaks in favor of L1 translation equivalents over L2 meaning definitions, but most studies have investigated bi- rather than…

Despite undeniable advances in research on language learning strategies in the last several decades, empirical investigations of actions and thoughts that learners engage in to better understand and use grammar structures in different contexts, or grammar learning strategies (GLS), remain scarce. Moreover, there is a paucity of studies examining…

The current study reported an empirical investigation that tested the collective and individual effects of morphological awareness and cognate awareness on Japanese word learning among Chinese learners of Japanese. 131 Chinese learners of Japanese participated in this study. They completed morphological awareness measurements (morpheme…

The study compares three synonymous nouns, "disadvantage," "downside," and "drawback," in terms of their frequency, distribution patterns, and collocations, using data from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). The findings show that the frequency of "disadvantage" is the highest, followed by…

Reviewing the literature is an important part of academic work, as it helps readers see what has come before, what has and has not worked, and situates the author's place in the ongoing discussion. Accepting this view, extensive reading literature often points to Day and Bamford (1988) as identifying Kelly (1969) as crediting Palmer (1921) as the…

Previous studies have consistently demonstrated that students typically favor collaborative retrieval practice over practicing individually. However, there is a gap in research regarding how EFL students specifically engage in collaborative retrieval practice compared to individual methods. This study aimed to investigate Saudi EFL students'…

On the path towards transformatory approaches to education and empowerment of students and teachers, this study made an attempt to explore literacy and critical literacy (CL) from the perspectives of teachers working in a tertiary institution in Oman. For this research, an exploratory research design with a critical stance was employed. Interviews…

In this study, we examined the effect of previewing unfamiliar vocabulary on the real-time reading behavior of first language (L1) and second language (L2) readers. University students with English as their L1 or L2 read passages with embedded pseudowords. In a within-participant manipulation, definitions of the pseudowords were either previewed…

This study analyzes four English synonyms -- clear, obvious, apparent, and evident -- concentrating on meanings, distribution across genre, collocations, and semantic preference and prosody. The data were drawn from learner's dictionaries and the Corpus of the Contemporary American English (COCA). It was discovered that the four synonyms share the…

This paper makes a strong connection between the need for innovation in second language pedagogy and the need for language teachers to develop a good understanding of how language develops in our minds/brains. The future for innovative language pedagogy requires that language teachers fully develop the following: (i) a working definition of the…

While the benefits of form-focused instruction (FFI) for grammar and general vocabulary are well-documented, research on its impact on L2 academic vocabulary acquisition remains limited. This study examines the effects of focus-on-form (FonF) and focus-on-forms (FonFs) activities on learning both general and academic vocabulary in Korean EFL…

Despite a recent influx of conceptual studies on the topic of 'learner-centered education' (LCE), the term continues to be interpreted inconsistently by a wide range of stakeholders. This study develops previous quantitative work on teachers' understandings of LCE by exploring the perspectives of 16 Colombian EFL teachers. The methods consisted of…