The Topic Hypothesis posits that Chinese language learners progress through a developmental sequence comprising five stages (Gao, 2009; Wang, 2011), which includes the Object-Subject-Verb (OSV) structure at stage 4 and the ba-construct at stage 5. According to this hypothesis, learners typically master the OSV structure before acquiring the…

Incorporating Vygotsky's concepts of scaffolding and Zone of Proximal Development, this paper presents a qualitative study examining student roles in dialogic peer feedback learning, focusing on Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students in mixed translation proficiency triads within an English-Chinese translation course. During feedback…

Listening is a major challenge for many English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) learners. Decoding training, which helps learners develop the ability to recognize words from speech, is frequently used to assist EFL learners. Although recent empirical studies on decoding training have provided positive evidence on its effectiveness in improving EFL…

"Second Language Acquisition -- Learning Theories and Recent Approaches" will aim to present the process of learning an additional language apart from one's native language. The process of understanding, writing, and speaking another language with fluency involves complex intellectual and emotional responses as well as continuous…

Previous papers in these pages have dealt empirically with the child's first words, the child's first imitations, and the use of yes/no and wh-questions with infants. In this study, we touch on all these issues, but attempt to place them in a systemic-functional language framework and a cultural-historical learning one. First, we deal with some of…

This article suggests three teaching ideas to help L2 learners improve speaking performances through form-focused instruction using formulaic language. Formulaic language is considered an effective way to foster speaking fluency because prefabricated chunks are faster to retrieve than constructing sentences word by word (Wray, 2002). In spite of…

This study investigated how peer-mediated Dynamic Assessment (DA) unfolded in translation revision competence (TRC) of students of Master's degree of Translation and Interpreting (MTI) in China. Thirty subjects first completed three revision tasks and were then rated as high- or low-level performers according to their average scores across the…

Idiom comprehension and production reflect a child's language competence. Research suggests that there is a positive relationship between children's reading comprehension skills and their idiom understanding. This study examines whether adult verbal scaffolding, in conjunction with the deliberate use of iconic gestures, can facilitate young…

This reader-friendly text, firmly grounded in listening theories and supported by recent research findings, offers a comprehensive treatment of concepts and knowledge related to teaching second language (L2) listening, with a particular emphasis on metacognition. The metacognitive approach, aimed at developing learner listening in a holistic…

Computer technology improves the process of SLA by providing access to an ample amount of input within a communicative context in which participants can engage in synchronous and asynchronous conversations (Payne & Whitney, 2002; Sykes, 2005). This research project aims to investigate the role of alignment in learning a second language within the…

Language Development: Understanding Language Diversity in the Classroom offers comprehensive coverage of the language development process for pre- and in-service teachers while emphasizing the factors that further academic success in the classroom, including literacy skills, phonological awareness, and narrative. With chapters written by respected…

Three types of processes occur in language learning, each intricately connected with the others. Social processes are the steps by which learners and target language speakers create a social situation in which target language communication is possible and desired. Linguistic processes are the ways in which assumptions held by target language…

Discusses the production paradigm which views human cognition as a flexible system that continuously adapts to new situations and tasks in order to behave efficiently. Discusses the second language learning (English) of a German university student who had studied English for nine years, followed by a three-month stay in the U.S. (SED)

Presents a case study of a bilingual two-year-old, documenting his translation skills between the age of 1 year, 11 months and 2 years, 5 months. Argues that critical insights into child language may be gained through the examination of a child's linguistic abilities in cognitively demanding situations. (SED)

Examines the development of students' writing competence in English, their second language. Explores Lev S. Vygotsky's perspective of the dialectal relationship between language and cognition. Discusses Vygotskyan concepts of mediation, higher mental functions, interaction, internalization, proximal development, and problem solving. (KEH)