This study examined 283 online learner dictionary definitions in terms of scores based on word frequency level and readability. Results revealed three findings. First, in terms of word frequency levels, definitions from the Cambridge learner dictionary incorporated fewer non-high frequency words (mid and low frequency words) compared to Oxford,…

We examined if North (n = 123) and South Korean (n = 123) children in Grades 3 to 8 studying in South Korea differ in their reading, vocabulary, and literacy-related cognitive skills, and whether language and literacy-related skills contribute to reading outcomes differently among North and South Korean children. The results showed that South…

Multi-word expressions are formulaic language universals with arbitrary and idiosyncratic collocations. Their usage and mastery are required of learners of a second language in achieving naturalness. However, despite the importance of multi-word expressions to mastering a second language, their syntactic architecture and colligational…

The aim of this study is to provide a review of published and peer-reviewed resources for acquired communication disorders in Qatar. The study followed a systematic review of studies and resources published for Qatari Arabic in major journal databases. In addition, the review made use of personal communication with clinicians in the field to…

During spoken word processing, native (L1) listeners use allophonic variation to predictively rule out word competitors and speed up word recognition. There is some evidence that second language (L2) learners develop an awareness of allophonic distributions in their L2, but whether they use their knowledge to facilitate word recognition online,…

Drawing on interviews with staff from Language Supplementary Schools (LSS) in Manchester (UK), we discuss the emergence of makeshift ideologies whereby actors seek to legitimise choices and policies of heritage language transmission in the diaspora setting. Actors discuss the use of regional and vernacular varieties, the consideration given to…

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability. Knowledge about dyslexia is thus essential for its prevention and early identification. Despite recent advances in dyslexia grounded in the science of reading and the science of teaching reading, it remains unclear the extent to which different professionals who work with children diagnosed with…

Background and aims: Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has not traditionally been associated with morphosyntactic impairments, some children with ASD manifest significant difficulties in this domain. Sentence Repetition (SRep) tasks are highly reliable tools for detecting morphosyntactic impairment in different languages and across various…

This study investigated lexical complexity in English language teaching (ELT) students' essays across genres and over the course of time. The essays included descriptive, compare and contrast, advantage and disadvantage, and argumentative genres. Employing a longitudinal, quasi-experimental and repeated measures design in a year-long writing…

Teaching English as an International Language (TEIL) refers to teaching English as a truly international medium via exposing learners to diversity, adopting a broad cultural view, fostering sensitivity and responsibility, being sensitive to the local culture of learning, and equipping learners with communication strategies. To put this lately…

Foreign accents can vary considerably in the degree to which they deviate from the listener's native accent, but little is known about how the relationship between a speaker's accent and a listener's native language phonology mediates adaptation. Using an artificial accent methodology, we addressed this issue by constructing a set of three…

Successful word recognition requires that listeners attend to differences that are phonemic in the language while also remaining flexible to the variation introduced by different voices and accents. Previous work has demonstrated that American-English-learning 19-month-olds are able to balance these demands: although one-off one-feature…

This study investigated the extent to which racialisation shapes EFL learners' conceptualizations of the 'native speaker' construct through an experimental design. Three hundred and fourteen university students studying at English-medium universities in Turkey were invited to take an online matched guise test. They were assigned to either the…

This study aims to compare the opinions of optional and compulsory preparatory class students about learning English and the target culture. Furthermore, students' reasons to learn English are examined in terms of independent variables (gender, going abroad and status of prep class). In the present study, data are gathered through a questionnaire…

This article reports on an experimental study on the acquisition of prepositional relative clauses in second language European Portuguese by Chinese native speakers. It focuses on the role of resumption, mandatory in prepositional relative clauses in Chinese (the native language of the learners) and non-conventional in European Portuguese (the…