This study examines the potential roles of self-guides (ideal L2 self/outght-to L2 self), enjoyment, and gender in language achievement. A total of 727 Chinese high school students participated in this study and data were collected through a questionnaire survey. Path analysis showed that ideal self was positively related to both enjoyment and…

This study aims at testing the generalisability of Marsh's Internal/External (I/E) frame of reference model as well as its Dimensional Comparison Theory (DCT) extension in a sample of United Arab Emirates (UAE) high school students. Relationship between self-concept and achievement in Arabic, English and mathematics were explored. A sample of 990…

Unlike communities of practice, previous studies on imagined communities of practice are scarce, yet enlightening. The present research was conducted in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context in order to provide more insight into how language learners perceive their imagined communities (ICs). It was based on Norton's (2000; 2001)…

This paper aims to explore the perception and usage of epicene pronouns in English among Chinese EFL teachers, as gender fair language becomes increasingly important for promoting inclusion, respect for identity and expression. This study employed a survey of 284 EFL teachers along with a follow-up written task to assess their views and actual use…

The present dissertation is a synthesis and meta-analysis of the 15-year-old research domain of the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) model initiated by Dornyei (2005). The study is based on data from 100 studies involving 144 unique samples and 51,905 participants, and it addresses the inter-relationships of L2MSS elements (i.e., the Ideal L2…

A research study on the L2 Motivational Self-systems (L2MSS) and technology acceptance of Foreign Language Learners (EFL) in relation to Language Massive Open Online Courses (LMOOCs) is warranted. In response, 336 Iranian EFL learners participated in three LMOOC platforms, learned language online in line with their language institutes, and…

The study explores the motivational profiles of Spanish EFL sports science university students from the second language (L2) motivation self system (L2MSS) perspective to ultimately support Spanish higher institutions' plans committed to improving employability and competitiveness. The study analyzes the relationships between L2 motivation, L2…

This paper explores how textbooks for second language learners make ideologically motivated decisions regarding which forms of the target language are included in the curriculum. We explore this question via an analysis of Korean language textbooks, at a time when Korean society is becoming increasingly globalized and multicultural. The focus is…

Gender studies have become relevant for English language teaching and initial teacher education. This study uses a narrative inquiry approach to inspect two language teachers' life stories in an initial teacher education program. We document how their femininities and identities are embodied through their language pedagogy since it is a praxis…

Based on the assumption that individual learner factors are context-dependent, this exploratory study examined whether differences in two learning environments (Denmark and Spain) have a differential influence on a set of learner factors that have together been previously identified as important in second language (L2) research, specifically,…

The focus of this study is to explore the relationship between the linguistic and cultural learning processes that four female Chinese university exchange students perceived in Japan over one academic year. Two data collection instruments were employed: participants' diary entries and follow-up interviews with the four participants during the…

Pre-pandemic studies indicate that East Asian students' migration to ASEAN Outer Circle nations to study English by no means marks their departure from an idealized anglophone English world. Via research conducted during the pandemic when online learning had become mainstream, this study further explores the significance of such students' English…

As in other countries, bilingual/multilingual education has become widespread in Spain. However, research either focuses on Spanish programs' implementation, students' performance or teacher training, but not on their contribution to graduates' self-perceived linguistic success (understood as a combination of intercultural competence,…

Most previous studies focused on foreign language learning anxiety, whereas relatively few have ever examined the foreign language teaching anxiety (FLTA), particularly experienced by pre-service EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. By administering the "Foreign Language Teaching Anxiety Scale" (FLTAS) and a semi-structured…

This paper reports on the narrative of Shannon, a Taiwanese Canadian female assistant language teacher (ALT) of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, one of the world's largest government-sponsored programmes for recruiting English language teachers to teach overseas [Nagatomo (2016). "Identity, gender and teaching English in…