This interview presents the celebrated Kenyan writer Ngugi's changing orientations in decolonizing language. After adopting a Marxist approach to language in the 1980s, he now adopts an embodied and ecological orientation from his indigenous Gikuyu tradition. He articulates the importance of vernaculars and multimodal art forms in social…

Extant research has compared the processing of affectively laden words between L1 and L2. However, most studies used verbal stimuli that were validated for a single language or for both languages but using independent samples. We systematically compared ratings of valence, emotional intensity and subjective familiarity of negative, neutral,…

From early in their learning experience, foreign language (FL) learners at American universities explore socio-cultural connotations that, it is argued, are signified by FL words. Textbook authors and teachers follow an implicit canon of difference, a list of iconic words that over time--and without the benefit of empirical evidence--have come to…

A majority of multilinguals report feeling different when switching languages [Dewaele, J.-M. (2016). "Why do So Many Bi- and Multilinguals Feel Different When Switching Languages?" "International Journal of Multilingualism" 13 (1): 92-105; Panicacci, A., and J.-M. Dewaele. (2017). "'A Voice from Elsewhere': Acculturation,…

This case study examined how one instructor navigated between two competing discourses in an intermediate Spanish heritage language (HL) classroom: on the one hand, teaching "Standard Spanish" to help students achieve professional success, and legitimizing home linguistic practices on the other. In addition to expressing both…

The purpose of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the emotional expression in the narration of autobiographical stories of Chinese international students in their respective languages (i.e., Mandarin and English). It addressed the methodological limitations of previous research on bilinguals' emotional expression and…

Notes that the study of language attitudes is rich in a history stretching across several decades and social scientific disciplines. Points out that beliefs about language use can bias social interaction and decision making and that more study is required to increase understanding of the language attitude process. (74 references) (Author/CK)

This paper explores some of the relationships between knowing, using and liking English as an additional language. Data was gathered from teachers and students in India, Indonesia and Israel. In predicting acquisition and use, non-attitudinal factors are primary whereas attitudinal factors are primary in predicting attitudes. (CFM)

Investigated the relevance of emotional and familial factors to language maintenance in immigrant families. Information on the family relations of 40 children from Chinese-speaking immigrant families in Sydney, Australia. Analysis revealed that children likely to use their parents' mother tongue were those who perceived their family to be more…

Investigation of how college students' (N=125) personality characteristics influenced their attitudes toward various second-language learning activities partially confirmed hypotheses suggesting that risk taking and sociability factors positively influenced attitudes toward free language use and negatively affected attitudes toward highly…

The objective of this paper is to make a case for the claim that exclusive focus on the rational has only helped isolate linguists and prevented them from having a say on important political issues relating to language. One important feature of the ordinary person's view of and involvement with language is that emotions play an important role in…

The conditions of the development and the present status of the mother tongue in the Finland-Swedish compulsory school are discussed from an investigation under progress. The aims, contents, and methods are examined from both cognitive and affective points of view in the curricula that have governed teaching in the compulsory school. (Author/CB)