This article shows that first language (L1) transfer may not be effectively maintained in the interlanguage due to confounding factors in the second language (L2). When two factors, "A" and "B," are correlated in the L2, second language learners may only acquire "B," even if "A" is present in the L1.…

This paper investigated the "be"-insertion phenomenon in L2 English. L2 learners often insert "be"-forms before thematic verbs, creating nontargetlike forms (e.g. "She is love ice cream"). Based on L2 data from learners of topic-prominent L1s, a group of researchers have claimed that such "be"-forms are…

This study aimed to investigate which word-related variables play a role in Dutch-speaking children's L2 word learning through out-of-school exposure prior to classroom instruction in the foreign language. We used different measures to investigate the role of frequency, concreteness, cognateness, and age of acquisition (AoA) in receptive…

Research comparing the reading strategy use of native and second language (L2) readers has often relied on self-report measures and has, at times, been conducted without measures of reading proficiency. In the present study, we used regression and Bayes' factors to explore how L2 reader status and reading proficiency relate to self-report reading…

Foreign-accented speech is generally harder to understand than native-accented speech. This difficulty is reduced for non-native listeners who share their first language with the non-native speaker. It is currently unclear, however, how non-native listeners deal with foreign-accented speech produced by speakers of a different language. We show…

The number of Asian immigrants in the United States has increased remarkably over the past decades and now accounts for nearly 30% of all immigrants in the country. However, the umbrella term "Asians" includes a wide range of variety. Acknowledging diversity among Asians, this study explores advantages of Asian bilingualism in the…

This study investigated the influence of L1 allophonic rule, L1 segment articulation, and gender in Korean learners' production of English /s/ in two different contexts (i.e., before a high front vowel vs. elsewhere) and at three different proficiency levels in English (i.e., low vs. intermediate vs. high). The influence of the Korean allophonic…

This study took place in a 300-level Filipino class at Hawai'i's state university. Originally, the researchers intended to study how English-Filipino translanguaging, the use of linguistic features of different languages to achieve meaning-making, (1) supports development of academic writing skills in Filipino for heritage learners who have…

The purpose of this case study is twofold: it (1) explores multilingual raters' judgements regarding the accentedness and comprehensibility of second language speech and (2) examines how the raters' language backgrounds influence their judgements. In this study, six multilingual Singaporean raters judged the accentedness and comprehensibility of…

Many college students set out on Study Abroad Programs to other countries in which the variant of the foreign language spoken in the region differs from the variant to which learners have been exposed. This study explores the perception of L2 Western Andalusian Spanish aspiration of word-final /s/ by L1 American English listeners, in relation to…

This investigation aimed to provide insights into the controversial debate on the role that age at onset of bilingualism plays in human language capacity with a focus on what it entails for first language (L1) attrition. L1 performance of Turkish immigrants (n = 57) in the United Kingdom with age at onset ranging between 7 and 34 years was…

It has been a topic in psychiatry, it is referred to by translingual writers, and bilinguals report it frequently -- the feeling of becoming a different person when using a different language. The present study was set out to investigate the reasons behind this feeling. We looked at the effects of biculturalism and personality traits, as well as…

This study examined the relationship between negative pragmatic transfer and language proficiency with reference to the refusal speech acts as realized by Yemeni learners of English as a Foreign Language (henceforth referred to as YLEs). Forty Yemeni learners of English (20 of low proficiency level and 20 of high proficiency level) and 2 baseline…

This study examined responses from a questionnaire administered to 98 second- and third-generation Rohingya refugees living in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Questions concerned participants' self-reported language proficiency levels in the Rohingya heritage language and Arabic and patterns of language use in various domains. Findings demonstrate that the…

The study focused on the attitudes of Turkish and foreign students' attitudes towards English language, and their English speaking anxiety. The study adopted case study research design based on quantitative data. The participants were 140 High School Students (70 Turkish, 70 foreign) at Turkish International Schools in Saudi Arabia, and were all…