The measurement of second language (L2) productive lexical proficiency has driven a great deal of research over the past two decades. Research has indicated that more proficient speakers and writers tend to use a wider range of words and that more proficient writers tend to use words that are more sophisticated (less frequent in reference…

Purpose: Relative clauses present a well-known processing asymmetry between object-extracted and subject-extracted dependencies across both typical and atypical populations. The present study aimed at exploring the comprehension of object and subject relative clauses as conceptualized by the Relativized Minimality framework in autistic children…

The market demand for retour interpreting, especially into English as a B language, has driven training needs for B language enhancement. Interpreter trainers suggest memorising (semi-)fixed expressions in one's B language to enhance accuracy, fluency, and idiomaticity. These prefabricated multiword units ease processing effort in both language…

The present continuous tense can be problematic among L1 Thai learners due to the variation in contexts in which the tense can be used (Boonjoon, 2017; Khattiya, 2018; Kongthai, 2015). The present study aimed to examine the functional use of the English present continuous tense by L1 Thai learners under the theoretical framework of the…

Effective writing requires important features and one of them is cohesion which is necessary to bind a text. Halliday and Hasan (1976) state that grammatical and lexical devices which are called cohesive devices (CDs) create texture. To make a text coherent and understandable, CDs should be used frequently and skilfully. The present study aims to…

Acquisition of the perfective marker "-le" in Mandarin Chinese is a daunting task for second language learners. To date, there has been no consensus on what it is about "-le" that makes it such a challenge to learners. This study investigates the acquisition of "-le" from both a lexical perspective and a discourse…

This study investigates the acquisition and maintenance of periphrastic and se-passives in second language (L2), heritage (HS), and (Spanish-dominant) native Spanish speakers (NS) by addressing: (i) How accessible are Spanish periphrastic passives (which also exist in English) and se-passives (unique to Spanish) for L2ers and HSs in production?…

Successful language use requires the ability to process nonadjacent dependencies (NADs) that occur in linguistic input. Learning such structural regularities seems therefore crucial for children, and researchers have indeed proposed that language problems in children with developmental language disorder (DLD), especially problems with grammar, are…

This study is aimed to identify the effects of task complexity on first language (L1) use and the functions it may serve when two groups of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) work on collaborative tasks. Twenty-four pairs of Chinese EFL learners from two universities were assigned to a lower-proficiency and a higher-proficiency group,…

The present study investigates L1 and L2 English speakers' knowledge of the "wh"-clausal construction along the parameters of (a) conventionality, distinguishing between high-frequency conventional and low-frequency unconventional formulations ("I asked him why they agreed/why did they agree"), and (b) proposition type,…

This text critically examines traditional methodologies for teaching grammar in the context of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PFL). It proposes an alternative, eclectic approach, which can be used in any foreign language. Drawing on evidence from research and pedagogical practices, it highlights areas for improvement in current approaches, such…

This follow-up study explored the experiences of eight Latina heritage speakers (HSs), who were initially enrolled in world language teacher preparation programs at two educational institutions in the United States and who became in-service Spanish teachers. Using data from interviews, classroom observations, and a focus group, this qualitative…

This article discusses, from a sociocognitive perspective, the integration of usage-based linguistics (UBL) models in favor of conversation analysis (CA) for second language acquisition (SLA). On this basis, it presents a pedagogical approach, viz. role-based interaction analysis (RBIA) for foreign language learning (FLL), by scaffolding, tracking…

Traditional English education in China, with its emphasis on grammatical proficiency and written accuracy, often neglects public speaking, resulting in a notable deficiency in practical language application. This study investigated the potential of project-based learning to address this problem by promoting more interactive, student-centered…

Using written texts elicited from students with different proficiency levels, we studied the acquisition of nominal cases in Russian as a second language. We established the order in which cases were acquired (nominative, locative, accusative, genitive, instrumental, and dative), as well as certain characteristics of their acquisition…