People are often asked to self-evaluate their abilities, and these evaluations may not always reflect objective reality. Here, we investigated this issue for bilingual adults' self-evaluations of language proficiency and usage. We specifically examined how people's self-reported language solidarity impacted their first- (L1) and second-language…

The complexity of language contact and intercultural communication has generated various issues in relation to language use and education. As one of the many Chinese dialects ("fangyans"), the Chaoshan dialect ("Teochew") has been affected by the extensive promotion of Putonghua, the key lingua franca across China, and English,…

English proficiency is advantageous for any graduate. In Malaysia, despite English being formally introduced around age 5, proficiency in the language is still lacking in some graduates. English should be introduced to children during their formation years so they can be proficient. However, in many private preschools, English proficiency is not a…

Governmental language policies in China have varied across recent decades, including the intensive promotion of Mandarin as a language of unification and public championing of regional varieties. Concomitantly, increasing urbanisation, regional migration, and cross-linguistic marriage have led to greater use of Mandarin in private domains. Given…

Family language strategies are approaches that parents adopt for language use with their multilingual children. In bilingual contexts, these strategies influence children's language exposure and development (MacLeod et al., 2022). In the more complex context of trilingualism, how families settle on strategies and their relationship with exposure…

In the post-pandemic situation, where hybrid learning has become prevalent, effective communication between lecturers and students is very important. Self-efficacy is a crucial factor that affects their communication or speaking in class. Nowadays, research on students' self-efficacy in speaking has received considerable attention among…

Our contribution draws on quantitative data from a longitudinal mixed-methods study to uncover different patterns of social contacts of study abroad (SA) students and the relationship of these social contacts with (a) language use, (b) target language development, and (c) contextual variables. Data were obtained by means of online questionnaires…

Mother Tongue Education (MTE), despite being the most reliable method of learning, is a challenge for the African countries that fail to implement MTE policies due to lack of resources, stakeholders' attitudes towards mother tongues, and lack of political will. Keeping in view the plight of the primary implementers of such policies, hence, this…

Teachers' English language ideologies play a crucial role in English language education reforms. It is important to understand how their ideologies evolve outside and inside the classroom. This paper explores how micro-level factors shape teachers' English-only ideology, encompassing both their beliefs and their associated pedagogical practices.…

This study examines the use of English film subtitles to cultivate critical language awareness (CLA) and enhance language skills via a corpus-based approach. Creating and analyzing a specialized corpus of film subtitles reveals the cultural, social, and ideological dimensions of language usage. The findings show that film subtitles provide an…

This study investigates the enhancement of spoken English proficiency among students at Taiwan's technological and vocational education (TVE) universities. The focus is on the significant impact of positive learning attitudes and effective methodologies, using questionnaires and in-depth interviews to assess students' confidence and perceptions of…

This study employed a mixed-methods approach to explore the attitudes of second language (L2) learners and L2 teachers toward the use of learners' first language (L1) in L2 classrooms. Interview data were collected from Japanese college students (n = 91) and their English teachers (n = 9) to identify salient themes related to the reasons for…

With a focus on an under-studied group of immigrants in the UK, this paper examines Iranian families' language ideologies and practices at home in relation to Persian acquisition and maintenance for their children. Working within a family language policy (FLP) framework, we draw on sociolinguistic data from semi-structured interviews with eighteen…

The current study aims at unpacking the language ideologies of the STEM + Business graduates in relation to English medium instruction (EMI) and how they perceive the contribution of EMI towards English proficiency development. It also intended to unfold the extent to which EMI education may have contributed to their employability and fulfillment…

Bilingual parents must often make difficult and complex choices about which languages to use with their children. While existing research has explored family language practices and attitudes within certain language communities, the experiences of African parents are conspicuously absent from the literature. This study explores factors influencing…