Errors are inevitable in most learning contexts, but under the right conditions, they can be beneficial for learning. Prior research indicates that generating and learning from errors can promote retention of knowledge, higher-level learning, and self-regulation. The present review proposes an integrated theoretical model to explain two major…

Over the last decade, iterated learning studies have provided compelling evidence for the claim that linguistic structure can emerge from non-structured input, through the process of transmission. However, it is unclear whether individuals differ in their tendency to add structure, an issue with implications for understanding who are the agents of…

Learning to read and spell involves learning about the written forms of words and how these are linked to language. Writing systems include formal patterns, which pertain to the appearance of written words, and functional patterns, which pertain to links between units of writing and units of language. We review the evidence that learners of a…

This article revisits the role of cognitive individual differences in creating synergies between second language (L2) writing and second language acquisition research that were proposed by Kormos (2012). It takes stock of the advances in research findings, in the past decade, on the role of working memory and language learning aptitude in L2…

Jurgen Habermas offered a revolutionary way of thinking about the relationship between knowledge, learning, and the human condition in knowledge and human interests. He provided us with a powerful means of understanding the unity in diversity of human learning. The article presents a philosophical framework that enables vocational and adult…

Research into the role of individual difference (ID) factors in the process of second and foreign language (L2) learning and teaching has been one of the most robust lines of inquiry in the field of second language acquisition (SLA; Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015; Griffiths & Soruç, 2020; Pawlak & Kruk, 2022). Most of these empirical…

As research into online informal language learning (OILL) develops as a field, the impact on such practices for a wide variety of contexts can be considered. In the case of this publication, the study abroad (SA) context is of particular interest. Indeed the study abroad student may interact with a range of online learning resources in formal,…

This chapter discusses issues concerning the design and implementation of the research project dealing with the changes in the levels of willingness to communicate, motivation, boredom and language anxiety, their relationships and factors influencing them in the course of the participants' visits to the virtual world Second Life. [For the complete…

Why are some people more effective learners than others? Despite the centrality of learning to life success, solid, comprehensive answers to this question do not yet exist. Global ability constructs do not provide adequate answers, and the case is made here for the need to go beyond them to closely examine the learning process itself and the…

This article introduces this special issue of "Frontline Learning Research." The first paper offers a methodological guide using Ericsson & Smith's (1991) "expert performance approach." This is followed by three papers that analyze the use of eye tracking in visual expertise models, and a paper reviewing the use of methods…

This article synthesizes foundational knowledge from multiple scientific disciplines regarding how humans develop in context. Major constructs that define human development are integrated into a developmental system framework, this includes--epigenetics, neural malleability and plasticity, integrated complex skill development and learning, human…

Parts 1 and 2 in this four-part series of articles (Crossland, 2016, 2017) discussed the recent research from neuroscience linked to concepts from cognitive development that brought Piaget's theories into the 21st century and showed the most effective provision towards more optimal learning strategies. Then the discussion moved onto Demetriou's…

In this article I make the point that there has been a continuous focus on second language development in second language acquisition research for over 40 years and that there is clear empirical evidence for generalizable developmental patterns. I will both summarize some of the core assumptions of Processability Theory (PT) as an approach to…

Errors bear the potential to improve knowledge acquisition, provided that learners are able to deal with them in an adaptive and reflexive manner. However, learners experience a host of different--often impeding or maladaptive--emotional and motivational states in the face of academic errors. Research has made few attempts to develop a theory that…

For decades educational psychologists have bemoaned the black box approach of much research on learning, that is, the focus on product rather than process, and the absence of fine-grained analysis of the learning process in the individual. One way that progress has been made on this point in the last couple of decades is through cognitive…