The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of explicit corrective feedback (CF) strategies (i.e., metalinguistic feedback and explicit correction) versus implicit CF methods (i.e., recasts and explanation questions) in helping English language learners acquire the that-trace filter. To this end, one hundred twenty intermediate…

Research has shown that learning a known-and-unknown word combination leads to greater learning than learning an unknown word alone (Kasahara, 2010, 2011). These studies found that attaching a known adjective to an unknown noun can help learners remember the unknown noun. Kasahara (2015) found that a known verb can serve as an effective cue to…

Persuasiveness in oral communication in English can be expressed with various vocal phonetic cues that may not be readily accessible to English second language (L2) learners whose native language may employ a different set of cues. With a goal to increase L2 learners' perceived spoken confidence and persuasiveness, and obtain empirical evidence…

It remains unclear whether late second language learners (L2ers) can acquire sufficient knowledge about unique-to-L2 constructions through implicit learning to build anticipations during real-time processing. To tackle this question, we conducted a visual world paradigm experiment to investigate high-proficiency late first-language Dutch…

Within the same learning context, learners' outcomes in terms of oral fluency vary greatly. This study tracked the relative contributions that first language (L1) and initial second language (L2) fluency skill and working memory (WM) made to L2 fluency development. We assessed the performance of French-speaking Grade 6 learners' (n = 47, mean age:…

A growing number of studies have probed the effectiveness of certain exercise formats in the learning of multi-word expressions (MWEs) in classroom settings. However, a number of important variables, such as MWE retention over an extended period of time and the role of repetition, have so far not been considered. Furthermore, studies have focused…

One critical question for English language teachers is how their learners, especially in non-English-speaking developing countries, address global issues as they learn the foreign language. The question seems more viably answered following the United Nations' dissemination of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 to be achieved by 2030.…

This paper adopts an ethnomethodological, conversation analytic approach to analyze the social organization of the instruction-giving sequences that were accomplished by a teacher of Italian as a foreign language during the last phase of a writing task conducted in pairs. Specifically, the paper explores the linguistic, prosodic and embodied…

Two types of corrective feedback, recasts and prompts, have sparked much research in second language (L2) learning and teaching. However, it is still unclear how these two types of feedback draw learners' attention to the erroneous forms in L2 classes. This study used an open questionnaire to investigate Chinese learners' perceptions of recasts…

Children are known to be fast learners due to their neural plasticity. Learning a non-native language (L2) requires the mastering of new production patterns. In classroom settings, learners are not only exposed to the acoustic input, but also to the unfamiliar grapheme-phoneme correspondences of the L2 orthography. We tested how 9-10-year-old…

This paper explores the impact of AI applications in adaptive learning on learners with varying levels of Chinese proficiency and diverse learning needs. The study investigates the robustness of VR technology in enhancing Chinese oral proficiency and pragmatic skills among 1st year and 2nd year learners. It compares the established VR app Mondly…

The main purpose of the present study is to propose a framework for implementing group dynamic assessment (DA) using students' smartphones for improving and assessing EFL learners' ability to produce well-formed and appropriate requests. This study focuses on five learner reciprocity moves during DA interactions to get deeper insights into the…

Recent research that explored how input exposure and learner characteristics influence novel L2 morphosyntactic pattern learning has exposed participants to either text or static images rather than dynamic visual events. Furthermore, it is not known whether incorporating eye gaze cues into dynamic visual events enhances dual pattern learning.…

The present investigation analyses the potential of a pedagogical dynamic assessment (DA) approach to foster second language (L2) development through the use of a mobile instant messaging application. Students' zone of actual and proximal development is observed through the use of a grammar and vocabulary level test and the use of the WhatsApp…

This article reflects on the concept of meaningful literacy. It offers a classroom methodology, posting on a closed Facebook Group, that manifests this approach to English as a second language (ESL) or English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom meaningful literacy instruction. This study aims to produce empirically informed teaching materials…