We report on the design and evaluation of a flashcard application, enhanced with emotional binaural narration to support second language (L2) vocabulary learning. Typically, the voice narration used in English vocabulary learning is recorded by native speakers with a standard accent to ensure accurate pronunciation and clarity. However, a clear…

This study examined how discriminability and prototypicality of nonnative phones modulate the amplitude of the Mismatch Negativity (MMN) event-related brain potential. We hypothesized that if a frequently occurring (standard) stimulus is not prototypical to a listener, a weaker predictive memory trace will be formed and a smaller MMN will be…

In this study, we examined the efficacy of gestures for the acquisition of L2 segmental phonology. Despite teachers' frequent use of gestures in the classroom to teach pronunciation, the field lacks empirical support for this practice. We attempted to fill this gap by investigating the effects of handclapping on the development of L2 Japanese…

The integration of gestures and pictures into pedagogy has demonstrated potential for improving adults' learning of foreign language (L2) vocabulary. However, the relative benefits of gestures and pictures on children's L2 vocabulary learning have not been formally evaluated. In three experiments, we investigated the effects of gesture-based and…

Skill acquisition theorists conceptualize second language (L2) learning as the acquisition of a set of perceptual, cognitive, and motor skills. The dominant view in skill acquisition theory is to regard L2 skill acquisition as a three-stage process "from initial representation of knowledge through initial changes in behavior to eventual…

This study aimed to investigate the effect of written cues on the second- language (L2) language perception, processing, and word learning, especially when the person's first language (L1) belongs to a different rhythmic type of language than L2. The first objective was to examine whether late bilinguals as L2 learners can benefit more from…

This book examines key issues in theories of what language is and what happens in the mind during second language acquisition (SLA), inspiring readers to think in new and exciting ways about language learning and teaching. Chapters, written by both established and rising star scholars, provide cutting-edge insights and new empirical findings on…

Finding ways to make language teaching practices both active and effective is of great importance for young learners. However, extending the foreign language production of young learners in instructional settings beyond the naming of objects is often challenging. The memorisation abilities of very young learners (children aged 5-7) sometimes…

It has been repeatedly argued among vocabulary researchers that semantically related words should not be taught simultaneously because they can interfere with each other. However, the question of what types of relatedness cause interference has rarely been examined carefully. In addition, there are disagreements among the past studies that have…

The relevance of the present issue is caused be the strong need in alternative methods of learning foreign language and the need in language training and retraining for the modern professionals. The aim of the article is to identify the basic techniques and skills in using various modern techniques in the context of modern educational tasks. The…

Structural priming (or syntactic priming) is a speaker's tendency to reuse the same structural pattern as one that was previously encountered (Bock, 1986). This study investigated (a) whether the implicit learning processes involved in long-lag structural priming lead to differential second language (L2) improvement in producing two structural…

Second language acquisition research into the effects of corrective feedback has investigated a variety of learning targets using a wide range of implicit and explicit feedback types (Li, 2010). To date, however, its linguistic focus has been limited to theoretically noticeable surface features (Carroll, 2001; Schmidt, 2001), and researchers have…

Investigated the influence of a talker's face (e.g., articulatory gestures) and voice, vocalic context, and word position in the training of Japanese and Korean English as a Second Language to identify American English /r/ and /l/. Findings revealed significant effects of training type, talker, word position, and vowel. Findings are compatible…

Examines the extent to which Japanese learners of English as a Second Language acquired a rule regulating the argument structure frames of novel English verbs after exposure to grammatical examples of sentences containing the verbs. Results showed significant differences in the extent of learning, with the focus-on-form conditions outperforming…