The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons for low retention rates among students in the Chinese classes in upper secondary education in the Czech Republic. The principal research question was whether Chinese characters were the main reason why many students decided to stop attending their Chinese classes. Semi-structured interviews with…

This study explores the relationship between the experience of confusion and the outcomes of Chinese character learning by learners of Chinese as a heritage language (CHL). Based on the claim that impasses triggering confusion can lead to deeper learning of conceptually difficult material, the study employed three impasse-driven tasks. The tasks…

The article discusses the results of a study of L1 proofreading competence conducted among young adult native speakers of Polish who acquired English through formal education at school and university in Poland. Students with various levels of proficiency in English were asked to make acceptability judgements for Polish structures presented to them…

This paper presents results of a study investigating four teaching methods used to introduce Chinese characters to beginner learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) in an Irish secondary school between September 2016 and October 2016. Approximately 98 learners aged 14-16 were divided into four groups and taught for two one-hour classes per…

Given the growing importance of English as a lingua franca, this study examines which context (classroom instruction in the students' home country vs. studying abroad in an English-speaking country) better facilitates the acquisition of English by learners of different ages: children, adolescents and adults. Participants (N = 197) completed…