If maximal exposure were the key to success in language learning, then adult learners at the university level would be doomed to fail. Not only are they presumably too old to learn additional languages effectively, but target language (TL) input appears to be insufficient, especially when other languages are allowed in class. Nevertheless,…

Self-determination theory is one of the most established motivational theories both within second language learning and beyond. This theory has generated several mini-theories, namely: organismic integration theory, cognitive evaluation theory, basic psychological needs theory, goal contents theory, causality orientations theory, and relationships…

This study examined the impact of collaborative pre-task strategic planning followed by rehearsal on the quantity and novelty of content used in task performances when strategic planning is performed in different language conditions in an online classroom. Forty Japanese university students of English as a foreign language (EFL) from two intact…

This study investigates the effect of personal investment in the form of learner-generated content (LGC) on the lexical recall of beginning-level learners of Chinese. The study employed a 2 x 2 repeated-measures design with content at two levels -- teacher-generated content or TGC, and learner-generated content or LGC -- and time at two levels…

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…

Research on the effects of second language (L2) listening strategy instruction (SI) has gained momentum in recent years (e.g. Vandergrift & Tafaghodtari, 2010). However, the reported results have been inconclusive and varied across studies. Synthesizing the results of quantitative research in this domain, the present meta-analysis sought to…

While research into various dimensions of language learning strategies has been thriving over the recent years, grammar learning strategies (GLS) have largely remained under-explored. The present mixed methods research aimed to explore GLS in the three stages of classroom grammar tasks, while striving to determine the sequence of GLS and their…

With the large increase in online English language learners, there is a need to explore how those learners practise self-regulated writing in such an autonomous learning context. This article reports on an exploratory study of self-regulated learning strategies used by two writing-proficiency groups (low and high) of Saudi English majors within an…

We investigated whether learning and retaining vocabulary in a second language (L2) can be improved by leveraging a combination of memory enhancement techniques. Specifically, we tested whether combining retrieval practice, spacing, and related manipulations in a 'multidomain' pedagogical approach enhances vocabulary acquisition as compared to a…

As one variant of the conventional flipped model, online flipped learning is increasingly implemented and it becomes important to explore how learners may be ready for it and how learner readiness may relate to motivation, attitude, and support. Informed by a multidimensional conceptualization of learner readiness and motivation and engagement,…

Motivation to learn languages strongly correlates with language achievement, and the school context has a great influence on the motivation of young learners (YLs). A key rationale for the implementation of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) programs, therefore, was pupil motivation. Very few studies have measured motivation in this…

This article intends to add to the rising discussion related to the employment of authentic plays and drama within a high school compulsory curriculum for enhancing learners' foreign language (L2) oral skills. In particular, it examines the pedagogical use of authentic contemporary plays for developing learners' L2 oral production in terms of (1)…

Task modality (oral vs. writing) has been found to affect the production, nature and resolution of the language-related episodes (LREs) produced by adult learners in collaborative interaction, a finding also attested in very recent and still limited research with young learners, a population that deserves greater attention in the literature.…

Language learning activities involving time-pressured repetition of similar content have been shown to facilitate improvements in fluency. However, concerns have been voiced about whether these gains might be offset by reduced levels of grammatical accuracy. This descriptive study tracked the oral proficiency of 32 Japanese university students…

Sign language learners with a spoken language background face the challenge of acquiring a second language in a different modality. In the course of this endeavor, one of the modality-specific phenomena they encounter is the use of classifier predicates, also known as depicting signs. Classifier predicates contain a meaningful hand configuration…