This study attempts to answer one straightforward question: "what is the relationship between students' proficiency level and their willingness to communicate?", i.e., their "readiness to enter into discourse at a particular time with a specific person or persons", using an L2. Understanding the link between proficiency and WTC…

Chinese students are frequently seen as passive learners because of their apparent reluctance to speak, particularly in English classrooms. However, this impression seems to reflect a stereotype which is likely to confound willingness to communicate (WTC) and communication behaviour. In this article we argue for more attention to be paid to…

Previous research has addressed the effects of digital storytelling (DST) on verbal English competence and demonstrated that students engage more and learn more effectively. However, the relationship between learner engagement and speaking competence needs a further analysis of the methods wherein a specific DST tool facilitates learner engagement…

This study explores the effects of extensive audio-visual input with three captioning modes -- unenhanced captions, textually enhanced captions, and no captions -- on learning a variety of L2 grammatical constructions and examines the effects of three learnability factors: construction type, frequency, and recency. A total of 112 participants…

The aim of this study is to explore whether latent classes, i.e. subgroups of students, representing specific motivational profiles can be found among learners of different foreign languages (L2s) in Finnish comprehensive schools. The focus is on whether motivational profiles are different for learning a compulsory foreign language (English) or an…

Lexical richness makes an important contribution to L2 writing quality. To explore its importance, the study aims to identify and explain how lexical richness manifests in argumentative essays written in the final exam of reading and writing class by thirty-five undergraduates. The lexical richness consists of four interrelated elements: lexical…

Research on self-efficacy has been a productive field while limited studies have explored language learners' formation of academic self-efficacy. This quantitative study developed an instrument with two questionnaires for assessing English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' formation of self-efficacy and academic self-efficacy. It further…

Through the example of the establishment, functioning, and closing of bilingual schools during the Soviet occupation of Hungary, this paper aims to introduce this segment of public education in Central-Eastern Europe. In the period between 1945 and 1989, the learning of Russian as a compulsory subject was introduced, teaching other languages was…

The study focuses on the role of different theories when considered together in a foreign language other than English (LOTE) context. Specifically, the study examines (a) to what extent influential second language (L2) motivational theories, when integrated, explain motivation to learn LOTEs, and (b) how the powerful status of English in Japan…

This quantitative causal comparative ex post facto study compared the performance and persistence of undergraduate English Language Learners (ELL) in a private institution of higher education in Puerto Rico. The sample of convenience consisted of 1,281 freshmen students who were divided into two groups: (a) Group A (n = 339), students that…