This conceptual paper deals with ways in which gesture or embodied utterances create deictic expressions (i.e., deixis) that are relevant to second language teaching and learning. While many gesture types have been found to be material carriers of meaning (McNeill, 1992; Vygotsky, 1986), deictics have the ability and function to create new…

Second language (L2) learners' beliefs about the nature of language learning, specifically language mindsets, is a recent productive line of L2 research. Researchers argue that language mindsets are key factors for language learning success. However, the association between language mindsets and different language learning outcomes is inconsistent…

This study examined the influence of cognate status and language distance on simultaneous bilingual children's vocabulary acquisition. It aimed to tease apart effects of word-level similarities and language-level similarities, while also exploring the role of individual-level variation in age, exposure, and nontarget language proficiency. Children…

Against the backdrop of the warnings by some previous studies about the danger of the Yorùbá language losing domains because of the increasing dominance of English, the present study examines the broadcast languages of selected radio stations in Osun State, Nigeria, to ascertain the extent of the threat of English to Yorùbá in broadcast media…

This article reports the findings of a study undertaken to document and explain the use of English in signage in Costa Rica, a Spanish-speaking country. The linguistic landscape has emerged as an important, viable field of research. In order to investigate how, when, and why the use of English manifests itself, a corpus of 169 photographs of signs…

This study employs a mixed-methods design to explore the attitudes and expressed beliefs of Chinese postgraduate students regarding the strategic use of their entire range of languages in English academic writing (EAW). The survey findings suggest that while students generally accept the idea of mixing languages during the writing process, they…

While language is clearly an important aspect of (labor) migration, there have not been many contemplations and interrogations, although truly compelling and necessary, on language varieties and their place and position in labor migration and transnational work in the contemporary world, and hence why we intend to do so in this article. In our…

Migrant families often invite grandparents to move to Australia when babies are born. In order to provide support to their families, many of these grandparents have to retire from their own professional careers and migrate to Australia to start new lives. Some speak English as an additional language, with or without formal education, prior to…

The aim of this article is to examine contemporary conceptualizations of cultural and linguistic diversity in the Swedish policy for early childhood education and care (ECEC). The analysis draws on in-depth interviews with high-level policy actors and the analysis of documentary material. Using the concepts of interculturality and hybridity as…

The Netherlands is home to an increasing number of English-language churches. These churches are often established with an international audience in mind: however, interestingly, they also attract a large number of Dutch as a first-language (L1) speakers. This article investigates the language attitudes and language choices of Dutch L1 speakers…

This article aims to identify common errors made by hearing students learning South African Sign Language (SASL) and enhance the understanding of language acquisition in this context. The researchers formulated three hypotheses, attributing errors to vocabulary gaps, misunderstandings due to improper signing, and the dual impact of spoken and…

This study examines L2 speakers' accent attitudes in relation to their linguistic profile and current practices, recruiting 107 multilingual postgraduate students of 34 different nationalities enrolled in leading research universities in Japan. The participants completed a survey regarding their perceptions of different English varieties in…

The impact of attitudes on the learning process and on the academic results achieved by students has been the object of numerous studies, which have shown a connection between attitudes and learning. Similarly, the impact of students' attitudes towards learning a foreign language (mainly English) has been explored from a wide range of…

This study aims to explore to what extent engineering students' perceptions of the role of English in the workplace are affected by their internship and field of study. Previous research revealed that employers value engineers' English communication skills highly. However, mismatches between workplace expectations and engineers' competencies…

The effect of first language transfer on second language acquisition and learning has been a major theoretical concept in second language research and pedagogy since the 1950s. In order to give a historical perspective, the authors offer a brief presentation of some of the major topics from the broad spectrum of issues that have been examined by…