Adults learning a new language tend to judge unconventional utterances more leniently than fluent speakers do; ratings on acceptable utterances, however, tend to align more closely with fluent speakers. This asymmetry raises a question as to whether unconventional utterances can be statistically preempted by conventional utterances for adult…

As Australia's population becomes increasingly diverse, this paper examines how adult education can foster belonging, community, and empowerment for CALD learners -- a critical issue with broad societal implications. While Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) adult education aims to empower learners, this paper uncovers the complex…

The increasing diversity of students seeking higher education has considerably changed the landscape of higher education. Although their enrollment in higher education increased, nontraditional students have displayed lower retention and completion rates than traditional students due to the unique barriers they face. This qualitative action…

This study investigated adult learners' experiences with the language of their new living environment. Migrants and refugees' personal goals for language learning in their specific life situations were captured in in-depth interviews conducted as part of ethnographically oriented field studies in Finland and Germany. Interpretative…

Using positioning theory as a framework, this study examined two adult learners' participatory opportunities in small group interactions when they were learning English as a second language in an American university. The study finds that control over access to participatory opportunities mainly lies in how learners manage to position themselves…

English as an additional language (EAL) adult literacy learners have special needs and unique characteristics. The various challenges they face include decoding, comprehending, and developing basic skills for reading and writing. At the same time, it is extremely important to understand EAL adult literacy programming, as the right approaches for…

In addressing vocabulary explanations in language classroom settings, a growing number of studies have examined the different ways teachers respond to the vocabulary explanation requests made by students in second language (L2) classrooms. Relatively lacking is an investigation into the nature of vocabulary explanation requests made by students in…

The Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer (ChatGPT) is a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) language model developed by OpenAI. It employs advanced deep-learning algorithms to generate text that mimics human language. ChatGPT, launched on November 30, 2022, has rapidly gained widespread recognition. Its influence on the future of…

Motivation undoubtedly plays an important role in learning a second language in that the whole process presupposes motivation to some extent. In the context of Syrian refugees, understanding the factors motivating learners is the very first step in the language learning process in that the refugees must first be integrated into the education…

Regarding the whispered use of technology in instruction and assessment of language skills, the present study investigates the effect of e-portfolio assessment on EFL learners' speaking proficiency. To this end, 60 intermediate students were randomly selected and homogenized to participate in the study. Samples of the IELTS speaking tests were…

This cross-border narrative analyzes the intercultural perspectives of two doctoral students, one Chinese and the other Italian, who are international doctoral students conducting research in the United States. The first author is doing a doctorate in education in international adult and higher education, while the second author is undertaking a…

Students face various barriers in learning English via distance education. The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to collect quantitative and qualitative data regarding students' emotional intelligence (EI) and the situational barriers (SB) they faced in learning English via distance education. In phase one, 238 students…

The decline in foreign language learners in tertiary education is a concern in many countries. While factors influencing students' persistence in second language learning have been explored, there has been limited discussion on the potential of language programmes that develop students' self-formation alongside language learning. This study aimed…

Previous research on the foreign language (FL) learner has yielded a rich body of knowledge on personality, individual differences, and conceptions of the self as a measure of motivation. While these contributions have greatly enriched our understanding of learner psychology, the current paper proposes an analytical framing of language learning…

This paper explores the relationship between additional language (L2) literacy development and drama plays based on the experiences of adult refugees from Ukraine in Iceland. This inquiry is guided by the following questions: What are the learners' experiences and perceptions of drama classes in relation to their literacy development in Icelandic…