This paper presents the findings of a survey on research activities and research cultures across the CercleS network. The survey was conducted under the auspices of the CercleS Focus Group on Leadership and Management and aimed to explore the scope of research in Language Centres; the links between institutional factors such as staff contracts and…

Following the current research in conversation analysis in the field of second language (L2) learning, the present study demonstrates that beginner-level adult learners actively contribute to vocabulary explanation sequences by mobilising multimodal resources including depictive gestures, gaze, and short verbal turns. The data consist of…

This article explores cross-linguistic lexical influence (CLI), i.e. idiosyncratic borrowings and creations based on other languages, in texts written by pupils learning French and English as foreign languages, and whose language of instruction is German. The study, carried out in German-speaking Switzerland, was based on a plurilingual conception…

Although robots' social behaviors are known for their capacity to facilitate learner-robot interaction for language learning, their application and effect have not been adequately explored. This study reviewed 59 empirical articles to examine the contexts and application of various social behaviors of robots for language learning, and conducted a…

Human Rights Education strives to empower learners to participate meaningfully in a democratic and sustainable society in which human rights are guaranteed for all. Foreign language education enables students to transcend borders, gives them an opportunity to share their views, ideas, and beliefs, and contributes to the development of critical…

While internationally there is long-standing research activity on the effectiveness of language contacts (especially in the form of mobility stays) at tertiary level and a number of literature syntheses on this field have been published, research projects at the primary and secondary level are still comparatively rare and the results are often not…

The main goal of this paper is to suggest a combination of data analyses -- notably generalized additive models, time-series clustering methodology, visual methods for significance testing and qualitative analyses -- that relate to Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST). To this end, we report on findings from a larger project conducted in a…

Although automated spoken language assessment is rapidly growing, such systems have not been widely developed for signed languages. This study provides validity evidence for an automated web application that was developed to assess and give feedback on handshape and hand movement of L2 learners' Swiss German Sign Language signs. The study shows…

More and more children and adolescents in Switzerland show serious deficits in their German language skills. In order to specifically promote the language skills of students with a non-German first language, special lessons in German as a second language (GasL) are therefore offered in addition to the regular lessons. The aim of this case study is…

The goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between parental acculturation attitudes and second language (L2) skills and acquisition in immigrant children and to identify the mechanisms that potentially mediate between parental acculturation attitudes and children's L2 skills and acquisition. Our longitudinal study is based…

This study explores whether middle-school students can exploit explicitly addressed crosslinguistic lexical similarities between German and English to learn vocabulary more efficiently. Across six weeks, 260 Swiss German learners of English as a foreign language (17 classes) completed three vocabulary learning tests (T1, T2 and T3). Additionally,…

This paper presents insights from two interview studies with the aim of shedding light on the learning potential of studying abroad in an area where English is used as a lingua franca. The majority of previous research on study abroad focuses on students' experiences of studying abroad in target-language regions, for example learners of English…

Self-assessment is an alternative assessment that can assess one's language ability, and it has been widely used, especially in classroom contexts. However, recent research has suggested different results regarding the correlation between student self-assessment and language performance. The accuracy of student assessment depends on various…

This paper explores ways to integrate social justice issues pertaining to decolonization and anti-racism into the world language classroom at all levels of instruction. It describes tasks designed to introduce language learners briefly to German colonialism, raise awareness of colonial legacies in contemporary German-speaking societies, and…

This article analyses a specific strategy designed to include generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools in students' written assignments. While we recognise that GenAI tools represent a challenge for teachers in terms of their classroom use and the development of digital literacy among students, we believe that banning them is not a viable…