In recent years, Third Language Acquisition (TLA) in Cross-Linguistic Influence (CLI) research has been debated regarding background languages' impact on learning a target language. While Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research often emphasizes the primary influence of the first language (L1) on the target language, it does not discount the…

The purpose of this article is to offer a narrative review of research on effective language learning environments for learners in the digital era. To do this, a search strategy was employed to retrieve both conceptual analyses and empirical studies, initially including whether published as journal articles or book chapters. The collected data…

Second Language Pragmatics (L2 pragmatics) research focused on the study abroad (SA) context points out the benefits of this context for second language (L2) pragmatic development while also illustrating the non-linearity of this development, as it is shaped by different contextual factors and individual differences. Nevertheless, this research…

Despite contrary research findings, many laypeople still claim that starting second language (L2) instruction early yields linguistic advantages. This assertion is again undermined by a 5-year longitudinal study conducted in Switzerland testing the English language skills of 636 secondary-school students who had all learned Standard German and…

Motivation as a variable in L2 development is no longer seen as the stable individual difference factor it was once believed to be: Influenced by process-oriented models and principles, and especially by the growing understanding of how complex dynamic systems work, researchers have been focusing increasingly on the dynamic and changeable nature…

Learning context has increasingly been postulated to exert an influence on the dynamics of individual differences in language learning. In a longitudinal design that tested the proficiency gains of 1,682 learners over a 2-year foreign language program, a multilevel modeling approach was deployed in this study to account for variation in second…

This study considered the effects of trait emotional intelligence (trait EI; Petrides & Mavroveli, 2007) and sociobiographical variables (age, gender, education level, number of languages known, age of onset of acquisition, context of acquisition, frequency of use, socialization, network of interlocutors, self-perceived proficiency) on…

Interest is focused on the relationship between how old a person is when he or she first begins to learn a language and the fluency with which he or she can produce and understand that language in adulthood. The goal is to describe and measure the relationship between early experience and environment in language learning. In particular, the…

Outlines the approaches used by the largest language school in Victoria, Australia, providing strategies to help its teachers enhance second language learning in a mixed ability environment. These strategies encompass organizing learning activities and seating arrangements; forming groups and pairs; student preparation of group activities; and…

A distinction is made today between second-language acquisition and foreign-language learning based on the individual's internal processes of learning and the degree of consciousness brought to the learning task. In a second-language acquisition situation, the language is spoken in the immediate environment of the learner, who has good…

This book examines how nonnative speakers develop pragmatic ability in a nonprimary language, focusing on acquisitional processes, conditions, and sequential patterns. Nine chapters discuss the following: (1) "Introduction to Second Language Pragmatic Development"; (2) "Theories of Second Language Pragmatic Development" (e.g., the acculturation…

The fact that some people learn a second language more easily than others has prompted numerous studies designed to link one factor or another with successful language learning. This work examines a large number of these studies to assess the importance of various factors involved in language learning. The influencing factors suggested are grouped…

Discusses the three-year Spanish program in a mixed ability environment at a Western Australia university. In order to capitalize on the wealth of the instructor's linguistic and cultural knowledge, opportunity is given for group work where advanced students are de facto language tutors. Concludes that this unique learning environment is a…