This study examined the perceived and assessed speaking proficiency levels of 10 in-service Spanish teachers, their use of Spanish in and outside of work, and factors that motivate or hinder the maintenance or development of their proficiency. It also compared their current proficiency levels with their proficiency levels before completion of…

Pedagogical Grammar has been notorious for a number of controversial issues, among them how necessary and effective it is in assisting foreign language learners at the moment of language production. If language is understood as a formal system that is activated when put to use and grammar as a meaning-negotiating resource, there are aspects of…

This dissertation investigates the language ideologies and language practices that language users encounter and engage with in an Intensive English Program (IEP) class. The purpose of examining language ideologies (these include ideologies about language, language use, language learning, language practices, and language teaching) and language…

This study reports findings of a survey about "keigo," Japanese honorifics, and L2-Japanese speakers; survey respondents were teachers of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL). Researchers have studied "keigo" ideologies within Japanese society and documented approaches to "keigo" instruction and learners' efforts to…

Language is a quintessentially human trait. Many decades of neurolinguistic research provided evidence of neural structures which specialize in complex linguistic and cognitive processes supporting human communications. Because the world is multilingual, (Crystal, 2010; de Bot, 2019) a prominent question related to brain processes supporting…

Although research has shown that virtually partnering second language (L2) learners with other L2 learners (Kinginger, Modern Lang J 82: 502-513, 1998; O'Dowd, ReCALL 12(1): 49-61, 2000) can be beneficial for language development, this current study adds to the growing body of knowledge of apprenticeship virtual exchanges by partnering L2 learners…

Informed by ecological approaches to second language development (SLD), the current study looked into three adult English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners' quests of engaging in lifelong, informal language learning in the digital age. Data from in-depth interviews revealed that popular culture presented in different media forms offered…

This study was part of a larger three-year investigation of the effectiveness of a small-group, content-focused (science, social studies) preschool shared book reading vocabulary intervention implemented with Spanish-speaking emergent bilinguals enrolled in a one-way dual-language bilingual program. A subset of bilingual preschool teachers (N =…

For many children in Flanders, Belgium, the language of instruction is not their first language. Allowing children to use their heritage languages in the classroom has been argued to have functional and socioemotional benefits. In two exploratory studies, we introduced a multilingual task in four classrooms across three linguistically and socially…

Bilingual parents must often make difficult and complex choices about which languages to use with their children. While existing research has explored family language practices and attitudes within certain language communities, the experiences of African parents are conspicuously absent from the literature. This study explores factors influencing…

Taking a multi-level perspective on language-in-public-space policy, this study investigates the way Tunisia's dominant languages are dealt with in three independent but interrelated activities of language policy: official texts, public talk, and the actual practices of business actors in five commercial districts in metropolitan Tunis. Detailed…

Chinese speakers are the second largest language minority group in the U.S., and transnational migration redefines their lives in many ways, including families' educational practices. This case study examined the English home literacy and language learning (EHLLL) practices of two transnational Chinese families during their year abroad while…

Translanguaging research among multilingual students has received considerable attention across different contexts of practice. The most robust contexts in translanguaging research have been the classroom contexts between teacher and students. This study examined the affordances of translanguaging spaces "between class sessions" in…

This paper contributes to our conceptualization of linguistic identities in English as a lingua franca (ELF) communication by analyzing a group of multilingual international students' narrativized accounts of their ELF communication experiences in an international university in Hong Kong. The findings of the study indicate that despite their…

Bilingualism has become the norm--not the exception--in today's globalized world. The development of bilingual proficiency in English and other languages is increasing worldwide. Saudi Arabia is one of many countries within the expanding circle of nations in which English (although with no official status) enjoys a special position as the sole…