This book explores alternative approaches to foreign language education in a context which is traditionally dominated by English-only approaches, and widely viewed as highly monolingual. It examines the grassroots classroom practices of teachers and their assistants involved in plurilingual education in the first longitudinal research of its type…

In this study, we conduct a longitudinal experiment to explore the effects of adaptive phonetic training on the identification of the English vowels /i/ and /I/ by learners in China. The vowel /i/ in English has a low F1 value, a high F2 value, and a long duration. In contrast, the vowel /i/ has a high F1 value, a low F2 value, and a short…

This book details a three-year, multi-stranded study of teacher education programs that prepare future teachers to work with multilingual learners. The book examines how racism and linguicism collaborate to shape the conditions under which teacher candidates learn how to teach. The analysis traces dynamic shifts in thinking and practice as…

Motivational interactions during multiple language learning have been largely neglected in language motivation research. To fill this gap, we investigate longitudinal relations between Swiss German students' value beliefs in English, French, and German in upper secondary schools and whether there are differences in motivational development between…

Listening to academic content in English medium instruction (EMI) classrooms at university can be a demanding task for students who transition from first language (L1) instructed secondary schools. This longitudinal mixed methods study analyzes data from 316 students collected at the beginning, midterm, and the end of their first semester after…

Some second language (L2) acquisition researchers have suggested that learners should be made aware of cross-linguistic similarity for them to benefit from cognateness. To test this assumption, we ran two longitudinal classroom quasi-experiments with Polish learners of English. We chose 30 Polish-English cognates, 30 false cognates, and 30…

The current study examined cognitive effects of two pathways of second language (L2) acquisition longitudinally in Chinese speakers learning English in an L2-dominant environment. Thirty-nine participants who attended an intensive 10-week English course (L2-instruction group) were compared to 38 participants who attended regular university courses…

Curriculum experts have long argued that adopting content-rich language arts curricula would help to remedy the knowledge deficit. Another approach is simply to devote more classroom time to subjects like science and social studies. It is an open question whether more time spent on such content-rich subjects in elementary school classrooms might…

This longitudinal research presents case studies of three English as a foreign language (EFL) student teachers showing their development regarding target language (TL) use, taking into account both the amount of TL use and the classroom situations the TL is used in. Additionally, the factors that influence their TL use are discussed. The data…

Non-native phoneme perception can be challenging for adult learners. This article explores two routes to strengthening early representations of non-native targets: perceptual training, which focuses on auditory discrimination of novel contrasts, and articulatory training, which highlights the articulatory gestures of non-native categories. Of…

Ofsted's 2021 Curriculum Research Review outlines a language pedagogy predicated on an exclusively cognitivist approach to language learning, which relies on three 'pillars of progression': phonics, vocabulary and grammar. The review makes a brief acknowledgement of the importance of motivational factors, including 'pupils' positive views of…

For high school science teachers working with students who are in the beginning stages of English learning, it can be difficult to engage English learner (EL) students in using language that is accessible to understand complex scientific concepts. Improving EL students' access to science education is an important component of diversifying…

The main aim of this article is to evaluate the outcomes presented in the previous articles in relation to similar projects and studies conducted in monolingual contexts in other parts of Europe as well as Latin America, where bilingual education and CLIL are increasingly being embraced in the official curricula. The effects of CLIL on L1, L2 and…

This longitudinal quantitative study examines the first and second language vocabulary development of prekindergarten students enrolled in an inclusive foreign language exploratory (FLEX) program. The FLEX program, framed by the Cognitive Retroactive Hypothesis of cross-linguistic transfer, is situated in a context where students with special…

This longitudinal mixed methods study investigated the relationship between self-reported L1 and L2 willingness to communicate (WTC), observed (actual) L1 and L2 WTC behaviour, and academic achievement, as well as gender differences. Whereas early studies on WTC have focused on examining WTC as a trait, a few later studies have examined WTC as a…