Within a Dynamic System Theory (DST) approach, it is assumed that language is in a constant flux, but that differences in the degree of variability can give insight into the developmental process. This longitudinal case study focuses on intra-individual variability in accuracy rates and complexity measures in Finnish learner language. The study…

Loss of vigilance may lead to impaired performance in various applied settings including military operations, transportation, and industrial inspection. Individuals differ considerably in sustained attention, but individual differences in vigilance have proven to be hard to predict. The dependence of vigilance on workload factors is consistent…

The last few decades have seen a proliferation of research on study abroad (SA). A review of SA research literature shows general inconsistencies and inconclusiveness on certain issues, particularly on SA outcomes and their factors. This article discusses such inconsistencies in terms of the highly variable contexts and vastly unstable nature of…

Learner attributions, perceived causes of success and failure, have received little attention in EFL research. Attributions are categorized as either internal (for example effort) or external (for example luck) and may affect how students learn about and impose order on their world. We investigated the attributions of 505 university students in…

We examined whether individual differences in working memory influence the facility with which individuals learn new categories. Participants learned two different types of category structures: "rule-based" and "information-integration." Successful learning of the former category structure is thought to be based on explicit…

Using a contextual resilience framework, the authors examine the processes whereby bereaved persons change over time. Rather than the concept recovery, the authors propose that the concept adaptation best captures the process of change following bereavement and that the desired outcome of such adaptation is denoted by the term resilience.…

Most differences that people see across identity groups are not essential. They're not hard coded into people's genes. They originate in communities and in cultures and are reinforced by daily practice. People act the ways they do because they're conforming to the people around them. In this article, the author introduces a new way of thinking…

Two studies test the hypotheses that individual differences in phonological memory among children younger than two years can be assessed using a non-word repetition task (NWR) and that these differences are related to the children's rates of vocabulary development. NWR accuracy, real word repetition accuracy and productive vocabulary were assessed…

This article critically reviews strategy research on learning Chinese both as a second and foreign language. Through a careful examination of major data bases in both the Chinese and English languages, the article summarizes research in the field and the principal research methods used in the studies reviewed. Moreover, key limitations in research…

Due to their unique profile as childhood bilinguals whose first language (L1) became weaker than their second language (L2), heritage speakers can shed light on three key issues in bilingualism--timing, input, and cross-linguistic interaction. The heritage speakers of focus in this dissertation are Korean second generation immigrants mainly…

Educating students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment necessitates the use of accommodations and modifications to help these students have better access to the general education curriculum. As a result of inclusion, general education teachers are required to teach students with disabilities in their general education…

In this study, the researchers examined self-ratings from special and general education teacher candidates engaged in their culminating instructional activity prior to graduation: student teaching. Acquiring data at the end of the student teaching experience was targeted because student teaching is when teacher candidates apply the knowledge and…

The article focuses on the impact of internationalization on university lecturers' practice. Based on interviews with 36 employees from Danish universities, we discuss what internationalization means for the classroom relationship between university teachers and international students. The article is inspired by an intercultural communication…

In recent years, schools have tended to eliminate recess period and to devote more time to instruction in order to increase academic achievement. Using a nationally representative sample, this study examined reading scores of students who experienced different numbers of recess days in a week, and different number of times and length of recess in…

This dissertation investigates processing of English and Japanese relative clause (RC) sentences by native speakers and second/foreign language (L2) learners. Particularly, the relationship between the sentence processing and individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity was examined. The main question addressed in this study is whether…