While recent studies find that contextual diversity (CD) is a better determinant of visual word recognition than token frequency, there is a dearth of work comparing contextual diversity and token frequency in developing readers. In two sets of character and lexical decision experiments we examined token frequency and contextual diversity effects…

A number of studies have suggested that extensive reading can lead to gains in different language skills. Few studies on extensive reading have been conducted outside the East Asia classroom setting. This study investigated the impact of an extensive reading programme conducted over 12 weeks with 90- minutes group sessions 3 times a week involving…

To have more information about the English words known by second language (L2) speakers, we ran a large-scale crowdsourcing vocabulary test, which yielded 17 million useful responses. It provided us with a list of 445 words known to nearly all participants. The list was compared to various existing lists of words advised to include in the first…

Vocabulary, as important as it is, is largely relegated to the domain of memorization in the English as a foreign language (EFL) situations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Assessment and achievement tests have proven time and again that this strategy is not doing any good for the learners' proficiency. This study was conceived to suggest…

Previous research indicates that infant-directed speech (IDS) is usually slower than adult-directed speech (ADS) and mothers prefer placing a focused word in isolation or utterance-final position in (English) IDS, which may benefit word learning. This study investigated the speaking rate and word position of IDS in two typologically-distinct…

A locus of the difference in meaning between distributive and collective sentences can be the quantifiers that modify their subjects. A current theoretical account of distributive and collective sentences claims that sentences with quantifiers such as "the" in English, or "los" in Spanish, in subject position and an indefinite…

A repeated acquisition (RA) design was used to compare the effectiveness of research-based instruction embedded in repeated storybook reading facilitated by an adult or tablet application (app) on the vocabulary knowledge of six preschool children. All participants selected scored below the 40th percentile on the "Preschool Language…

In this study we examine the effectiveness of a technology-based vocabulary intervention compared to an extended vocabulary intervention that has been validated in previous studies. At-risk first grade students learned new words through each condition in a within-subjects design. Comparisons of target word knowledge between the two conditions were…

In recent years, mobile applications (apps) have been increasingly used and investigated as a vocabulary learning approach. Despite the extensive use of commercial English as a Foreign Language (EFL) vocabulary learning apps in China, there is a lack of a review of these apps for a systematic understanding of the components and usefulness of…

Integration of technology in the teaching/learning process has caused many changes in education in recent years. In addition, due to the pandemic that surrounded the world at the beginning of 2020, schools had to switch from face-to-face to distance education; therefore, the need for technology use and expansion of online applications became…

This study conducted the semi-structured interview to investigate the types of vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) Chinese English major university students employed and the factors for their VLS use. Chinese EFL learners frequently employed determination and cognitive strategies. They mainly used the mechanical strategies and focused on English…

The development of effective oral communication skills is a high priority for beginner-level, adult English language learners, and clear pronunciation is an essential part of this development. The perception and production of English vowel sounds can be a particularly challenging area of pronunciation for beginner-level learners. If adult learners…

It is widely recognized that language acquisition is one of the key elements that can boost migrants' and refugees' social inclusion, although some research has stressed that the mastery of language can be intended as a necessary but not a sufficient condition in the process of integration. This contribution aims at shaping further analysis on the…

The choice of word counting units (i.e. word family, flemma, or lemma) is of great importance in vocabulary list and test creation, as there are assumptions underpinning the use of each. Flemma-based counting assumes that if a learner can understand the meaning of a word in one part of speech (POS), they can also understand its meaning when the…

Vocabulary researchers have started expanding their assessment toolbox by incorporating timed tasks and psycholinguistic instruments (e.g., priming tasks) to gain insights into lexical development (e.g., Elgort, 2011; Godfroid, 2020b; Nakata & Elgort, 2020; Vandenberghe et al., 2021). These timed sensitive and implicit word measures differ…