This study addresses the lack of comprehension data in second language acquisition research by focusing on English existential "there"-constructions (ETCs) with a locative extension (e.g., "there is an X on the Y"). The post-copular noun X used in the present study consisted of two types: actual and nonsense. Participants…

Few standardized language assessments are adapted to different cultural and linguistic contexts to assess children's first language (L1) abilities. We introduce the Ivorian Children's Language Assessment Toolkit for measuring phonological awareness, vocabulary, oral comprehension, and tone awareness in the Abidji, Attié, and Baoulé languages of…

This study aims to: (i) describe the different meanings and contexts in which Arabic "dar" and "bayt" and English "house" and "home" expressions are used; (ii) compare "dar," "bayt," "house" and "home" expressions and give examples of expressions that are identical in…

This regional dossier aims to provide a concise, description and basic statistics about minority language education in a specific region of Europe. Latgalian is a Baltic regional language originating in the region of Latgale (Latgalian: Latgola) in Eastern Latvia. It is mostly spoken in Latgale, but also in families and small communities of people…

The present exploratory study investigated the efficacy of secondary face-to-face classroom-based English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction digitally supported by the FeedBook, an interactive computer assisted language learning web-based suite of exercises providing item-level scaffolded feedback. Seventy-seven native (L1) German…

Italy is characterized by a considerable amount of language variation. Only a few spoken vernaculars enjoy institutional support and are officially recognized as minority languages. Among these, Friulian is one of the largest in terms of number of speakers. In the past decade, the assessment of Friulian language vitality has yielded discordant…

Existing research on second language (L2) pronoun resolution has not yet looked at immediate and cumulative priming effects. By using a sentence comprehension task, the present study aims at priming dis-preferred interpretations for ambiguous pronouns. We test a group of native speakers and a group of intermediate-proficiency L2 learners of…

This case study aims to explore English language vocabulary acquisition experiences and conceptualizations of a single adult English language learner with mild dyslexia by drawing on metaphors and semi-structured interviews. In the study, we aimed to view the learner's perception through different lenses to gain deeper insight into her ulterior…

This study explores the complexities of teacher identity formation for two Chinese teachers of English in China, who represent two growing groups of English teachers: Alice, who worked in a private English training institution and John, who was a self-employed private English tutor. Drawing insights from Barcelos' (2015) theorization of the…

Lexical variation and change is prevalent in the short history of New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) and in the current context of globalized flows of communication we observe growing use of ASL-concordant variants that land in New Zealand via other signed languages, online deaf media, and international interaction. Results from a variant-pair…

Although judicious grammar teaching in college ESOL instruction is generally accepted, little is known about the grammar teaching practices of teachers of school-age English language learners (ELLs), who are learning academic content as well as a new language. In this study, 86 primary and secondary teachers of ELLs in a U.S. metropolitan area…

Previous research has shown that language learners tend to produce fewer and less-natural multi-word sequences (MWSs) compared to native speakers of the same language. In the present study, collocational processing was investigated in a sentence reading task. Specifically, the familiar collocations were predicted to modulate the P3 mean amplitudes…

Emotions in foreign language (FL) learning have become an increasingly popular research avenue in applied linguistics. Such research is often carried out using linear correlational or regression methods, which are limited in the extent to which they can depict interrelations. In this study, we aimed to reexamine the relationships between the…

Background & aims: Throughout typical development, children prioritize different perceptual, social, and linguistic cues to learn words. The earliest acquired words are often those that are perceptually salient and highly imageable. Imageability, the ease in which a word evokes a mental image, is a strong predictor for word age of acquisition…

There is no dearth of studies on pronunciation problems of students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL); however, research on pronunciation problems of young learners is scarce. Therefore, to fill this research gap, the present quasiexperimental study aimed at investigating the effect of L2 input on the pronunciation performance of young…