Second language acquisition (SLA) research emphasizes the role of imagination in language learning, with learners often envisioning themselves engaging with native speakers. However, learners' language preferences may differ from those of native-speaker communities. For example, while regional language is used in native-speaker communities to…

Habitual co-occurrence of lexical items referred to as collocations have been reported in research studies to significantly impact language learning experience by developing proficiency in both receptive and productive skills, especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. Lexical collocations which are formed out of the content words…

This study investigated the effects of linear distance, agreement attraction, and working memory (WM) on the processing of English third-person singular subject-verb agreement by second language (L2) learners whose first language (L1) is Thai. Grounded in the Linear Distance Hypothesis (Gibson, 1998, 2000), the study hypothesized that linear…

Language learning activities involving time-pressured repetition of similar content have been shown to facilitate improvements in fluency. However, concerns have been voiced about whether these gains might be offset by reduced levels of grammatical accuracy. This descriptive study tracked the oral proficiency of 32 Japanese university students…

This article examines four Afghan refugee parents/guardians in Islamabad, Pakistan for their beliefs about literacy and language(s). Semi-structured interviews with each parent/guardian showed that they all highly valued reading and writing as essential life skills. However, while they viewed literacy as having instrumental value, they also…

Language testing research has suggested that placement accuracy can be an important factor in the consequences of placement decision-making. However, previous studies primarily have used a one-shot teacher judgment of placement accuracy, suffering from a lack of students' perspectives of their time-varying experiences. The present study aimed to…

Family language strategies are approaches that parents adopt for language use with their multilingual children. In bilingual contexts, these strategies influence children's language exposure and development (MacLeod et al., 2022). In the more complex context of trilingualism, how families settle on strategies and their relationship with exposure…

Autonomous learning strategies, supported by diverse media, have become essential tools for enhancing vocabulary acquisition. Among these, TED Talks stand out due to their accessibility, topical diversity, and authentic linguistic input. Although previous research has highlighted the educational value of TED Talks, limited attention has been given…

This study investigated the relationships between two vocabulary learning strategies (guessing from context and dictionary use) and two aspects of vocabulary knowledge (receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge). One hundred and thirty-five university students in Japan completed a vocabulary learning strategies survey, the Updated Vocabulary…

This study aims to explore to what extent engineering students' perceptions of the role of English in the workplace are affected by their internship and field of study. Previous research revealed that employers value engineers' English communication skills highly. However, mismatches between workplace expectations and engineers' competencies…

Teachers' English language ideologies play a crucial role in English language education reforms. It is important to understand how their ideologies evolve outside and inside the classroom. This paper explores how micro-level factors shape teachers' English-only ideology, encompassing both their beliefs and their associated pedagogical practices.…

This study investigates the subject-verb (SV) concord of nouns with Latin plural endings in Philippine English. Despite the seemingly straightforward nature of SV agreement, it poses challenges for first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) English learners. Data from the GloWbe and NOW corpora were analyzed to identify the nouns' SV concord…

Children learning Chinese must cope with an opaque orthography lacking transparent relations between oral pronunciations and written characters: a challenge heightened for L2 learners. Use of digital Pinyin input may facilitate connections between oral and written language by allowing learners to access vocabulary they cannot yet write. We…

Language teachers cannot help their students develop high levels of metalinguistic knowledge and language aptitude if they themselves are found lacking in these abilities. This article reports on a study that utilised a descriptive correlational mixed-methods research design to gather data from 89 multilingual teachers of English, Chinese, French,…

This study explores the perspectives of the two authors, who have very different language backgrounds, reflecting the subtleties of first and additional language development. We distinguish between a 'literacy-track' (i.e. starting from written language) and an oracy track (starting from spoken language). We draw on duoethnography for our dialogic…