Five-to-six-year-olds' abilities to detect and solve ambiguities in spoken language have been found to be a predictor of their later reading abilities in first-to-third grade. However, the origins of this relationship remain unclear. Success in ambiguity detection may be reflective of overall language attainment, which varies with socioeconomic…

This study analyses the characterisation and evolution of the personal metaphors of a sample of 34 trainee foreign language teachers, through a questionnaire of open-ended questions that included asking the participants to make drawings representing the roles of the teacher. Four categories of metaphors were considered for the analysis:…

Studies of children at high risk of dyslexia demonstrate that oral language difficulties are a major risk factor for poor reading and that children who enter school with poor language are likely to struggle to become proficient readers. We review findings of studies of oral language intervention against a backdrop of research showing that language…

Developing Intercultural Learners in English Language Teaching Classrooms was educational action research to integrate intercultural training methods into English as a Foreign Language classrooms to develop learners' intercultural communication competence. This case study focuses on the action research procedure, the multiperspectivity in data…

This paper examines Hong Kong's protest anthem "Glory to Hong Kong" as a site of linguistic and ideological resistance. It adopts a three-pronged approach: first, it uses Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to uncover how the lyrics construct themes of resistance, perseverance, struggle, and liberation; second, it situates this analysis…

The purpose of this study is to determine if heritage speakers can effectively instruct pronunciation to their non-native speaker peers to support faculty. The researcher of this study assessed non-native speaker participants' pronunciation of Spanish using pronunciation instruction and instructor background as variables (N=111: 91 underwent…

This chapter examines the lexical availability of students of Spanish as a foreign language (SFL) and observes how their semantic networks change as their proficiency in Spanish increases. The analysis focuses on 150 students with different levels of proficiency and the two centres of interest: "acciones y actividades habituales"…

Extensive research has shown that children's early words are learned through sensorimotor experience. Thus, early-acquired words tend to have more concrete meanings. Abstract word meanings tend to be learned later but less is known about their acquisition. We collected meaning-specific concreteness ratings and examined their relationship with…

Sonority and its language-universal sonority-sequencing principle (SSP) define an important dimension of phonological grammar which aids in the segmentation of words into syllables (Clements in Pap Lab Phonol 1:283-333, 1990). Studies have yielded contradictory findings on sonority and SSP phonotactics in lexical perception of speech by children…

Critical incidents, which may appear insignificant at first, could pave the way for effective learning in English language learning environments. This study aimed to explore the effects of sharing critical incidents on learning experiences and self-efficacy beliefs of EFL learners attending the preparatory year program at the tertiary level. The…

E-portfolios have emerged as valuable tools in language education, allowing students to collect, reflect on, and showcase their learning experiences. While many studies focus on e-portfolios for individual learners, this article examines their implementation at the program level within an Arabic language curriculum. The program-wide e-portfolio…

This study explores the written corrective feedback provided by two university teachers in the academic texts written by their students. Specifically, it focuses on the relationship established between the linguistic and discursive errors identified by the teachers, the forms of feedback provided (direct, indirect, metalinguistic and…

This paper reports on language attitudes towards the national language (Putonghua), the regional dialect (Chongqing) and the key foreign language (English) of a group of senior high school students (N = 321) in Chongqing in mainland China. Unlike the numerous other studies of language attitudes in China this one is situated outside the more…

Cumulative tests have been shown to enhance second language (L2) vocabulary learning by incrementally incorporating both new and previously learned materials in daily or weekly quizzes. In this study, we investigated the role of three factors that could impact the effectiveness of cumulative testing: (a) study time and (b) spaced practice (review…

This research sought to investigate EFL nursing students' use of vocabulary learning strategies to learn medical terminology and further assess strategies used in relation to learning outcomes measured by two types of vocabulary knowledge: meaning recall (passive recall) and meaning recognition (passive recognition). The participants, 138 EFL…