This study explored the influence of speech rate (normal vs. fast), sentence length (short vs. long), and second language (L2) oral proficiency on listening comprehension in L2 Spanish. Thirty-one native English-speaking learners enrolled in upper-level Spanish courses were aurally exposed to 8 sentences of each type of speed--length matrix, for a…

In recent years, English as a second language (ESL) educators have developed a variety of online resources for addressing legal issues. The problem is that the authors' understanding of laws and police procedures varies greatly, and so does their familiarity with relevant research, the breadth of topical coverage, and the quality of police-themed…

This study explored the initial stages of adult second language (L2) learning with a special focus on the acquisition of the target language sound system. The aim was to analyze the longitudinal development of Spanish stop voicing contrasts in an immersion learning context. Native English-speaking late learners of Spanish provided production data…

Word forms such as "walked" or "walker" are decomposed into their morphological constituents (walk + -ed/-er) during language comprehension. Yet, the efficiency of morphological decomposition seems to vary for different languages and morphological types, as well as for first and second language speakers. The current study…

The purpose of this study is to investigate EFL university students' learning strategies used in a digital English learning environment, and to analyze the interrelations between their use of learning strategies and individual learner factors, such as gender, English proficiency levels, learning experiences, and the duration of using the digital…

Language sample analysis (LSA) has been called the "gold standard" for clinical language assessment with children learning more than one language. The research literature discussing this clinical tool with bilingual children has grown substantially in recent years. This article reviews and synthesizes the literature on LSA in order to…

More and more studies are examining the use of technology in the teaching of Mandarin Chinese as a second or foreign language (L2 Chinese). The current study involved a systematic review of the literature in the field published outside China from 2008 to 2018. A total of 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. The current review study aimed: (1) to…

How to correct learner errors has long been of interest to both language teachers and second language acquisition (SLA) researchers. One way of doing so is through interactional feedback, which refers to feedback provided on learners' erroneous utterances during conversational interaction. Various theoretical claims have been made regarding the…

An extensive body of research has investigated the role of syntactic complexity in gauging the linguistic complexity of reading texts, particularly for the purpose of determining their grade appropriateness. However, little such research has focused on adapted teaching materials for English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts, and to date there…

Few studies have compared the nature of negotiation of meaning across face-to-face (FTF) and synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) modes with mixed-proficiency dyads. Such comparisons can help identify important strengths and weaknesses of each mode. Therefore, this study explored whether FTF and SCMC modes differ in terms of…

Pedagogical Grammar has been notorious for a number of controversial issues, among them how necessary and effective it is in assisting foreign language learners at the moment of language production. If language is understood as a formal system that is activated when put to use and grammar as a meaning-negotiating resource, there are aspects of…

This dissertation investigates the language ideologies and language practices that language users encounter and engage with in an Intensive English Program (IEP) class. The purpose of examining language ideologies (these include ideologies about language, language use, language learning, language practices, and language teaching) and language…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between reading interest strength and vocabulary acquisition in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners through a systematic review and meta-analysis of eleven relevant studies conducted over the last decade, from 2010 to 2020. This study attended by the guidelines of PRISMA. Several…

In this paper, we argue that current research on games in language education, predominantly framed as "digital game-based language learning" (DGBLL), is lacking details regarding the role of teachers, or more precisely, the verbalization of the pedagogical underpinnings, scaffolds, and techniques teachers use to successfully integrate…

Arabs often mispronounce many sounds of English due to a lack of exposure to English as a foreign language. This research article focuses on pronunciation problems encountered by Arab undergraduate EFL learners. It uses questionnaires, recorded speech samples, and pronunciation tests as part of its methodology to analyze learners' performance…