Gamification in second language acquisition research is a popular topic, but there are few empirical comparative studies in the literature. This quasi-experimental mixed-approach study enrolled 77 Japanese university EFL learners to enable a comparison between two digital vocabulary flashcard learning software conditions carefully designed by the…

Despite an increasing research interest in subject-specific teacher knowledge, there is limited research on teachers' knowledge of English as a foreign language (EFL) in early childhood education (ECE). This paper, therefore, reports a mixed-methods study which investigated the relationships between ECE EFL teachers' knowledge and their practices…

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of explicit information (EI) in the context of Processing Instruction (PI) as an alternative to traditional teaching methods. PI encompasses explicit information and structured input activity (SI). However, the effectiveness of EI has been a subject of debate. To address this question, grade-7…

Providing equitable education for emergent bilinguals (EBs) is an educational goal in the U.S. However, literature has reported that English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers feel marginalized, a reflection of the marginalized status of EBs in the K-12 public school settings. Using a multi-method approach, this case study explored to what extent…

One of the underrepresented aspects of pragmatic competence development is perceiving and responding to impoliteness acts. The present study reports on a quantitative and qualitative investigation of two international English language teaching (ELT) textbook series published by Oxford and Cambridge University Press; it focuses on the books highly…

Language development can be framed as the process of learning how to mean (Halliday, 1975). From this perspective, the role of communicative function is central to the language-learning process with development being guided by interaction with experienced others. In the current study, we present a detailed analysis of the communicative functions…

High-stakes reading tests significantly influence one's future success, leading many second language learners to engage in intensive test preparation. This study examines nine TOEFL reading preparation lectures from two popular cram schools, or [foreign characters omitted] "hagwons," in Korea, with a total duration of five hours and…

The development of subject-specific word lists to assist EFL learners is becoming popular, as is the utilization of CLIL to teach English in academic areas of science. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of the instruction of English Science Textbooks Word Lists (ESTWL) and the CLIL approach on the Science Vocabulary…

This study aims at investigating how loanwords from Japanese and Korean are used in informal written Cantonese media discourse, including print and social media. Data from these media were collected from designated websites for 15?min every other day over a two-week period. The results show that loanwords from Korean, being written in a…

While the emotion of pride has received increasing attention in general psychology, it has gone largely overlooked in the field of education generally, and language education specifically. This study explores the sources of pride reported by 140 English language teachers from various contexts across the globe. Data were generated through an online…

The involvement load hypothesis (ILH), which predicts the lexical learning potential of tasks, assumes that writing sentences (SW) and compositions (CW) using novel target words (TWs) lead to similar lexical gains. However, research on the issue is scarce and contradictory. One possibility is that the higher cognitive load of CW hinders learning…

This volume presents research on second language learning through audiovisual input, conducted within the SUBTiLL (Subtitles in Language Learning) project at the University of Barcelona. It includes studies exploring various language dimensions and skills, such as vocabulary, pronunciation, and reading, while also considering learner factors, such…

The process of any language learning is a complex construction of objectives. Any goal is influenced by internal or external factors such as motivation, culture, previous experiences, attitudes, etc. This study aims to recognize and understand the distinct learners' attitudes during their learning progress. This research is conducted as a case…

Language proficiency policies act as critical gatekeepers for multilingual international students (MIS) who intend to pursue an education at English-medium universities. The current study revisits the question of the predictive validity of a standardized English proficiency exam--International English Language Testing System (IELTS)--in comparison…

Language is a powerful tool that facilitates communication, knowledge acquisition, and negotiation of meaning, but it is a complex skill for English as foreign language (EFL) learners who often encounter various challenges and complexities. Among the critical language skills, pronunciation holds a significant place. As much as it is challenging,…