Two universities in Uzbekistan offer PhD programs in library and information science (LIS). This article used a documentary research method, enriched the collected data with the direct observations and lived experiences of the authors, and explored seven challenges of the LIS PhD program in Uzbekistan: (1) the topics of PhD research, (2)…

Research involving secondary school EFL learners has demonstrated that greater intensity of exposure, via CLIL lessons, yields notable benefits. However, studies in primary school are scarce and less optimistic. Furthermore, little is known about the effects of different degrees of CLIL intensity and of learners' exposure to Extramural English…

This cross-sectional study examines the sociopragmatic use of pitch and fluency features in requests among second language (L2) Chinese learners at two proficiency levels alongside native Chinese speakers. Twenty-eight L2 learners completed a 40-item oral discourse task with two types of request-making situations: (a) a high-imposition request to…

Producing English lexical stress involves manipulating phonetic cues such as vowel duration, intensity, and fundamental frequency (F0). Existing literature presents diverse perspectives on how EFL learners utilize these prosodic features to realize stress (Fry, 1955; Modesto & Barbosa, 2019; Saha & Mandal, 2018; Zhang & Francis, 2010;…

Appropriate placement of language learners continues to be challenging for postsecondary world language programs. The Seal of Biliteracy is now available in all of the states for high school students. While the Seal is an admirable program, using it in higher education can be problematic because the proficiency levels needed to attain the Seal…

This study investigated the effectiveness of metacognitive strategy (MS) instruction on listening comprehension and metacognitive awareness among low-proficiency EFL learners in Taiwan. Using a quasi-experimental mixed-methods design, the research involved 95 first-year university students divided into an experimental group (EG) that received MS…

This article examines the determinants of Syrian refugee students' language comprehension difficulties in Lebanon, Türkiye and Australia, three host countries offering refugees different types of legal status (short-term, medium-term and long-term legal settlement). To understand the influence of legal status and its corresponding educational…

Like many children of immigrants, I have provided English language support to my Korean parents for as long as I remember. Up until this summer, I had no trouble translating or providing English support for my dad. But when my dad was diagnosed with metastatic brain cancer in May 2021, it felt like learning a new language, the language of…

The paper deals with the investigation of theoretical and practical issues on the organization and management of EFL peer learning. Lack of understanding of the mechanism of peer learning as a system of relationships and interactions hinders creating the conditions for effective education. The study aims to identify and systematize the key…

In order to address the needs of the continually growing number of Chinese language learners, the present study developed and presented initial validation of a 100-item Chinese vocabulary proficiency test (CVPT) for learners of Chinese as a second/foreign language (CS/FL) using Item Response Theory among 170 CS/FL learners from Indonesia and 354…

This article centres multilingualism in relation to gender, sexuality, culture, and race, presenting the narrative of one participant, Samson, who self-identifies as a black, queer, man and refers to several linguistic varieties that he has some proficiency in. The narrative emerged from an interview conducted in which Samson discussed his…

The partners of the Saudi students who come to the United States on scholarships to earn a degree (Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D.) are eligible for full scholarships as well. However, most of them fail to proceed in earning a degree or fulfill the language proficiency requirement needed to join an academic degree program. This study surveys…

Background: The ability to understand the mental state of others (social cognition), as well as language, is crucial for children to have good social adaptation. Social cognition (SC) has been shown to be a hierarchical model of three factors (Cognitive, intermediate and affective SC) interrelated with linguistic processes. Children on the autism…

This study examines whether children acquiring Tseltal (Mayan) demonstrate a noun bias -- an overrepresentation of nouns in their early vocabularies. Nouns, specifically concrete and animate nouns, are argued to universally predominate in children's early vocabularies because their referents are naturally available as bounded concepts to which…

The current study set out to examine to what degree age of acquisition (AOA), defined as a learner's first intensive exposure to a second language (L2) environment, mediates the final state of postpubertal, spoken vocabulary attainment. In Study 1, spontaneous speech samples were elicited from experienced Japanese users of English (n = 41) using…