This article challenges the current framing of English as a dominant global language and focuses specifically on African international students' investment in Chinese language learning and the enactment of imagined identity in China. Drawing upon Darvin and Norton's theorisation of "Identity and a model of investment," we present an…

As part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a series of large-scale projects have been launched in the Arab Gulf due to its geopolitically strategic position. We examine the influence of Chinese as a third player, in addition to Arabic and English, in a UAE university educationscape together with Emirati students' attitudes towards its…

Language ideologies can powerfully shape language learner perceptions and progress. This qualitative study investigated and reports findings based on analysis of interviews with 14 participants who self-identify as advanced users of Spanish. While dominant language ideologies in the U.S. often undermine learners reaching high levels of language…

The current research aimed to revisit the association of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language boredom (FLB) by incorporating global and specific levels of the two constructs, relying on the moderating impact of L2 savouring beliefs (L2SB). To improve the precision and accuracy of these evaluations, we adopted innovative analytic…

The current study contributes to the recent debate on the question whether learner emotions can be intrinsically motivating or whether they are no more than diffuse action tendencies (Dörnyei 2020). Adopting a longitudinal approach, we combined repeated analysis of variances and mixed effects modelling to capture interactions between Foreign…

Second language (L2) learners' beliefs about the nature of language learning, specifically language mindsets, is a recent productive line of L2 research. Researchers argue that language mindsets are key factors for language learning success. However, the association between language mindsets and different language learning outcomes is inconsistent…

Language mindsets influence learners' behavior, motivation, and strategic approaches to studying a language. These mindsets impact how learners perceive control and value in achievement activities, which, in turn, affect their achievement emotions and ultimately their learning strategies and academic performance. This study investigates the…

This paper describes a mixed methods study of Japanese first-year tertiary learners' attitudes to English language learning models. It outlines the results from a survey comprised of a verbal guise test (measuring respondents' attitudes to both linguistic and personality features) and vocabulary elicitation, which was administered to 87…

This study explores how three multilingual learners of Japanese as a second language (L2) at an Australian university negotiate their language and (imagined) identities in relation to their L2 learning. Based on interview data, the results indicate that while the participants' imagined identities were closely connected with…

This is a quantitative study on language and racial attitudes among learners of French in the English-dominant context of British Columbia (Canada). Such attitudes matter because they can have an impact on students' learning outcomes in and outside the classroom and they reflect linguistic and racial ideologies that exist in society. A verbal…

This study aimed to identify associations and predictors of willingness to communicate (WTC) of adult foreign language (FL) learners and whether they are contingent upon the FL being learned. To this end, our research investigated learner variables associated with WTC in adult FL learners of English and of French in an under-researched field of…

This study used the concept of desire in language learning to explore the first-year English journeys of undergraduates at an English-medium instruction (EMI) university in Hong Kong. Desire in language learning is an underexplored area in EMI research but a relevant concept for gaining a multilayered picture of the incentives and pressures of…

In this brief forum article, I draw from the disciplinary orientation of linguistic anthropology to discuss how a collection of linguistic and semiotic resources gets "enregistered" as the "language" for specific communicative activities. Enregisterment is an ongoing social and ideological process whereby a semiotic corpus gets…

The article presents a pedagogical experience with a course of undergraduate students from various programs. The main objectives were to improve their oral skills in English, increase their self-confidence, reduce language-specific anxiety, and provide individual prospective feedback. An action research design was employed, adhering to the…

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…