The present study presents an instructional procedure developed in an attempt to enhance incidental learning through graded readers in class, the Multiple Incidental Exposures (MIE) procedure, and compares it to a more common procedure involving reading and doing the exercises, which is referred to as Traditional Explicit Practice (TEP).…

This qualitative study aims to explore the role of eTwinning ambassadors regarding the use of eTwinning to improve students' English as a Foreign Language learning process. The main objective is thus to examine the advantages and drawbacks of using eTwinning in the educational practice related to English teaching from the point of view of…

The present research focuses on studying teachers' beliefs about the complexity of learning the curricular languages in the Basque Country, with special focus on Basque, the minority language. The study adopts a mixed-methods research design. For the quantitative data, 1093 participants completed a specifically designed online questionnaire, which…

English orthography differs from that of other European languages in terms of complexity and regularity. This difference may impact the development of accurate spelling in English, especially when it is learned as a foreign language in school. In this study we wanted to explore spelling development patterns of Spanish speaking children learning…

This study investigates the longitudinal development of language attitudes towards Catalan and Spanish over a five-year period in the transition from primary to secondary education of a sample of students (N = 1,143) in Catalonia and Aragon. Two research questions were investigated: (1) How do language attitudes develop over time? and (2) How do…

Collaborative writing (CW) tasks require heightened Engagement with Language (EWL), as their learning potential has been shown to be mediated by the number of language-related episodes (LREs) or learners' patterns of interaction. Recent research on CW with young populations has investigated different dimensions of EWL, but a holistic view of the…

Recently, immersive virtual reality (VR) environments for language learning have garnered interest from researchers and practitioners alike, based on their realistic imitations of environments where target languages might be used for "authentic-like" interactions (with other learners, bots and avatars). However, the majority of research…

This study tested the effects of hand-clapping to the rhythm of newly learned French words on the pronunciation of these words by 7- to 8-year-old Catalan children. In a short training experiment with a pre- and posttest design, 28 children either repeated cognate words in French (e.g. French "aspirateur," Catalan "aspirador"…

A study is presented with a twofold objective related to child voice: to explore children's views on the use of video recordings in an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) class, and to promote the inclusion of child voice in decision-making processes in the foreign language classroom. The study was carried out in a primary school setting in…

Studies analysing the metatalk generated in collaborative writing (CW) tasks have primarily targeted secondary or adult students who wrote either in L1 or L2, and have seldom examined the process of their writing in two languages. Furthermore, these analyses have mostly focused on accuracy discussions and have ignored discussions aimed at making…

This study investigated how the inclusion of model texts as a feedback technique affected students' task motivation and engagement in writing tasks. Adopting a longitudinal design, 60 English as a foreign language (EFL) children (aged 11-12) were divided into three groups: a treatment group, a long-term treatment group, and a control group. The…

Second language (L2) writing research has demonstrated that young learners discuss linguistic issues, make use of feedback, and show a generally positive disposition toward writing tasks. However, many issues deserve further investigation. Regarding task implementation, few studies have been conducted with young learners writing individually, and…

Intercultural studies have underexplored the issue of children's theatre as a tool for symbolic representations of (new, hybrid) identities. In this paper, I analyze two theatrical productions addressing both Spanish society and Romanian diaspora (first/second generation) to answer these questions: how are diasporic identities re-constructed in…

This paper reports on a study aimed to investigate students' development in English proficiency over a four-year partially English-taught programme that did not integrate any explicit language learning goals. Additionally, the study investigated their perceptions concerning language gains and experiences in the programme. Both quantitative and…

This study was motivated by Truscott's (1996, 2004) scarcely empirically tested claims that written corrective feedback (WCF) processing hinders fluency in subsequent rewriting owing to learners' purposeful avoidance of making mistakes by composing shorter texts at a higher speed. It examined the writing fluency of the texts produced by eighteen…