This study investigates the strategies employed by Thai learners of Chinese as a second language (L2) to comprehend metaphors, focusing on how language proficiency shapes their approach. Using a mixed-methods design, 29 participants--ranging from beginner to advanced levels--completed metaphor interpretation tasks and provided self-reports on…

This study modeled the effects of essay length and language features on the rated quality of second language (L2) expository and argumentative essays composed by Chinese university students. Latent variables were writing quality captured by essay scores, and lexical sophistication, syntactic complexity and cohesion, each of which was measured by…

Teachers often repeat language learning tasks and materials with students year after year. Although some tasks do not render satisfactory outcomes, students' performances can serve as valuable historical autoethnographic data that teachers can reflect on to improve their teaching materials and language learning tasks. In this article, using…

The measurement of second language (L2) productive lexical proficiency has driven a great deal of research over the past two decades. Research has indicated that more proficient speakers and writers tend to use a wider range of words and that more proficient writers tend to use words that are more sophisticated (less frequent in reference…

Language should be inclusive. This implies that it should be accessible for as many people as possible. The concept of easy-to-read language ("Leichte Sprache," LS) developed for this purpose and primarily for people with learning difficulties is beneficial for L2 learners of German as well. Inclusive language also entails the aspect of…

The present study investigates the impact of bidialectalism on L2 production, focusing on the role of dialect modes. Shanghai-Mandarin Chinese bidialectal speakers were recruited to produce second language (L2) English vowels under the influence of either Shanghai or Mandarin Chinese mode. Results showed that in the Shanghai mode, participants'…

Code use, including codeswitching and/or style-shifting, is an important but undertaught aspect of L2 sociolinguistic competence, and an important aspect of L2 learners' translanguaging repertoires. This study examines code use in Arabic--a diglossic language with distinct social uses for the prestige variety (Modern Standard Arabic, MSA) and…

Developing spoken grammar awareness is a crucial first step in fostering noticing habits (Schmidt, 1990) in second language learners. Classroom instruction using corpus-informed materials is an ideal way to assist this development, given that these materials are based on research which informs us about the most frequent forms and uses of spoken…

The use of subordination enables language users to achieve syntactic efficiency by allowing them to connect ideas in temporal/logical relation. Although the importance of subordination has been recognized in previous research on second language (L2) writing, it has been typically assessed with global indices that measure overall ratio of…

This article examines cases where two study abroad students--Rita and Jack--problematized the normative use of specific dialectal variants by local native speakers at the end of their Spanish immersion program in Peru. Specifically, it explores what these cases reveal about second language learners' sociolinguistic competence in a study abroad…

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…

The present study investigated the relation between continuous measures of two qualitatively different types of bilingual experience and outcome measures that varied in domain (verbal or nonverbal) and processing demands (degree of conflict). Participants were 195 English-speaking children, 7 years old, who were enrolled in French immersion…

Purpose: Bilingual children's speech often contains high percentages of disfluencies in both their languages; however, the distribution of disfluency types and the difference across bilinguals' two languages have received insufficient and inconsistent empirical support. The present research aims to profile "typical" bilingual disfluency…

There has been little research investigating the effects of notetaking on foreign language (FL) learning, and no studies have examined how it affects vocabulary learning. The present study investigated the vocabulary written in notes of 86 students after they had listened to a teacher in an English as a foreign language (EFL) class. The results…

The concept of Willingness to Communicate (WTC) is essential for understanding Japanese learners' engagement in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. WTC, a complex construct that varies throughout interactions, is influenced by several factors, including corrective feedback. This study examines the situational WTC of four Japanese EFL…