This article reports on the findings of a research study which has approached language learning motivation (LLM) following Ushioda's (2009) person-in-context relational view of L2 motivation, Consoli's life capital (2021, 2022), Dweck's mindset (2017) and Dörnyei's vision system (2009). Our study provides insights into how LLM research is key to…

Two questions regarding text signals' influence on second language (L2) science expository text comprehension were examined. First, the contextual relationship between verbal headings and non-verbal underlining signals (i.e., related or unrelated) was manipulated to investigate how these verbal and nonverbal text signals influence L2 text…

Self-assessment (SA) interventions show promise for enhancing learning and motivational outcomes, yet their effectiveness varies considerably depending on implementation approaches. This randomised controlled experiment examined whether combining teacher instruction with student SA diaries creates synergistic effects beyond either approach alone.…

This mixed-method study explores the motivational mindsets towards the learning of LOTEs of two groups of Italian preadolescents (aged 10-14) after Romance Intercomprehension (RIC) training in a school context. Reference is made to the notions of self-efficacy, the extrinsic/intrinsic spectrum and the emergence of a desired plurilingual identity.…

While an emerging body of research has linked parenting practices to children's learning achievement, limited attention has been paid to parenting practices in children's English learning. Utilising data from 702 7th graders (50.14% girls), the study examined how children's perceptions of their parents' growth mindset predicted children's English…

Motion is a universal concept in common human perception. In the word system of a language, verb is inherently a very complex real word, both in terms of grammar and semantics, that complexity is due to the influence of the semantics of this word. However, in most of the previous studies, the authors often only focused on studying single word…

Despite the recognition of the importance of teachers' professional development, the exploration of teachers' Critical Incidents (CIs) as a type of professional development initiative has received insufficient attention in L2 teaching contexts. Motivated by the dearth of research in this area and building on complexity theory as its conceptual…

Acquiring L2 Persian vocabulary is the main hurdle for foreign students who wish to pursue academic studies in Iranian universities. This study explored the effect of the cooperative learning approach and semantic mapping strategy on the acquisition of L2 Persian vocabulary. The study had a quasi-experimental design and included a control group…

This survey study explored perceptions and use of language learning strategies among English as a second language teachers and English-learning students (Grades 3-8, 10, and 11). The sample comprised 1,057 students (651 elementary, 275 middle, and 131 high school) and 54 teachers (31 elementary, 11 middle, and 12 high school) from 38 schools…

This study examines the interaction effect of age in L2 attainment. It explores whether success in foreign language learning at early childhood grades varies depending on age. It also addresses the beliefs of foreign language teachers regarding the variables under review. Eighty-three 11 year-old language learners who started learning English at…

This ethnographic, cross-cultural study used a dialogic, sociolinguistic framework to describe learning processes in portraits of three immersion summer camps in the eastern US. Using the data collection techniques of in-depth interviewing, participant observation and textual analysis, the study examined the process of second language learning and…

To know the age effects in foreign language learning for children in China, we made both qualitative survey on the English teachers, the students and their parents by means of questionnaire; and quantitative survey on the students' scores from junior 1 to senior 2 (5 years) in the secondary school by analyses between those (over 30 students) who…

The purpose of this study is to examine readers' comprehension as they develop their mental representation of reference in four sequential online texts. A total of 92 college students from three reading classes were recruited to complete the following steps in each text: (1) identify references, (2) draw the relationships between references, and…

This paper argues that schema theory and discourse analysis demonstrate that flow charts, grids, and tree diagrams are the most effective models of how the mind organizes ideas in information sets. It shows how each of these frameworks can be used as the central device in an integrated model of language learning. (15 references) (MDM)

The research reported in this paper is concerned with the ability of students of English as a second language (ESL) to apply cognitive skills in reading. The paper focuses on: (1) a validation study of an experimental test designed to measure Piagetian concrete operations in reading and (2) the effects of the paragraph types (additive or…