Research has demonstrated that features of lexical and lexicogrammatical use are important predictors of productive second language (L2) proficiency (e.g. Kyle et al. 2018). While some features of lexical use have been studied with L2s other than English (e.g. Tracy-Ventura 2017), multivariate lexical and lexicogrammatical approaches in these L2s…

Increased second language acquisition (SLA) research interest in the effect of planning on subsequent L2 oral production has typically examined the effect of planning on the syntactic complexity, accuracy, lexical complexity, and/or fluency (CALF) of L2 production. However, the results of research in this domain are inconclusive. This study, a…

Besides explicit inference of word meanings, associating words with diverse contexts may be a key mechanism underlying vocabulary learning through reading. Drawing from distributional semantic theory, we developed a text modification method called reflash to facilitate both word-context association and explicit inference. Using a set of left and…

I analyzed a corpus of the international English language testing system (IELTS) comprising 256 listening sections (1996-2021). The primary objective of the study was to gain insights into the assumptions made by test designers regarding the real-life contexts that test-takers will encounter. Overall, 15 superordinate topic areas and 300 subtopics…

Across most predominantly English-speaking countries, classroom-based language education plays an important role in the internationalization of young citizens. However, the quality of language learning opportunities in many countries is less than ideal. The development of language education policy is influenced in part by broader societal…

Taking 1925, the founding year of "Language", the journal of the Linguistics Society of America, as a benchmark for "the past", and 2015 as benchmark for "the present", the author considers what was known then and what is known now about second language acquisition in applied linguistics. The field has grown more…

In the present article, we explore the extent to which previous research on register variation can be used to predict spoken/written task-type variation as well as differences across score levels in the context of a major standardized language exam (TOEFL iBT). Specifically, we carry out two sets of linguistic analyses based on a large corpus of…

This article reports a meta-analysis of 42 experiments in 33 published studies involving processing instruction (PI) and production-based instruction (PB) used in the PI studies. The comparative effectiveness of PI and PB showed that although PI was more effective than PB for developing receptive knowledge, PB was just as effective as PI for…

This article provides a selective overview of recent event-related brain potential (ERP) studies in L2 morpho-syntax, demonstrating that the ERP evidence supporting the critical period hypothesis (CPH) may be less compelling than previously thought. The article starts with a general introduction to ERP methodology and language-related ERP profiles…

Suggestions are presented for how the link between theoretical and applied phonology may be concretely defined for the purposes of research on second language phonological development. (71 references) (Author/VWL)

Cites research that the typical second language classroom experience of literature is indeed a task rather than a pleasure. Asks whether pleasure and learner-centeredness cannot be developed further than is usually the case to maximize the potential of literature for second language learners. (Author/VWL)

Assesses the role of identity in interlanguage development and performance, focusing on what research suggests about the relationship of identity to the speaker's overall target, to selected features of the speaker's interlanguage, and to target language speakers' attitudes toward the interlanguage speaker. (Author/CB)

Contends that a critical review of the theoretical underpinnings, measurement instruments, and current status of the construct leads to the inevitable conclusion that field dependence/independence does not have, and never has had, any relevance for second-language learning. (52 references) (Author/CB)

Explores four major areas of differences between first- and second-language acquisition (completeness, equipotentiality, previous knowledge, and fossilization) and argues that the theory of Universal Grammar plays a much smaller role in explaining the second-language acquisition process than current research claims. (Author/CB)

Summarizes recent psychological research and theory on the topic of consciousness, and looks at three questions in second-language learning related to the role of consciousness in input processing. The discussion involves the requirement in learning a second language of subliminal learning, implicit learning, and incidental learning. (142…