Answering calls to map college-level proficiency development (Modern Language Association, 2007) and longitudinally chart language learning (Barkaoui, 2014; Ortega & Byrnes, 2008), we mapped the oral proficiency growth of 1,922 lower-division college students of Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish (in the second, third, or fourth semester of…

The objective of this investigation was to examine the influence of self-efficacy and other motivational self-beliefs on the achievement of college intermediate French students (N= 303). Self-efficacy for self-regulation was a stronger predictor of intermediate French language achievement than were self-efficacy to obtain grades in French, French…

Describes a study in which subjects varying in both language aptitude and attitudinal/motivational characteristics were studied to see how quickly they learned French vocabulary using a paired associates paradigm. Two different modes were used. In one, the stimuli were presented visually; in the other, they were presented aurally. All three…

The production of cohesive discourse, especially maintained reference, poses problems for early second language L2 speakers. This paper considers a communicative account of overexplicit L2 discourse by focusing on the interdependence between spoken and gestural cohesion, the latter being expressed by anchoring of referents in gesture space.…

Describes a study of the effects on second language attrition of attitudes, motivations, and reported language use by learners during a six-month period after the completion of an intensive French course. (SED)

Examined self-determination theory (SDT) in the language learning context. Involved the development of a valid and reliable instrument to assess different subtypes of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and explored the link between these motivational sub-types and various orientations to language learning. Showed instrumental orientation and the…

A study attempting to disambiguate earlier research on personality orientations and second language learning assessed the influence of ethnicity (English v. French), milieu (unicultural v. multicultural), and target second language (French, English, or Spanish) on the emergence of eighth graders' orientations toward the second language learning…

Reports a cross-sectional study of second language communication among students in a junior high French late immersion program. Effects of language, sex, and grade on willingness to communicate (WTC), anxiety, perceived communication competence, and frequency of communication in French and on attitude/motivation variables are examined globally and…