We tested a theoretical model that integrated regulatory focus, second language (L2) self-guides, anxiety and enjoyment, eager and vigilant L2 use, and L2 achievement. We collected data from 324 students learning English as a foreign language. Structural equation modeling results showed that (a) the promotion focus positively predicted ideal…

The extent to which negative bias toward foreign-accented speakers originates from social categorization (in-group/out-group categorization) and/or from processing fluency (ease in processing information) is not clear. Some have argued that accent first induces a social identity effect and that processing fluency later modifies the impact of this…

This study longitudinally examined the effects of cognitive and sociopsychological individual differences (aptitude, motivation, personality) and the quantity and quality of second language (L2) experience on L2 speech gains in naturalistic settings. We elicited L2 spontaneous speech from 50 Chinese learners of English at the beginning and the end…

Adequately responding to linguistic diversity in the classroom is imperative in European school contexts, not least because of current migratory movements. This article presents the results of an intervention study with primary school English-foreign-language learners in Germany (N = 42, M[subscript age] = 8.70 years) from linguistically diverse…

Despite the consistency with which gender differences have been found in second language motivation, little systematic research has taken place on motivation and gender to date. Permeating self-concept development, gender impacts not only current selves but also future-oriented possible selves. In construing possible selves, females tend to…

Recent theorizing on second language (L2) motivation has proposed viewing motivation as a function of the language learners' vision of their desired future language selves. This would suggest that the intensity of motivation is partly dependent on the learners' capability to generate mental imagery. In order to test this hypothesis, this study…

Language, literacy, and culture intersect almost everywhere, of course. I analyze three phenomena where intersections occur between cognitive skills, personal attitudes, social practices, and macro-societal structures in ways that are salient, puzzling, and also illuminating about the multiple dimensions of learning literacy in situations of…

This study investigates the role of components of intercultural competence in the use of intercultural mediation behaviors. Through the use of the Revised Intercultural Mediation Measure, an instrument revised by the authors, 291 Anglophone and 161 Francophone participants in Canada were asked to indicate their likelihood of employing various…

Using data from a multisited ethnography of Ecuadorian transnational musicians, I applied Lave and Wenger's (1991) concept of legitimate peripheral participation and Jacoby and Ochs's (1995) notion of co-construction to examine two musicians' attempts to learn Quichua, an Ecuadorian indigenous language. Through an analysis aided by constructivist…

The present study aims to provide observational evidence on the relationship between teachers' use of motivational strategies and students' motivated behavior in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context of Iran. To this end, 741 male learners of English from 26 secondary school classes taught by 17 teachers participated in the study. The…

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…

Symmarizes some of the most significant features of the theory of Transactional Analysis and applies the theory to drill and exercise activity in the language classroom. (PMP)

Relations between various measures of attitudes toward self, the native language group, the target language group, reasons for learning ESL, reasons for traveling to the U.S. and attained proficiency in ESL were investigated. Attitudes toward self and the native language group were positively correlated with attained proficiency in ESL. (CHK)

Examines perceived competence in a second language (L2) as a function of actual competence and language anxiety. Anglophone college students with varied competency in French completed scales of language anxiety and a modified version of the "can-do" test, which assessed their self-perceptions of competence on 26 French tasks. Findings indicate…