We used a data set with n = 1,603 learners of foreign languages (FL) to develop and validate the short form of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (S-FLES). The data was split into 2 groups, and we used the first sample to develop the short-form measure. A 3-factor hierarchical model of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) was uncovered, with FLE as…

Two studies examined the role of input distribution in English construction learning, by child learners from a Mandarin first-language background, and the extent to which phonological short-term memory and awareness predicted such learning. In the first study, 4th-grade students of Mandarin Chinese (N = 121) learned the English object-cleft…

Motivated by cognitive-interactionist frameworks for task-based learning, this study explores whether task complexity affects the extent to which learners focus on form-meaning connections during task-based work in a classroom setting, and whether this relationship is modulated by 3 individual difference factors--linguistic self-confidence,…

This longitudinal study asks 2 questions. The first one is: What patterns of pragmatic development can we observe among different pragmatic functions and attributes in a second language (L2)? The second question is: In what ways do individual differences and learning context affect the course of pragmatic development? Forty-eight Japanese college…

Analysis of the reading strategies used by Spanish-speaking students of English as a Second Language (ESL) for ESL reading comprehension tests and academic reading tasks revealed that students' knowledge of how to use a strategy effectively, rather than use of a specific strategy, led to more successful reading comprehension. (38 references) (CB)

Unlike success in first language acquisition, success in learning a second or foreign language is considerably more variable. Recently, second language acquisition researchers have called for more integrative research on individual difference factors. With this goal in mind, this study followed a larger, quantitative study of the links between…