Academic self-concept, a central psychological construct that powerfully explains learners' varied motivations and learning behaviors, needs to be further explored to deepen our understanding of language learner psychology. Drawing on self-reported learning histories, this study investigates the English self-concept of successful English as a…

This study investigates the impact of positive psychology factors on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' second language (L2) speaking proficiency. Specifically, it examines the predictive roles of foreign language speaking enjoyment, the ideal L2 speaking self, and L2 speaking grit on L2 speaking proficiency. Data were collected from…

Recent studies have shown that the frequency effect, although long used as a guide to word difficulty, fails to explain all variance in learner word knowledge. As such, a "more than frequency" conclusion has been offered to explain how lexical sophistication accounts for word difficulty. This study presents a multiple regression model of…

This study examined the relationship between complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF), using longitudinal data. Conducted from the perspective of complex dynamic systems theory (CDST), this research adopted four CAF general measures to track the development of five Chinese undergraduates' English speech over a 15-week period. LOWESS graphs supported…

Drawing on theories of interpersonal emotion transfer (Parkinson, 2020) and the control-value theory of achievement emotions (Pekrun, 2006), the present research employed a mixed-methods approach to examine how emotions are transmitted among peers in foreign language (FL) classrooms. We collected quantitative data from 308 freshmen using…

Self-efficacy is essential for persistence in learning across formal education. There are few subjects in formal education that demand more persistence than learning a new language. Researchers have noted this intersection, resulting in a burgeoning body of research examining self-efficacy's role within foreign/second (L2) classroom language…

This study provides insight into the role of learner-generated content (LGC) in affective response and engagement during interactive tasks on a video conferencing platform. It also examines task content, affect and conation with respect to recall of the language used on tasks. The performances of four learners on recommendation tasks are analyzed…

The present study seeks to determine whether superior musical hearing is correlated with successful production of second language (L2) intonation patterns. Fifty Polish speakers of English at the university level were recorded before and after an extensive two-semester accent training course in English. Participants were asked to read aloud a…

The current bibliometric study employed citation analysis and keyword analysis to perform a review of language assessment and testing. Based on citation counts and keywords, this study identified the recent trends/changes and the most influential regions, institutions, scholars, and publications in the field. In addition, the intellectual…

In a dynamic system, time-dependent links "between" affective factors can provide more information than the level of response "within" a single isolated system. In the present study, influenced by the positive psychology movement and the complex dynamic systems theory in the domain of second language acquisition, first, we…

Working with peers in small groups is conducive to learning, and collaborative learning has been widely adopted in second language classrooms. Leadership, defined as the initiative taken to influence others in a group, plays a significant role in successful teamwork, but has not received due attention in research on collaborative peer work. To…

Incidental vocabulary learning through reading may be influenced by a range of learner-internal as well as learner-external factors. This study, specifically, examined the potential impacts of three factors: text type, prior L2 vocabulary knowledge, and working memory capacity. Forty-six 1st grade high school students in Korea completed a battery…

Working memory (WM) is essential to vocabulary learning. However, limited attention has been paid to young beginner learners' vocabulary development under various task conditions from the perspective of WM. This study investigates how two types of WM--complex WM and phonological short-term memory--may influence two instructional approaches (i.e.,…

While perennial in the research landscape, empirical work investigating second language (L2) study emotions has proliferated in the past ten years (Dewaele, 2019). Nevertheless, this article argues there is space for more holistic yet detailed, social yet individual perspectives when conducting such research. As one avenue, the paper explores the…

The current research aimed to examine the relationships among three key aspects of the language learning process, namely, foreign language boredom (FLB), English language engagement (ELE), and academic buoyancy (AB), utilizing data collected from 2,992 Chinese language learners. In order to strengthen the accuracy and robustness of the results, we…