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…

Second language acquisition (SLA) research emphasizes the role of imagination in language learning, with learners often envisioning themselves engaging with native speakers. However, learners' language preferences may differ from those of native-speaker communities. For example, while regional language is used in native-speaker communities to…

This study investigates the relationship between identification with the local territory, language attitudes and language proficiency in young immigrants in Catalonia, a region in Spain. The aims of the study are to examine how identification with the local territory affects attitudes and proficiency in languages, and whether language attitudes…

To examine speaker role models (SRMs) in second language acquisition (SLA), this study explored the sociolinguistic "English as a lingua franca" (ELF) perspective targeting international intelligibility. Thus, it examined the way ELF learners align with self-selected English speakers and anonymous (audio-recorded) English speakers as…

This study examines the second language academic discourse socialization of two Chinese students who attended British Columbia (Canada) offshore schools in China. After an overview of offshore school structures in China, this article describes the perspectives and experiences of recent offshore school graduates interviewed at a Canadian…

This paper expands on discursive approaches to language policy by incorporating the notion of the lived experience of language (Busch, 2015). More specifically, I analyse young people's lived experience of language education policy by focusing on students in Luxembourg who are educated in a language that is not their main or home language. Indeed,…

In this dissertation, I will present social-cognitive frameworks that support the use of mental imagery for possible self enhancement; and articulate and evaluate a pedagogical intervention designed for the foreign language class. This intervention will allow students to explore and develop prominent and vivid mental representations (self-schemas)…

Language-specific (i.e. the ideal L2 self) and plurilingual selves are now at the forefront of scholarly inquiry in L2 motivation research. Yet, there is a lack of empirical studies examining how language learners reframe their sense of self as speakers of an L2. This study draws on a questionnaire (N = 162) and on semi-structured interviews (N =…

Developing advanced proficiency in a second language benefits both learners and the societies to which they belong. Educators, employers, and learners can define advanced level proficiency in a language as being able to use language for academic and professional purposes beyond daily life. But being able to use the language at work is not the only…

This book traces and summarizes theoretical insights and empirical findings on the topic of whether or not anxiety for language learning could be a causal variable for individual differences in language learning. The author brings together three decades of research to show that first language (L1) skills and second language (L2) aptitude are…

As part of a larger project that investigates the issue of identities in Hong Kong, this study anchored on the sociocognitive paradigm in second language acquisition (SLA) explores the potential relationship between one's identity and perceived language accentedness. Our study set in Hong Kong (HK) aims to extend Gatbonton and colleagues' works…

Recently, there has been considerable academic interest in the positive emotions of language learners. As a contribution to this field, the aims of this study were to identify foreign language pleasure (FLE) patterns and their relations with language learning motivation. A total of 145 Korean university students joined the study and their…

This study primarily aimed to investigate the Communication Apprehension (CA) experienced by students at the Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna (RMUTL) Phitsanulok, Thailand in the context of their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes. A total of 281 students from three faculties--Business Administration and Liberal Arts (BALA),…

This qualitative case study examines the language learning trajectory of a South Korean international undergraduate student (Stella) in the United Kingdom. Previous studies have reported a lack of research on the intricate relationships between motivation and investment. To fill this gap, this study examined Stella's shifting levels of motivation…

Gender gaps in students' foreign language proficiency self-assessment can negatively impact their educational careers and position in the labour market. We investigated how female and male students self-assess their English as a foreign language (EFL) proficiency in comparison to their EFL test scores. We further examined the potential…