This paper focuses on the acquisition of locative prepositional phrases in L1 Norwegian. We report on two production experiments with children acquiring Norwegian as their first language and compare the results to similar experiments conducted with Russian children. The results of the experiments show that Norwegian children at age 2 regularly…

The connective 'but' mainly represents two different contrastive relations (Lakoff, 1971; Van Dijk, 1979; Blakemore, 1989). One of them is semantic, which shows semantic opposition and where no expectation is denied. The other is pragmatic, which shows a denial of expectation. This study aimed to investigate the use of 'but' by Turkish EFL…

This study explores the language use of Southeast Asian marriage-migrant mothers in South Korea with their mixed-heritage children, and the challenges related to heritage language (HL) transmission. Drawing on interviews with nine women, the study finds that they encountered multiple obstacles to teaching the HL to their children. Their Korean…

The interaction between input frequency and constructional interference receives little attention in second language (L2) research. Two studies were conducted to test the effect of this interaction. Study 1 examined effects of both Zipfian frequency (ZF) and balanced frequency (BF) on L2 learning of English subject-extracted relative clauses…

This study compares Spanish instructors' use of preterite and imperfect in the foreign language classroom to the distribution of these forms in large-scale corpora, which represent the input learners would potentially receive in a naturalistic learning context. Twenty-four 50-minute class sessions were recorded, and all tokens of preterite and…

Input is considered one of the most important factors in the acquisition of lexical and grammatical skills. Input has been found to interact with other factors, such as learner cognitive skills and the circumstances where language is heard. Language learning itself has sometimes been found to enhance cognitive skills. Indeed, intensive contact…

This book offers an evidence-based guide to EAL for everyone who works with multilingual learners. It provides a concise, helpful introduction to the latest research underpinning three key areas of EAL practice: (1) How children acquire additional languages? (2) How language works across the curriculum? and (3) How you can establish outstanding…

The present study investigated the longitudinal effects of early exposure to L2-English on L1-Turkish language competence, narrative skills and executive functioning. We asked whether early immersion-like exposure to L2, starting around 3 years of age, would have reflections on L1 competence, L1 narrative skills and gains in cognitive flexibility.…

The present study investigated the interface between explicit instruction and computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in an effort to reduce plural marking errors among Japanese EFL learners. The instruction involved raising contrastive awareness of cross-linguistic and conceptual features, and was delivered via an online medium. A total of 180…

Because English is widely used as a lingua franca, language testers have started to consider the introduction of non-native accents into English listening tests. This study investigates how accents influence test-takers' performance, and also elicits test-takers' subjective perception of accents. Eighty adolescent L1-Mandarin test takers were…

This article investigates near-native grammars at the syntax--discourse interface by examining the second language (L2) acquisition of two different domains of object movement in Dutch, which exhibit syntax-discourse or syntax-semantics level properties. English and German near-native speakers of Dutch, where German but not English allows the same…

Educational media is ubiquitous in the lives of young children, promising high-quality programming to equip them with vocabulary knowledge and school readiness. To meet the needs of preschool-aged dual-language learners (DLLs), many educational programs are marketed to promote vocabulary learning in two languages. In this study, we use a content…

Educational media is ubiquitous in the lives of young children, promising high-quality programming to equip them with vocabulary knowledge and school readiness. To meet the needs of preschool-aged dual-language learners (DLLs), many educational programs are marketed to promote vocabulary learning in two languages. In this study, we use a content…

This study used eye-tracking, in combination with stimulated recalls and reflective journals, to investigate L2 learners' engagement with automated feedback and the impact of feedback explicitness and accuracy on their engagement. Twenty-four Chinese EFL learners revised their writing through Write & Improve with Cambridge, a new automated…

This is a longitudinal and naturalistic study of the bilingual acquisition of English and Turkish languages simultaneously by a 28-month old Turkish infant. The emphasis is on empirical findings collected from a two-year period of observations beginning from the subject's birth and lasting until his 28-month old linguistic status. The study is…