Although a growing body of research in writing has suggested that females outperform males in many aspects of writing, our understanding of gender differences is still limited. The present study aimed to examine the potential sources of gender differences in writing fluency and text quality across Arabic as a first language (L1) and English as a…

This article proposes a formal model of the human language faculty that accommodates the possibility of 'attrition' (modification or loss) of morphosyntactic properties in a first language. Modeling L1 grammatical attrition entails a quite fundamental paradox: if the structure of the language faculty in principle allows for attrition of…

Collaborative writing tasks have been claimed to offer language learning opportunities because they implicitly draw learners' attention to form. Nevertheless, their efficacy has been claimed to be moderated by proficiency, as low proficiency learners tend to override form over meaning. These claims, however, are mostly based on adult learners and…

This commentary discusses Westergaard's (2021) keynote article, which presents a comprehensive model of first language (L1), second language (L2), and third language (L3) acquisition. The commentary presents evidence from a previous study of L3 learners that provides support for Westergaard's property-by-property transfer proposal. The commentary…

Current second language (L2) listening research has lacked detailed accounts of L2 listeners' difficulties comprehending texts comprising orthographically known lexis. In the current study, 15 first language (L1) Japanese English language learners of three English proficiency levels listened to sentences and a narrative text. A two-task diagnostic…

The National Policy on Education (NPE) in Nigeria stipulates that every child should be taught in the language of its immediate environment in the first three years of elementary education. This paper examines the NPE as it affects elementary schools in Ogu-speaking communities in Southwestern Nigeria. Using the research instruments of interviews…

The present study examines the influence of social distance and power factors on the use of internal and external mitigating devices and strategies in the production of requests by Korean learners of Russian. The data was collected by using a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) containing twelve situations that varied in the facts of power and social…

This paper reviews WordUp, a mobile application which fosters English vocabulary learning through exposure to new words in authentic and engaging contexts such as excerpts of movies, songs, and news programme. The samples of use are introduced after the definition of the target words have been provided in both the learners' first language and…

Individuals with lower proficiency in a second language tend to produce more disfluent speech patterns in the second language. Speech disfluencies refer to interruptions in the forward flow of speech and are distinct from the colloquial use of "fluency," to characterize knowledge of a language. Prior research indicates that some speech…

This article aims to complexify the linguistic dimension of international schooling in light of the increasing diversification of the field but also as a result of the 'banalisation' of English and the growing 'added' value of multilingual competence in the knowledge economy. Drawing on data from focus groups with mobile families and institutional…

We explore the relationship between newcomer refugee families' linguistic competencies in the language of the host country and their collaboration in and with the school. Following a case study design and through the qualitative analysis of interviews with refugee family members and school staff from a German primary school, we analyse these…

This longitudinal mixed-methods case study aimed to explain why a seemingly ordinary U.S.-affiliated hyper-connected French language learner (Nancy) achieved extraordinary outcomes after 15 weeks in Paris, compared to fifteen Generation Z peers also enrolled in the program. Framed by Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and social pedagogies, the study…

Questions exist as to whether AI tools, such as ChatGPT, can aid learning. This study examined whether in-class exercises involving error detection in text generated by ChatGPT can aid students' foreign language writing. Participants were Arabic-English speakers who were classified as ranging from modest to competent English users according to…

This review explores the multifaceted challenges and strategies related to the education of emergent bilingual (EB) students in the U.S. education system. It highlights three primary themes: program approaches, instructional needs, and the importance of school-home connections. The first theme evaluates various educational programs for EB…

Despite the worldwide prevalence of multilingualism, the knowledge of the relationship between domain-general cognitive control and multilingual language control remains scant. Here we provide new insights into this issue by examining systematically how different components of inhibitory control (i.e., response inhibition and interference…