The current study investigated disfluency and self-repair in L2 presentational and interpersonal speech to determine whether speech modes may affect L2 self-repair. Knowledge of self-initiated repair behavior in L2 speech is particularly relevant for understanding psycholinguistic processes of L2 speech production. Different speech modes, such as…

This study examines the developmental relationship between L2 Chinese oral fluency and self-repair in Dutch students learning Chinese. In this study, 76 junior Dutch students were split into two different groups based on level and were tested at two time periods (T1 and T2) for L2 Chinese fluency, which included the control variables of repetition…

Metaphors are known to present both opportunities and challenges for second language learners, but relatively little is known about learners' awareness of them. To investigate this, we analyzed 72 argumentative essays written in English by a group of 37 intermediate Chinese university students of English. We identified metaphors using an…

Informed by Segalowitz's (Cognitive bases of second language fluency, Routledge, 2010) L2 speech production model and MacIntyre et al.'s (Mod Lang J 82(4):545-562, 1998. https://doi-org.bibliotheek.ehb.be/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb05543.x) L2 willingness to communicate model, this study sought to understand the influence of cognitive, affective and sociocultural…

This study compared holistic and analytic marking methods for their effects on parameter estimation (of examinees, raters, and items) and rater cognition in assessing speech act production in L2 Chinese. Seventy American learners of Chinese completed an oral Discourse Completion Test assessing requests and refusals. Four first-language (L1)…

As a basic indicator of verbal ability, verbal fluency refers to the degree of fluency in the use of language to convey information. The different components of working memory play an important role in verbal fluency. The inhibiting control mechanism takes place during L2 production processing in bilinguals, which may affect their verbal fluency…

The present study was focused on acquisition of Chinese relative clauses (RCs) by second language (L2) learners and whether this acquisition was influenced by RC linguistic features, learners' Chinese proficiency levels, and their first language (L1). Data were gathered via a Chinese reading comprehension test, a grammaticality judgment task, a…

Practice is necessary for developing oral English proficiency, but many Chinese learners of English lack the self-confidence to practice oral English; furthermore, students' self-confidence deficiency is perpetuated by insufficient oral English proficiency. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover pedagogical practices that break…

There is quite a bit of evidence showing that the experience of learning an L2 will help in learning an L3, but as far as we know, very little research has investigated the possible impact of L3 learning on the already existing and still developing L2 system within the learner. According to Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), language…

This qualitative case study investigates the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) of US Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets and their goals in learning critical languages. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and data were examined through inductive, thematic analysis. Findings indicate that goals appeared in…

This study examined the role of visual cues (facial expressions and hand gestures) in second language (L2) speech assessment. University students (N = 60) at English-medium universities assessed 2-minute video clips of 20 L2 English speakers (10 Chinese and 10 Spanish speakers) narrating a personal story. They rated the speakers'…

Summative assessment of interpretation is widely conducted in interpreting courses/programs to inform high-stakes decision making, such as the selection, certification, and conferral of academic degrees. Yet there has been very limited empirical research to investigate the score dependability of summative interpretation assessment. The present…

This study investigated the comparative effects of strategic and unpressured within-task planning on second language (L2) Chinese oral production and the role of working memory in mediating the effects of the two types of planning. Twenty-nine L2 Chinese learners at a large New Zealand university performed a narrative task after watching a…

This study develops a model of analytic rating scales to assess L2 Chinese oral performance. It uses Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to identify a model and employs Confirmative Factor Analysis (CFA) in a separate dataset to test the degree of model fit. The researcher videotaped ten speeches and ACTFL professional raters assessed the oral…

The triad dimensions of complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) has been widely used for assessing second language performance and development. Unlike accuracy and fluency, the construct of Chinese syntactic complexity has not been comprehensibly conceptualized or operationalized. Moreover, not tailored to the typological differences such as the…