In an analysis of learners' reflections taken in real time, this study attempts to unveil what learners attend to during a task session. A total of 110 Japanese learners of English noted rationales for their form selections of epistemic modal verbs. The data were then coded and tallied to enable quantitative analysis and to examine the association…

Our study aims to optimize a multimedia application for vocabulary learning for English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Our study is based on the concept that difficulty in reading a text in a second language is due to the need for more working memory for word decoding skills, although the working memory must also be used for text comprehension…

Here we report findings from a cross-sectional study of morphosyntactic processing in native German speakers and native English speakers enrolled in college-level German courses. Event-related brain potentials were recorded while participants read sentences that were either well-formed or violated German subject-verb agreement. Results showed that…

The present work aims to contribute to our understanding of the underlying dimensions of language learning strategies in foreign language contexts. The study analyzes alternative factor structures underlying a recently developed instrument (Tragant and Victori, 2012) and it includes the age factor in the examination of its construct validity. The…

This study investigates the roles of collaborative output, the modality of output, and word engagement in vocabulary learning and retention by Chinese-speaking undergraduate EFL learners. The two treatment groups reconstructed a passage that they had read in one of two ways: (1) dyadic oral interaction while producing a written report (Written…

This study examines whether adult second language (L2) learners of an ungendered first language (L1) are sensitive to gender congruency (grammatical feature absent in the L1) and noun animacy (semantic feature present in the L1) when processing L2 gender concord and whether L2 proficiency level determines such sensitivity. To address these…

In this paper we report the findings of an experiment to test whether training via processing instruction transfers to output tasks. Two groups of Turkish L1-English L2 learners participated: one that received processing instruction on passive structures and a control group that did not receive any instruction on passives. A pre-test/multiple…

Since Language Learning Strategies (LLSs) have the potential to be "an extremely powerful learning tool" (O'Malley, Chamot, Stewner-Manzanares, Russo & Kupper, 1985a, p.43), the use of LLSs helps the learners retrieve and store material, and facilitate their learning (Grander & Maclntyre, 1992), they are sensitive to the learning context and to…

References to the term "incidental vocabulary learning" have become very commonplace not only in second language (L2) acquisition research, but also in empirical research into second and foreign language pedagogy, very often in contrast to "intentional language learning". The former term is associated with more natural language…

The prevalence of formulaicity in naturally occurring language use points to an important role in the way language is acquired, processed, and used. It is widely recommended that second-language instruction should ensure that learners develop a rich repertoire of formulaic sequences. If this is justified, it follows that learner failure to use…

With this research and design paper, we are proposing that Open Educational Resources (OERs) and Open Access (OA) publications give increasing access to high quality online educational and research content for the development of powerful domain-specific language collections that can be further enhanced linguistically with the Flexible Language…

Second-language learners use processing strategies, such as assigning agency to the first noun of an utterance when grammatical cues indicate a contrary interpretation, that can impede correct form-meaning mappings. Processing instruction was developed to push learners to use more optimal processing strategies so that they can make correct…

The study aimed to investigate whether or not negotiation of meaning is effective in L2 vocabulary acquisition of Chinese learners of English in the classroom setting. In the study there were two experimental groups (pre-modified input and negotiation of meaning) and two control groups (pre-modified input). The four groups were required to do a…

Digital tools are not always used in the manner their designers had in mind. Therefore, it is not enough to assume that learning through CALL tools occurs in intended ways, if at all. We have studied the use of an enhanced word processor for writing essays in Swedish as a second language. The word processor contained natural language processing…

Studies on L2 reading have provided extensive evidence for the significant contribution of lower-level processing skills in learning to read and the critical impact on the overall development of L2 reading of more accurate and fluent connections between three sub-lexical components: phonology, orthography and semantics. The broad consensus among…