Background: The purported reciprocity between motivation and academic achievement in education has largely been supported by correlational data. Aims: Our first aim was to determine experimentally whether motivation and achievement are reciprocally related. The second objective was to investigate a potential behavioural mediation pathway between…

This study reports on strategies to indicate plural referents in hearing learners of Sign Language of the Netherlands. This is the first explorative study that focuses on L2 expressions of plurality in a sign language. Using data from two datasets, I examined when learners start to express plural and which strategies they apply, and I noted…

When learning spoken second language (L2), words overlapping in form and meaning with one's native language (L1) help break into the new language. When nonsigning speakers learn a sign language as L2, such overlaps are absent because of the modality differences (L1: speech, L2: sign). In such cases, nonsigning speakers might use iconic…

The Hague, the third largest city of The Netherlands, is a multicultural and multi-ethnic urban centre with many migrant churches scattered across the city. This article examines the linguistic presence and identity of a select number of English-speaking churches and their identification through Linguistic Landscaping. Our findings show that,…

The role of teacher's feedback in the teaching and learning process is extremely important as it allows educators to provide an objective assessment of a student's performance and help them improve their academic achievements. In this paper, the findings of a comprehensive literature review, conducted using the PRISMA methodology, encompassing 19…

Sign language learners with a spoken language background face the challenge of acquiring a second language in a different modality. In the course of this endeavor, one of the modality-specific phenomena they encounter is the use of classifier predicates, also known as depicting signs. Classifier predicates contain a meaningful hand configuration…

Although robots' social behaviors are known for their capacity to facilitate learner-robot interaction for language learning, their application and effect have not been adequately explored. This study reviewed 59 empirical articles to examine the contexts and application of various social behaviors of robots for language learning, and conducted a…

Public speaking often imposes a nerve-wracking atmosphere in the L2 classrooms. Consequently, an alternative to the anxiety-arousing activity by using advanced technology for pedagogy is urgent. Prior publications reported the use of virtual reality (VR) for training public speaking and alleviating students' public speaking anxiety (PSA). However,…

We aimed to tackle the question about the time course of plausibility effect in on-line processing of Chinese nouns in temporarily ambiguous structures, and whether L2ers can immediately use the plausibility information generated from classifier-noun associations in analyzing ambiguous structures. Two eye-tracking experiments were conducted to…

Second language proficiency may be related to first language acquisition (Ganschow & Sparks, 1991), but relatively little is known about the relation between first and second language grammatical proficiency in primary school children who are in their first stages of foreign language learning. This study aims to determine whether differences…

The study focuses on the language learning experiences of adult migrants from refugee backgrounds with limited educational experiences before migration. This group is often referred to as LESLLA learners; LESLLA is an acronym for Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults. The study used Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) -- a…

The Netherlands is home to an increasing number of English-language churches. These churches are often established with an international audience in mind: however, interestingly, they also attract a large number of Dutch as a first-language (L1) speakers. This article investigates the language attitudes and language choices of Dutch L1 speakers…

The ability to read in a second language (L2) for academic purposes is essential for higher education students. Dutch colleges increasingly use materials in English or teach in English. This can be challenging for L2 readers, especially students entering higher education from vocational studies, who may have less experience with L2 academic…

Availability of orthography during word learning has been found to facilitate learning the word's spelling and pronunciation and has been proposed to facilitate learning its meaning. This has not been studied in second language (L2) learning yet, in which word learning often corresponds to translation learning. Therefore, an L2 word learning…

Many secondary school students' second language (L2) speaking skills suffer from deficiencies; the effects thereof are detrimental to their academic and career opportunities in a globalized world that highlights the importance of oral communication skills. Debate has been considered a potentially effective speaking pedagogical tool that can…