This study explored how Chinese and Scottish student-teachers from two case-study universities perceived their experiences in foreign language learning in both formal and informal contexts within their home countries, and how the status of a foreign language learner shaped their empathy for culturally and linguistically diverse pupils through a…

The purpose of this paper is to investigate students' grammar performance and attitudes toward inductive and deductive approaches to teaching grammar in English. A mixed-method study in higher education tested the effectiveness of inductive, deductive, and a combination of both approaches on student performance on grammar tests using eight…

While self-regulated learning (SRL) has become an important paradigm in the field of English as a foreign language (EFL) learning, how adolescent learners utilize SRL strategies in the field of reading remains underexplored. Also largely unknown is the relationship between SRL strategy use and readers' motivational beliefs. To bridge the gaps, the…

Willingness to communicate in a foreign and second language (L2 WTC) has gradually become a recurrent theme in the SLA. With the advent of an emotional or affective turn brought by the positive psychology movement in applied linguistics, the significant role of positive emotions such as Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) in L2 WTC has been…

Buoyancy is considered a critical factor influencing learning outcomes. Yet, its effect on language learning is still underexplored. Drawing on the control-value theory, this research examines how buoyancy affects academic performance, mediated by emotions (anxiety, enjoyment, and boredom) and engagement. Data was gathered using a composite…

This narrative inquiry explores the experiences of two students in an English Medium Instruction (EMI) course at a Macau University. Through the lens of self-discrepancy theory and possible selves theory and drawing on data from field observation, interviews, and informal chats, the findings unearthed significantly different experiences of the…

Developing strong listening skills in a second language (L2) can be challenging for a variety of reasons. Within the context of L2 use in higher education, accurate and timely processing of aural input can be crucial for academic success, particularly because vast amounts of disciplinary-specific content are delivered via academic lectures in the…

The rise of informal language learning, especially learning conducted online outside the classroom context, has received considerable scholarly attention in recent years. To date, however, there has been limited evidence-based systematic analysis of the prevalence of online informal language learning (OILL). Accordingly, we conducted a systematic…

Over the past decade, numerous studies have explored students' reading practices in the EFL context. However, we lack evidence on how undergraduate students use task-oriented reading to understand complex academic texts like journal articles. This phenomenological case study investigates the adoption of Task-oriented Reading Instruction (TORI) in…

This study investigated whether learners' task motivation predicts their task engagement, and whether their task engagement is associated with subsequent L2 learning. Task motivation was operationalized through situated expectancy-value theory (SEVT; Eccles & Wigfield, 2020), a model of the proximal (i.e., task-specific) social-cognitive…

High stress predicts mood and anxiety disorders and can necessitate clinical intervention (Steffen et al., 2014). Language learners often experience high stress during intensive study abroad (SA) programs (Dewey et al., 2018), which can hinder communication (Buttaro, 2004; Peck, 1974). Acculturative stress is common among second language (L2)…

Goal setting (GS) is regarded as a key component of the forethought phase of self-regulation. Given that self-regulation has been widely recognised as an important contributor to academic outcomes, the present study sought to further explore how GS influences English learning performance (ELP), with learning engagement (LE) considered as a…

This study explores the use of the linguistic landscape (LL) by two recent migrants to New Zealand as a resource for language learning beyond the classroom (LBC) from a socio-cognitive perspective. With a focus on learning Maori, we inquire into these beginner-level language learners' experience of using bilingual public signage as the primary…

Speech perception research has commonly relied on untrained listeners to provide impressionistic judgments of second language (L2) speech, and training listeners has been rare. The current study therefore explores the implications of training novice listeners (NLs) to rate accented speech. A total of 60 listeners were recruited, 30 who remained…

Purpose: This study aims to explore how university language students evaluate different sustainability themes and examine the overall relevance of ecological, social, cultural and economic sustainability dimensions in language education. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was designed to study Finnish university language students' (n =…