This paper draws on two research activities to discuss the role of research at the Centre for Language Learning (CLL) at The University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad and Tobago. Established in 1997, the CLL introduced languages for all into this Caribbean higher education (HE) context. The CLL also introduced an expanded…

Studies of second language learning have revealed a connection between first language transfer and errors in second language production. This paper describes an action research study carried out among Chilean university students studying English as part of their degree programmes. The study focuses on common lexical errors made by Chilean…

Working as a school psychologist in Mexico is possible, even with no previous experience speaking Spanish. After graduate school, the author knew there would be no better time to go. He deferred his student loan repayments, enrolled in Spanish classes at a public Mexican university, and later got a job as a school psychologist in a private,…

In the L2 fluency literature there is considerable debate over how best to operationally define pauses and how different pause measures relate to L2 proficiency. This creates a challenge for researchers interested in L2 fluency, and particularly those who are working with groups that vary in L2 proficiency. This article addresses these issues by…

Arabic-Spanish simultaneous interpreting (AR-SP SI) in Spain and the Arab world is, on the whole, carried out by native Arabic speakers. Specifically, 87.5% of AR-SP SI interpreters in Spain have Arabic as A language and Spanish as language B. Given this peculiarity, for this linguistic combination it was interesting, as well as novel, to analyse…

This article reports a study about the behavior and functions of term variation in research articles (RAs) in Geology and Psychology. The aim of the study was twofold: first, to investigate the role of intra-textual term variation as a device for the representation and transfer of specialized knowledge; second, to explore whether there are…

Do the cognitive benefits of "interleaving"--the method of alternating between two or more skills or concepts during training--extend to foreign language learning? In four experiments, we investigated the efficacy of interleaved versus conventional blocked practice for teaching adult learners to conjugate Spanish verbs in the…

Recent longitudinal approaches to second language (L2) pronunciation development have prioritized developmental trajectories, highlighting individual variation in phonetic learning over time. Aligning with this research paradigm, the present study examined voice onset time (VOT) production in Spanish/b/and/p/ over two semesters of elementary…

Compared to low-variability training, high-variability training leads to better learning outcomes and supports generalization of learning. However, it is unclear whether the learning advantage is driven by multiple talkers or by enhanced acoustic variability across target sounds. The current study addressed this issue in nonnative production…

Primary school children develop literacy practices in various domains and situations in everyday life. This study focused on the analysis of literacy practices of children aged 8-12 years from the perspective of their families. 1,843 families participated in the non-experimental explanatory study. The children in these families speak Spanish as a…

Despite established benefits, colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is underutilized among Latinos/Hispanics. We conducted a pilot 2-arm randomized controlled trial evaluating efficacy of two intervention conditions on CRC screening uptake among Latinos receiving care in community clinics. Participants (N = 76) were aged 50-75, most were foreign-born,…

Participation in mathematics classrooms has received considerable attention in previous research. Scholars have emphasized researchers' and teachers' perspectives on what it means to participate. I draw on sociocultural theories of learning to explore both students' and a teacher's perspectives on participation. I describe a participatory research…

In this chapter, the authors analyze the academic field of comparative education in Spanish speaking Latin America as a contested construction both in epistemological and political dimensions. First, the authors provide a brief historical account of the origin and development of comparative education in the region since the nineteenth century.…

The ability to communicate in different languages is increasingly essential in today's interconnected world. However, language learning outcomes can often suffer due to low engagement and participation, especially among students from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. To address this challenge, it is crucial to create a culturally…

The onset of COVID-19 has prompted world language professionals to reconceptualize best practices in second language (L2) teaching and research during a time of limited interaction due to social distancing across the globe (Morris, 2022). Not surprisingly, study abroad programs that once fostered communicative and intercultural development were…