This article reports on a study investigating the second language (L2) acquisition of the plural and human features in Mandarin Chinese by adult Korean speakers. Both plural and human features are represented in Korean and Chinese, but assembled in different ways. Forty-eight L2 learners at beginner, intermediate, and advanced Chinese proficiency…

Adopting a mixed-method design, the current study attempted to specify the relationships among four affective factors (i.e., motivation, attitudes, self-confidence, and anxiety) involved in learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Seventy-three students -- from Administration and Humanities College, Mustaqbal University and Jubail University…

This article examines the language practices of Vietnamese students in Taiwan in relation to their social connectedness across different contact zones. Data were obtained from interviews with Vietnamese students of English-medium programmes in Taiwanese universities. Findings suggest that the students, in managing their English and Chinese in…

Studies have shown that U.S. learners' proficiency in reading and listening comprehension lags behind their ability to decode words. Recent studies have found that even after 3 years of high school L2 courses, U.S. students fail to develop minimal proficiency in reading comprehension. This paper suggests that while cognitive factors (word decoding…

English has become a key subject of educational systems worldwide. Thus, researchers have centered their attention on psychosocial processes that influence English proficiency in EFL settings. The aim of our study was to investigate the relation between affective variables, motivation and proficiency and assess which attitudinal/motivational…

This paper investigates the effects of meaning dominance in the time-course of activation for ambiguous words out of context in a second language (L2) based on two models: the ordered access model, where the most frequent dominant meaning is always accessed first, and the multiple access model, where dominant and subordinate meanings are…

This article reports the results of a study that assesses the effectiveness of a Philosophy in Schools (PIS) program in developing English as a Second Language (ESL) students' thinking skills and English competence in Hong Kong. In the study, training and support were provided for two English teachers to enable them to teach PIS to their Secondary…

Self-repairs, that is revisions of speech that speakers themselves initiate and complete (Salonen and Laakso in J Child Lang 36:859, 2009. https://doi-org.bibliotheek.ehb.be/10.1017/s0305000908009240), are frequently used to observe the cognitive and linguistic processes underlying second language (L2) speech production. Previous research has shown that factors such…

Adopting the interactional linguistic framework, the study aimed at exploring the range and frequency of interactional functions of yes/no tokens used by Thai university students of A2 proficiency in their English conversation, and contrasting their use with that of English native speakers (ENSs). The data was derived from 83, two-three party…

The current study analyzes the relationship between elementary school reading achievement and participation in the following language acquisition programs--transitional bilingual, developmental, two-way bilingual immersion, and English immersion. With a focus on the achievement of Spanish-dominant English learners, the study uses multilevel models…

This study aims at investigating Non-English major students' perception of factors that influencing English proficiency in China. The research was conducted by using a non-experimental quantitative research design by a questionnaire survey. A total 300 Non-English Major students from second year from different duration of learning English in Henan…

This study examines the kinds of speech acts that are performed by EFL learners at "Kampung Inggris", Kediri, Indonesia and the reasons behind them. The Speech Act Theory put forward by Austin (1962) and Searle (1969) emphasizes locutionary acts, where five categories of speech acts (i.e. directive, expressive, declarative, assertive,…

We tested the capability of deaf adolescents, including a group of users of cochlear implants, to generate inferences during spoken language comprehension and whether they benefited from the use of sign-supported speech (SSS). Stimuli consisted of 24 short video-recorded texts in spoken language and in SSS. Participants responded to literal and…

This mixed-methods study investigated a hundred university EFL teachers' beliefs about several issues in grammar teaching. Teachers' beliefs about these issues such as the explicit and implicit teaching of grammar, its integration with other language skills, and the role of a teacher in grammar teaching were elicited by means of a questionnaire.…

Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) has an English program for the bachelor's degree in Modern Language with concentration on English. Students in this program are trained to work in the fields in which English is used, such as education, translation, interpreting, tourism, and so on. For this reason, students must struggle to perform in…