In this chapter I address what I see as the cornerstone for advancing our understanding of how results from empirical research into L2 interactional development can usefully be brought to bear on L2 education--be it curriculum design, teaching or testing--, namely an epistemologically coherent understanding of interactional competence and its…

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have focused on learning vocabulary from audiovisual input. They have shown that learners can pick up new words incidentally when watching TV (Peters & Webb, 2018; Rodgers & Webb, 2019). Research has also shown that on-screen text (first language or foreign language subtitles) might increase…

In the present study, we examined modulations of the second language (L2) positive emotion-label words, positive emotion-laden words, and neutral words on conflict processing in a flanker task. Twenty Chinese-English bilinguals were instructed to decide the color of the central words that were vertically surrounded by the same words with the same…

This study investigates the effects of corpus use on second language (L2) vocabulary learning as well as the influence of moderators on effectiveness. Based on 29 studies representing 38 unique samples, all of which met several criteria for inclusion (e.g. with control groups), we found an overall positive medium-sized effect of corpus use on L2…

It is widely acknowledged that fixed expressions such as idioms have a processing advantage over non-idiomatic language. While many idioms are metaphoric, metonymic, or even literal, the effect of varying nonliteralness in their processing has not been much researched yet. Theoretical and empirical findings suggest that metonymies are easier to…

While research into the potential benefits of second or foreign language (L2 or FL) collaborative writing for jointly written texts has proliferated in the last few decades, it remains unclear whether texts that learners compose individually after such activities demonstrate improved quality, accuracy, fluency, and complexity. This study compares…

Through either morphological or functional approaches, previous research has examined how instructed second language (L2) learners develop control over a challenging area of French: the use of the "imparfait." In order to better understand this challenge, this cross-sectional study utilized both approaches and examined how 94 university…

Traditional research into individual differences (ID) in second language (L2) learning is based on group studies with the implicit assumption that findings can be generalized to the individual. In this article, we challenge this view. We argue that L2 learners do not form ergodic ensembles and that language learning data lack stability. The data…

Lexical inference refers to the ability to make informed guesses about the meaning of an unknown word. This inferencing ability is affected by learner-related (i.e., morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge) and language-related (i.e., word semantic transparency) factors. Previous studies have shown that these factors play independent…

Writing has generally been perceived as a solitary activity, completed by the writer working alone. Yet, over the years we have witnessed a growing interest among researchers and educators in Collaborative Writing, an activity that can be simply defined as the involvement of two or more writers in the production of a single text. This interest has…

Previous research in child language shows that many aspects of language acquisition are frequency-linked. This study tests whether input or usage frequency predicts the order of acquisition and accuracy of a bilingual Greek-English child's English possessives. The child was followed longitudinally from age 2;6 to 3;11. Order of acquisition was…

The Douglas Fir Group (2016) sought to articulate a transdisciplinary agenda for SLA but said little about multilingualism specifically. Moreover, many multilinguals are under siege in a worrisome world where threats to human difference have risen to the mainstream in the aftermath of Brexit and the 2016 U.S. presidential election. I argue that…

Communication in a second or multiple languages has become essential in the globalized world. However, acquiring a second language (L2) after a critical period is universally acknowledged to be challenging (Lenneberg, 1967). Late learners hardly reach a nativelike level in L2, particularly in its pronunciation, and their incomplete phonological…

The beginning of the modern education and the introduction of the foreign languages in Ethiopia are the two faces of a single coin. And this paper mainly shows how and when foreign languages are introduced into Ethiopia following the footsteps of the introduction and expansion of modern education. It is done using secondary sources. It also gives…

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page sheets on a variety of subjects. The topics for this report on technology use with English learners include: (1) National Study of English Learners and Digital Learning Resources; (2) Most Important Features in Selecting Digital…