Learning new vocabulary from context typically requires multiple encounters during which word meaning can be retrieved from memory or inferred from context. We compared the effect of memory retrieval and context inferences on short- and long-term retention in three experiments. Participants studied novel words and then practiced the words either…

An annual German Day event can be a powerful tool to motivate students, increase visibility of state and local German programs, and, ultimately, boost enrollments. However, it can also be a daunting undertaking that is often orchestrated by a single person. This article offers a user guide that can help others plan their own German Day, be it a…

Queer issues in English language teaching (ELT) have received increasing attention in recent years. This has included calling for interfaces between queer theory and ELT theorizing and descriptions of what is at stake in heteronormative classrooms, as well as exploring normative discourses reflected in language learning materials. Despite this…

Reflection is an essential dimension of effective teaching. It prompts classroom teachers to subject themselves to a process of self-observation or self-evaluation. By reflecting on what they do in the classroom, teachers specifically explore their teaching practices and beliefs and whether these, indeed, work. This then may lead teachers to…

Iconicity--the correspondence between form and meaning--may help young children learn to use new words. Early-learned words are higher in iconicity than later learned words. However, it remains unclear what role iconicity may play in actual language use. Here, we ask whether iconicity relates not just to the age at which words are acquired, but…

Many Western universities provide for focused attention on the development of second language writers' academic writing in first-year courses, but there are generally fewer defined channels for such learning after their departure from these courses. This article uses the lens of writing as situated social practices to investigate opportunities for…

Speaking in a foreign language can be influenced by such psychological aspects as anxiety and self-confidence. The students who have high level of anxiety, worry, fear and low level of self-confidence in foreign language classes may have difficulties in developing their speaking ability. The objective of this research was to find out whether there…

In the past 2 decades, there has been an increasing tendency to use scores from the "TOEFL iBT"® Speaking test for decisions regarding the certification of international graduate students as teaching assistants at North American universities. To obtain validity evidence in support of the usefulness of the speaking scores for this…

Aims: This study aimed to (1) develop and validate the Chinese and English Handwriting Screening Test for Kindergarten Children (CHEST) to screen children for handwriting difficulties in their final year of kindergarten education in Hong Kong, and to (2) identify common types of problems encountered by those children before their formal primary…

With its international constituency, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has a large a membership that primarily comprises non-native English speakers. Students have had challenges in understanding and appreciating the writings of one of the church's co-founders, Ellen White. The purpose of this study was to analyze the Testimonies for the Church and…

Difference or facts of nonusage present a challenge to teacher-scholars of writing and rhetoric in WAC/WID and beyond. How can they appropriately engage different language and rhetorical practices in the classroom and relations of power asymmetry in discursive engagements? How can they effectively address issues of disciplinarity and challenge…

A reading experiment combining online and offline data evaluates the effect on second language learners' reading behaviors and lexical uptake of three gloss types designed to clarify word meaning. These are (a) textual definition, (b) textual definition accompanied by picture, and (c) picture only. We recorded eye movements while intermediate…

Making inferences about a test taker's language ability has been a concern for language testers. Defining language ability in a speaking test is made difficult because the construct involves factors within and beyond the test taker. One underlying factor is the use of strategies. This study probes test takers' strategic processes and their use in…

The Spanish mood contrast is a good test case for research on acquiring form-meaning connections in contexts where input is variable and multiple areas of the grammar are implicated (e.g., syntax, semantics, pragmatics). Nevertheless, research on interpretation of this contrast lags and little is known about how individual lexical items and…

The development of autonomy is acknowledged as a prominent educational goal in discussions of language education, but it is hardly a reality in many schools. One of the reasons for this discrepancy is the lack of teacher education programmes addressing teacher and learner autonomy as valid educational concerns. Because teacher education is vital…