In this article I make the point that there has been a continuous focus on second language development in second language acquisition research for over 40 years and that there is clear empirical evidence for generalizable developmental patterns. I will both summarize some of the core assumptions of Processability Theory (PT) as an approach to…

This article focuses on a theoretical and empirical exploration of developmental trajectories and individual learner variation in second language (L2) acquisition. Taking a processability perspective, I view learner language as a dynamic system that includes predictable universal developmental trajectories as well as individual learner variation,…

Purpose: We investigated how age and linguistic status affected listeners' ability to follow and comprehend 3-talker conversations, and the extent to which individual differences in language proficiency predict speech comprehension under difficult listening conditions. Method: Younger and older L1s as well as young L2s listened to 3-talker…

Purpose: We investigated whether impaired acoustic processing is a factor in developmental language disorders. The amplitude envelope of the speech signal is known to be important in language processing. We examined whether impaired perception of amplitude envelope rise time is related to impaired perception of lexical and phrasal stress in…

This study analyzes the language learning narratives of 3 NNS foreign language teachers. It uses as a theoretical framework the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) (Dörnyei, 2009) but adds the dimension of psychological reactance (Brehm, 1966). Our findings indicate that the L2MSS underestimates the relationship between "I" and…

Lexical access is a core component of word processing. In order to produce or comprehend a word, language users must access word forms in their mental lexicon. However, despite its involvement in both tasks, previous research has often studied lexical access in either production or comprehension alone. Therefore, it is unknown to which extent…

Corrective feedback (CF) is an important part of effective instruction, and a rich body of research has investigated how best to implement various CF strategies and approaches. Researchers have increasingly become aware of individual differences that have an impact on the effect and effectiveness of CF. One area of individual difference that has…

The objective of the article is the correspondence of individual and typological features of the student to the chosen direction, which promotes successful adaptation to study at the university and readiness for future professional activity. The aim is to reveal psychological features of personality of students: doctors, engineers, and jurists.…

This study examined parents' and children's descriptions of older and younger siblings' conflict goals in the late preschool and middle childhood years, and how these attributions were related to sibling relationship quality. Parents and 4- to 10-year-old children from 62 families were interviewed separately about siblings' motivations in two…

Swarm intelligence approaches, such as ant colony optimization (ACO), are used in adaptive e-learning systems and provide an effective method for finding optimal learning paths based on self-organization. The aim of this paper is to develop an improved modeling of adaptive tutoring systems using ACO. In this model, the learning object is…

Purpose: We describe the natural auditory environment of people with cochlear implants (CIs), how it changes across the life span, and how it varies between individuals. Method: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of Cochlear Nucleus 6 CI sound-processor data logs. The logs were obtained from 1,501 people with CIs (ages 0-96…

Purpose: Background noise can interfere with our ability to understand speech. Working memory capacity (WMC) has been shown to contribute to the perception of speech in modulated noise maskers. WMC has been assessed with a variety of auditory and visual tests, often pertaining to different components of working memory. This study assessed the…

Bilingual children experience more variation in their language environment than monolingual children and this impacts their rate of language development with respect to monolinguals. How long it takes for bilingual children learning English as a second language (L2) to display similar abilities to monolingual age-peers has been estimated to be 4-6…

Given that grammatical and spelling errors have been found to influence perceived competence and credibility in written communication, this study examined how a student's grammar and spelling errors affect how other students respond to the student's postings in four online debates hosted in asynchronous threaded discussions. Message-response…

This paper explores how popular ideological discourses within public policy are influencing the views and practices of preservice teachers at a university in Melbourne. The research began by examining how educational success has been historically understood by individuals vis-à-vis government discourse. Three values and four corresponding…