This paper provides an agenda for replication studies focusing on second language (L2) writing and the use of natural language processing (NLP) tools and machine learning algorithms. Specifically, it introduces a range of the available NLP tools and machine learning algorithms and demonstrates how these could be used to replicate seminal studies…

This article presents preliminary data correlating students' scores on measures of speaking, listening, and reading with their grades in Spanish courses. As might be expected, students with higher grades generally scored higher on performance assessments than did classmates with lower course grades. However, large score ranges resulted within a…

There are many different methods that individuals use to learn languages like reading books or writing essays. Not all methods are equally successful for second language learners but nor do all successful learners of a second language show identical preferences for learning methods. Additionally, at the highest level of language learning various…

The article describes the agentive development of a group of first-year Japanese university students. They first individually wrote their language learning histories to grasp what they had been through in their junior and senior high school English education. They then analyzed the histories in small groups, discussing what motivated and…

Motivation is one of the main determining factors of success in developing a second or foreign language. However, motivation is a complex phenomenon and the more its constructs are understood the better we are able to understand the extent to which we can influence it. Teachers can cultivate student motivation to varying degrees and play a central…

The authors of this article propose structured and focused classroom discussion to engage students in thoughtful dialogue. They present a model for principled discussion and suggest ways to engage students in focused discussions drawing from their experiences, offering guidance for helping students make the most of the dialogue sessions. The…

It has been argued that children with dyslexia (DC) are poor at learning a foreign language (L2) and, in particular, reading foreign words. This assumption is so general that an Italian law (law 170, October, 2010) has established that DC may be completely exempted from foreign language learning and, in any case, should not be engaged in tuition…

This study examines whether or not different medical university students experience different levels of anxiety in taking the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT), and whether or not there are differences in GEPT test anxiety levels among medical university students with different genders and from different departments. This study uses a GEPT…

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the determinants of the current state of the ELT field in Mexican contexts. In particular, it explores the ways in which diverse social and political factors hamper the successful implementation of national and institutional ELT policies. Drawing on a case study carried out throughout a period of five years,…

This paper investigates how learners interpret definite plural noun phrases (e.g., "the tigers") and bare (article-less) plural noun phrases (e.g., "tigers") in their second language. Whereas Spanish allows definite plurals to have both generic and specific readings, English requires definite plurals to have specific, nongeneric readings. Generic…

The internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model (Marsh, 1986) posits that the effects of contrasting math and verbal domains of achievement are positive for matching academic self-concepts (ASCs) but negative for nonmatching ASCs (i.e., math achievement on verbal ASC; verbal achievement on math ASC). We extend the classic I/E model by…

"As Kroll (1993), among others, has pointed out, reading has traditionally been seen as a skill to be taught separately from writing, as well as something students are somehow expected to already know about when they reach the writing course, Teaching reading in a writing course may seem like an odd idea, if not an entirely unnecessary one. It may…

This study examined how often and to what extent university learners of German use online resources (e.g., online dictionaries and translators) in relation to German coursework, their motivations for use, and their beliefs about online resources and language learning. Data for this study consisted of open-ended surveys ("n" = 71) and face-to-face…

An objective of the federal government's action plan for official languages is to double the number of high school graduates who have functional knowledge of the second official language. Yet without a clear definition of what constitutes bilingualism, or a consistent approach to assessing language proficiency, how will we know if that goal has…

In an effort to expand the teaching of medical Spanish to medical students, a one-week pilot course was developed and implemented at The University of Alabama School of Medicine (UASOM) in January 2010. Objectives included offering a refresher course in Spanish for medical students before third-year clerkships and providing a model for medical…