Various approaches help determine students' need for language support courses. Some programs use standardized language proficiency test scores, which are available from the admissions process; others use local placement tests, which are typically designed to be aligned with local language needs and ESL course curricula. Using local placement tests…

Until very recently, ability and whiteness as relational systems have been uninterrogated by TESOL research, policy, practice, and teacher education. Consequently, monolingual teachers often use students' proximity to whiteness and nondisabled status as a metric for ascertaining their ability or belonging in certain language learning spaces.…

Motivations-beliefs for learning and their relationship to instructional experiences are a poorly understood aspect of higher education. Notably, interest is an individual difference that both researchers and educators alike believe should be supported. However, this support is too often relegated to the craft of instruction. To be enhanced…

In the context of language instruction and learning, willingness to communicate (WTC) is an important factor in learners' language use. It is viewed as a volitional process influenced by individual, social, linguistic, and situationally dependent factors. Foundational research focused on trait and state WTC-influencing factors as separate…

Various aspects of semantic features drive early vocabulary development, but less is known about how the global and local structure of the overall semantic feature space influences language acquisition. A feature network of English words was constructed from a large database of adult feature production norms such that edges in the network…

Widely recognized lately, interactional competence (IC) has been of growing research interest. However, there are still some questions and gaps in conceptualizing, operationalization, and assessment. The present article examines the evolution of the combination of concept-based instruction (CBI) elements and conversation analysis (CA) findings…

Westergaard's microcue account raises the question of the exact nature of language transfer in the acquisition of languages as well of how L1/Ln input interacts with the principles of universal grammar (UG) during processing. In order to consider in more detail the actual representation building, processing mechanisms that would be involved, her…

Westergaard (2021) presents an updated account of the Linguistic Proximity Model and the micro-cue approach to the parser as an acquisition device. The property-by-property view of transfer inherent in this approach contrasts with other influential models that assume that third language (L3) acquisition involves the creation of a full copy of only…

When we think of the debates surrounding linguistic transfer in L3 acquisition, one of the most prominent discussions concerns whether transfer occurs in a wholesale fashion or whether it is property-by-property. One such model is the Linguistic Proximity Model (LPM, Mykhaylyk et al., 2015; Westergaard et al., 2017; Westergaard, 2021), which…

Background: Extensive second language (L2) reading research has examined the effects of comprehension strategies on comprehension performance. Often ignored, however, is the potential impact of comprehension measures that differ in cognitive complexity, which might cause potential bias when interpreting the (in)effectiveness of comprehension…

It is widely acknowledged that language learning strategies (LLSs) are beneficial to learners' academic achievements, learner autonomy, and motivation; however, it is indicated that Vietnamese students, particularly high school students, have found it hard to employ LLSs. This paper aims at exploring language learning strategies used by high…

This case study investigated newcomer English language learner (ELL) children's perspectives on, and interpretations of, their linguistic landscape (LL), as well as the influence of LL-based activities on their language awareness and learning, identity negotiation, and sense of belonging. With the children as co-researchers, creative-driven…

The article proves that formation of foreign-language communicative competence is one of the core objectives of teaching Russian as a foreign language. The author proves that foreign-language communicative competence is a complex construct which includes linguistic, substantive, and pragmatic competences. Preparatory departments are to create an…

Translation courses in foreign language teaching are an important and integral part of language teaching at almost every level. Knowing how the translation course, which has such an important place in the eyes of students will help the language instructor to apply different methods and techniques during translation education. In addition, knowing…

The pandemic situation in Slovakia has shown that e-learning teaching within educational institutions has not received sufficient attention so far. The purpose of the paper is to stress the importance of e-learning application in foreign language teaching as well as show the possibilities of creating new educational portals for university students…