In an attempt to test the generalizability of the role and contributions of interactional feedback in second language acquisition, this study examines the issue in the context of learning Korean as a less-commonly-taught foreign language at the post-secondary level. Further, it looks into the explicitness of feedback as a factor in foreign…

The goal of this study is to investigate the impact of manipulating the cognitive complexity of three different types of oral tasks on interaction. The study first considers the concepts of task complexity and interaction and then examines the specific studies that have looked at the effects of increasing task complexity on conversational…

Previous studies have shown that it is particularly difficult for second language (L2) learners to overcome the effects of transfer when they need to unlearn specific aspects of the native language in the absence of explicit input that indicates which properties of the first language (L1) are ruled out by the L2 grammar (Inagaki, 2001;…

This article reviews what we know about integrating film into our foreign language classes and addresses the aspects of film and the media literacy issues that impact deeper understanding of the target language and culture. In addition, I illustrate the interplay of these factors in planning instruction that integrates film in the third and fourth…

The following article reports the findings of a qualitative evaluation of an online extensive reading program in German as a foreign language. Designed for advanced learners, it differs from traditional extensive reading programs in two important aspects: students read online instead of printed materials, and there was no teacher preselection to…

This study examines the process of linguistic-and-cultural-identity formation as experienced by adult immigrants to Canada who consider themselves professionally successful and highly proficient in the target language. It addresses the characteristics of "good language learners" by determining how they negotiated their marginal standing…

This article examines interactions from tertiary-level foreign languages classes in which students challenge the heteronormative construction of their sexual identity. These interactions are triggered by questions that potentially reference students' real-world identities but which attribute a heteronormative identity to the questions' recipients.…

This article focuses on the potential of competitive games involving physical movement to facilitate the acquisition of a second or foreign language and argues that such activities can promote educational development too. It first provides a critical overview of the literature on physical games in language learning. Then, it outlines our…

By 2010, all children at Key Stage 2 in England will be entitled to learn primary foreign languages (PFL); indeed PFL is now set to become part of the core primary curriculum. This policy is not uncontroversial. A number of studies have established the high levels of motivation that can be engendered among younger learners of modern foreign…

This study investigates to what degree, and in what manner, the L1 and L2(s) influence spoken French L3. The analysis is divided in two parts. The first examines the cross-linguistic lexemes of 30 Swedish learners, divided into three groups according to previous exposure to French. The results show that proficiency in the L3 is crucial: the least…

This article is an attempt to highlight the language situation of bilingual Arab university students who are acquiring English as a second language, and at the same time learning mathematics in the new language of instruction. Furthermore, the article explores the educational implications of the language switch from Arabic to English as they…

Do camps provide a particular kind of thinking space where learning that lasts is facilitated? The argument is built around the concept of transformative learning that involves understanding who we are or wish to be and how we grow accordingly. The nature of such learning is explored through its conceptual relationship with changes in attitudes…

In the USA there has been widespread growth in Two-Way Immersion (TWI) programmes in all states, including those who have outlawed bilingual education. The model offers language majority students the opportunity to become bilingual alongside their language minority peers. Research has shown TWI programmes to be the most equitable and effective for…

This article investigates whether authentic native speaker (NS) to NS speech can be made available to the learner listener through the use of a novel slow-down tool. Results from various preliminary tests seem to indicate that the use of a slow-down algorithm in many cases, and in particular in samples with a higher speed rate and word count,…

This paper examines article use in the L2-English of adult and child speakers of Russian, an article-less language. In earlier work on articles in adult L2-English, Ionin, Ko and Wexler (2004) proposed that speakers of article-less L1s fluctuate between dividing English articles on the basis of definiteness vs. specificity, as a result of direct…