This study aimed to answer an ongoing validity question related to the use of nonstandard English accents in international tests of English proficiency and associated issues of test fairness. More specifically, we examined (1) the extent to which different or shared English accents had an impact on listeners' performances on the Duolingo listening…

Cisgender and heterosexual norms permeate every level of language classrooms, from textbooks to classroom discourse to teachers' actions, constraining queer/trans learners' ability to be themselves. Yet queer/trans and non-queer/trans learners alike may challenge cisheteronormativity within the language classroom and create new possibilities. We…

Involving the global issues as listed in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in education is necessarily done in the education process, especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning. Exposure to global issues is known to improve students' understanding, awareness, and ability to solve urgent issues faced by global society. This paper…

The aim of this study is to examine the development of self-regulated learning (SRL) of university students in an EFL course via Flipped classroom through a novel measurement roadmap. Microanalytic techniques were used throughout the process rather than students' perceptions at a given moment. SRL skills scores are reported as well as sample…

According to cognitive psychologists, consistent practice (i.e., tasks with a high degree of similarity) of a skill leads to the development of automaticity, with the degree of automatization being increased if the practice also involves exact repetition. Practice is skill specific, meaning that practicing one skill does not automatize related…

The present study presents an instructional procedure developed in an attempt to enhance incidental learning through graded readers in class, the Multiple Incidental Exposures (MIE) procedure, and compares it to a more common procedure involving reading and doing the exercises, which is referred to as Traditional Explicit Practice (TEP).…

To explore the washback of the HSK on students learning Chinese as a Second Language (CSL), the study surveyed 1,616 SCL students from 25 different mother tongue backgrounds and interviewed international students studying in China through questionnaire and interview. The following was found in this study: (a) The HSK influenced both the process…

This study uses a mixed research method to examine the effects of a five-week intercultural competence (ICC) training program on 9th-grade high school students. Analysis of paired-sample ttests revealed a significant increase in overall ICC levels, particularly in the knowledge and consciousness dimensions, indicating the training's effectiveness.…

In many countries, children need to become proficient in both their home language (L1) and an international language, such as English (L2). Governments face tradeoffs in how to prioritize these two objectives. We provide empirical evidence on cross-linguistic transfer between L1 and L2, using the results of two randomized evaluations of Structured…

A large body of literature on writing center pedagogy suggests that serving multilingual student writers requires approaches different from those developed for native English-speaking students, a difference that may pose unique challenges to tutors. To identify and address these challenges, we elicited tutors' perspectives on their work with…

This article comprises two international studies. Study 1 aimed to develop a scale to measure the frequency of learners' voluntary, informal, out-of-school engagement with English, so-called Extramural English (EE) activities. It involved three stages -- pilot study, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis -- followed by…

The introduction of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to the wider public could have a huge impact on EFL learning and teaching. Researchers have voiced concerns that learners might lean too much on technology. Previous studies have investigated the use of AI tools in L2 writing with various populations and found that it was difficult for…

This research investigated the effects of generative AI on affective factors (motivation, interest, and confidence) of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners enrolled in Korean university-level general English courses. During the Spring 2024 semester, this study involved 89 participants exposed to a generative AI-based instruction model.…

This longitudinal study examines the effects of a pre-study abroad (SA) pedagogic intervention and subsequent SA experience on second language (L2) Mandarin fluency. It explores two temporal aspects of oral fluency--planning time and speech rate--along with one performance measure, duration of response. Additionally, L2 contact data were included…

When learning spoken second language (L2), words overlapping in form and meaning with one's native language (L1) help break into the new language. When nonsigning speakers learn a sign language as L2, such overlaps are absent because of the modality differences (L1: speech, L2: sign). In such cases, nonsigning speakers might use iconic…