Recent studies in linguistics have shown that metaphor is ubiquitous. This has important consequences for language learners who need to use it appropriately in their speech and writing. This study aims to provide a preliminary measure of the amount and distribution of metaphor used by language learners in their writing across Common European…

This study provides an empirically based contribution to the growing body of research using conversation analysis as a methodical tool for analysing functions of action types through interaction in L2 classroom settings. Using data from various L2 classrooms in ESL and EFL contexts, it is argued that the role of repeats differ depending on the…

The growing interest in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has resulted in enthusiasm in and active pursuit of improved methods of foreign/second-language (L2) teaching in Europe. However, the definition and scope of the term CLIL both internally, as used by CLIL advocates in Europe, and externally, as compared with immersion…

The present study focuses on the influence of starting age and input on foreign language learning. In relation to starting age, the study investigates whether early starters in instructional settings achieve the same kind of long-term advantage as learners in naturalistic settings and it complements previous research by using data from oral…

Paired speaking tasks are now commonly used in both pedagogic and assessment contexts, as they elicit a wide range of interactional skills. The current study aims to offer an investigation of the interaction co-constructed by learners at different proficiency levels who are engaged in a paired speaking test, and to provide insights into the…

Over the past 15 years or so there has developed a school of thought within English language education and applied linguistics globally which refers to the phenomenon and use of English as a lingua franca (ELF). The thinking of ELF movement researchers has placed their work at the centre of current debates about the form, function and legitimacy…

Much work on classroom interaction has been devoted to the IRF or IRE structure as well as pair or group work. Relatively little is known about less "legitimate" moments such as humor or off-task talk, and existing studies on playful interaction have been limited to EFL or foreign language classrooms. Based on 16 hours of videotaped interactions…

Recently, research in foreign language anxiety has extended to the examination of more language-skill-specific anxieties. Existing research findings on the language-skill-specific anxieties indicate a consistent negative relationship between individual skill-based anxieties (e.g. listening anxiety) and more general foreign language classroom…

Vygotskian sociocultural theory of mind holds that language mediates thought. According to the theory, speech does not merely put completed thought into words; rather, it is a tool to refine thought as it evolves in real time. This study investigated from a sociocultural theory of mind perspective how nine beginning learners of Latin used private…

This article documents how second language (L2) Spanish learners in an American high school formulated explicit grammar rules during three inductive lessons on the pronominal clitic "se." Following Adair-Hauck "et al." (2010), each lesson first presented a property of "se" within a narrative text, and then had learners inductively "Co-construct"…

Japanese language learners' proclivity for silence has been alluded to by various writers (e.g. Anderson 1993; Korst 1997; Greer 2000) and is supported by plenty of anecdotal evidence, but large-scale, empirical studies aimed at measuring the extent of macro-level silence within Japanese university L2 classrooms are notably lacking. This article…

This article reports on the results of a study which investigated advanced Cantonese English as a Second Language (ESL) learners' use of a monolingual dictionary for determining the meanings of familiar English words used in less familiar contexts. Thirty-two university English majors in Hong Kong participated in a dictionary consultation task,…

The study reported in this article investigates the development of sociolinguistic competence among second-year (US university-level) L2 learners of French who were given systematic instruction on sociolinguistic variation as part of their normal coursework. We focus on the variable use of the negative morpheme "ne" in verbal negation. Drawing…

English spoken by those who do not share their first language is increasingly referred to as English lingua franca (ELF). For ELF speakers, it can be a challenge to express conflicting opinions, as a common language and/or cultural background cannot be taken for granted. This is recognized by writers of business English textbooks, who provide…

This paper examines the processes through which learners interact with a corpus system and microgenetic development emerges from the interaction. The corpus system described in this paper is capable of retrieving highly relevant textual examples tailored to individual needs. Data were collected from an undergraduate ESL composition course in North…