Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology with a potential impact on education. Due to cost and usability limitations, it has not been used extensively. However, recent research studies suggested VR as a learning environment with benefits on students' learning performance through experience. It especially has various benefits for language learners.…

Recognising emotions, facial expressions and tone of voice and body language, expressing and managing their own emotions, and understanding and responding to other people's emotions are often difficult for children with autism spectrum disorder. Since the emotional codes of individuals with autism spectrum disorder are different, those people will…

Memory retrieval is well known to modify retention of not only retrieved material, but also related, non-retrieved material. This dissertation consists of two manuscripts that investigated retrieval phenomena in the learning of foreign language vocabulary and science education material. The testing effect--the retention benefit of practicing…

This dissertation deals with the perception of the aspirated coda /s/ by Spanish L2 learners. Second language research, with some exceptions, focuses on whether L1English-L2 Spanish learners can perceive the aspirated variant, showing that only advanced learners with time spent in s-weakening regions succeed at the task. L2 studies about…

Technology-enhanced language learning has exerted positive effects on the performance and engagement of L2 learners. Since the advent of tools based on recent advancement in artificial intelligence (AI), educators have made major strides in applying state-of-the-art technologies to writing classrooms. In November 2022, an AI-powered chatbot named…

This qualitative comparative case study investigates the links between parental motivations and young (aged 4-12) heritage language learners' heritage language school attendance. The study aimed to understand parental motivations, drawing on the instrumental and integrative motivation framework. The study addresses two research questions: 1) Why…

Differentiated classrooms accommodate students' diverse needs, however, tailoring learning to meet students' individual needs is challenging for teachers. This study explores students' diversity in an English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom setting, especially students' needs in differentiated English language tasks and assessments through a…

Increased global migration and a myriad of other social and political factors has made today's universities more diverse than ever. As a result, teachers in higher education regularly find multilingual learners from a variety of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds in their classrooms and must consider this diversity in their teaching.…

Experiencing anxiety is a major obstacle for language learners, especially in productive skills. Among these, speaking is considered to be generally the most challenging. Clearly, many students are affected by Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety (FLSA) and this negatively affects many aspects of their language learning experience, such as group…

The "ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners" are designed to describe language performance that is the result of explicit instruction in an instructional setting. A companion to the "ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines," a document that describes broad, general language proficiency regardless of when, where or how…

German language classrooms lack authentic materials, especially at the intermediate and beginner levels. Authentic materials are generally substituted for mock materials in the target language, which creates an unrealistic and inauthentic second language (L2) environment. Additionally, authentic materials are oftentimes reserved for advanced L2…

As the student population in today's world language classrooms becomes more diverse, the importance of interculturality has increased (NCES, 2022). Beyond this need for interculturality lies the development and teaching of critical intercultural competency (CIC) among world language students as a means of addressing systemic social injustices and…

This report reviews studies on language teachers as materials developers in language education, particularly focusing on how language teachers act as materials users, materials analysts, and materials designers when engaging with language learning and teaching materials. We contend that the three dimensions of materials development - that is,…

The appropriate amount of first language (L1) and second language (L2) to use in L2 learning has been constantly debated (e.g., Cummins, 2007; Hall & Cook, 2012). This study situates the debate of L1 and L2 use in the context of vocabulary learning from reading. By examining the potential moderating factors on the comparison of L1 and L2…

English-language learning in rural Taiwan has been targeted by government policy for two decades, yet little research has investigated students' motivation and support in these rural communities. This study investigated the effects of students' gender, grade, parental support (PS), and teacher support (TS) on their English learning motivation…