The first purpose of this empirical study was to assess and validate the Academic Writing Self-Efficacy Belief Questionnaire (AWSEBQ) framed by social cognitive theory. The second purpose was to evaluate the predictive effects of different aspects of self-efficacy beliefs on academic writing performance. Data were collected from 743 learners at a…

While the literature on second language reading agrees that exposing students to graded readers (GRs) is beneficial, little is known about how students perceive them. This study explores students' anxiety and overall experiences in a reading program (RP) using GRs in a large first-year Spanish language program. Data are based on 312 students' pre…

In recent years, research in multimodality has established the benefits of using multiple semiotic modes like image, sound, and text in digital second language (L2) communication. However, researchers have yet to investigate how L2 learners make meaning through embodied modes--or gestures and facial expressions. Grounded in the social semiotic…

The present study uses data from 1147 university language students from lower-division and upper-division courses from eight different languages. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of course placement, first course enrollment, and personal/professional relationships had on university learners' intentions to minor or major…

Research has identified 10 high-leverage teaching practices (HLTPs) that can impact student learning of a foreign language. While acknowledging the importance of this work, more research is needed to inform the preparation of novice teachers to enact these practices. In response, the researchers conducted a case study involving two foreign…

The majority of US university students studying foreign languages are enrolled in introductory courses that are typically part of a coordinated curriculum. Such courses conventionally include the assessment of second language (L2) writing skills. However, given that these assessments can be broadly conceived and vary by program, their design and…

UNESCO and the Education Policy Center at American Institutes for Research have reported massive teacher shortages to exist around the globe. In the United States, an estimated 44 states and Washington, D.C. have experienced shortages of qualified world language (WL) teachers for decades. Limited research has addressed the reasons for this…

Many scholars have highlighted the great variability of second language acquisition outcomes and, thus, the inconsistencies and inconclusiveness in the study abroad literature. These have called for longitudinal, case-based research that focuses on the students' processes (rather than outcomes) and that showcases the heterogeneity of…

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, all colleges in Korea were forced to transition to online teaching, as was the case in most of the rest of the world. This situation engendered confusion, frustration, and dissatisfaction among students as well as instructors. The present study examined college students' perceptions of online learning in…

This study takes the initiative to use structural equation modeling to verify an integrated willingness to communicate in an L2 (L2 WTC) model proposed from the socio-psychological perspective in the China's English as a second language context. A total of 1007 college freshmen (Male: n = 745; Female: n = 262) from eight universities in mainland…

This study explores transformative learning (TL) in community-based language learning experiences. The fall 2019 study, conducted with 25 undergraduate students enrolled in two advanced language courses with a service-learning component, was designed to identify if TL is occurring, which classroom and community-based activities lead to TL, and…

This nationwide mixed methods study investigated the relationships among self-regulation (S-R), emotional intelligence (EI), willingness to communicate (WTC), and reading comprehension ability of Persian foreign language (PFL) learners in Iran. Therefore, 141 non-Persian students, from 28 different countries studying at 12 universities across Iran…

Previous research has explored the possibility of changing preservice teachers' beliefs and has examined the role of methods courses and field experiences in shaping their pedagogical views. This study uncovers the beliefs of preservice Spanish teachers by examining how they evaluate a lesson at the beginning and end of a methodology course and…

Curricular peer mentoring is a type of peer-assisted learning that integrates advanced students of a subject directly into beginner-level courses to facilitate engagement and learning. This study investigates how one curricular peer mentoring program, originally developed to foster active learning in large introductory science, technology,…

Most students take language courses at university, but only a fraction go beyond the introductory and intermediate levels despite the fact that continued study is likely necessary to achieve full communicative competence in the target language. By shedding light on the motivational pathways that predict language learning effort, persistence, and…