Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching
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Review of Researching language learning motivation: A concise guide by Ali H. Al-Hoorie and Fruzsina Szabó
No full textIn the context of buoyant research on second language acquisition (SLA), language learning motivation has remained one of the most active fields of inquiry for more than 60 years (Al-Hoorie & MacIntyre, 2019; Ushioda, 2019). Several books have approached this topic from a range of perspectives (e.g., Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2021; Lamb et al., 2019; MacIntyre & Al-Hoorie, 2020). However, the seemingly unceasing theoretical and methodological innovation in motivation research can be confusing, and it has become increasingly overwhelming to keep abreast of all the latest advancements in this burgeoning field. In response to this “promising” yet “perplexing” situation, Ali H. Al-Hoorie and Fruzsina Szabó have edited the volume Researching language learning motivation: A concise guide, presenting a timely guidebook for both students and novice researchers to navigate their way through the journey of language learning motivation.In the context of buoyant research on second language acquisition (SLA), language learning motivation has remained one of the most active fields of inquiry for more than 60 years (Al-Hoorie & MacIntyre, 2019; Ushioda, 2019). Several books have approached this topic from a range of perspectives (e.g., Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2021; Lamb et al., 2019; MacIntyre & Al-Hoorie, 2020). However, the seemingly unceasing theoretical and methodological innovation in motivation research can be confusing, and it has become increasingly overwhelming to keep abreast of all the latest advancements in this burgeoning field. In response to this “promising” yet “perplexing” situation, Ali H. Al-Hoorie and Fruzsina Szabó have edited the volume Researching language learning motivation: A concise guide, presenting a timely guidebook for both students and novice researchers to navigate their way through the journey of language learning motivation
The effects of using cognitive discourse functions to instruct 4th-year children on report writing in a CLIL science class
Full text linkThe present study analyzed how a group of young Spanish-speaking English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in a content and language integrated learning (CLIL) science class responded to an instructional unit integrating attention to functional language and an inquiry-oriented approach to science. Working in cooperation with the researchers, a year 4 primary school teacher implemented a teaching sequence on levers with 48 9-10-year-olds over three weeks. The sequence, which was intended to raise the children’s awareness of the demands involved in understanding (content goals) and expressing as written reports (rhetorical goals) how levers work, scaffolded their activity from item-based writing to the production of full texts. On completing the unit, each child independently wrote a report on levers, all of which were analyzed from the perspective of cognitive discourse functions and ideational meaning. The results of these analyses are discussed in terms of their significance for CLIL writing with young learners
The role of motivation and vocabulary learning strategies in L2 vocabulary knowledge: A structural equation modeling analysis
Full text linkThis study explores the complex relationships between language learning motivation, vocabulary learning strategies, and two components of second language vocabulary knowledge (i.e., vocabulary size and depth), within the framework of self-regulated learning. Responses to questionnaires were gathered from 185 secondary-level Korean adolescent learners of English as a foreign language, regarding their motivation and vocabulary learning strategy use; additionally, the results of their vocabulary size and depth tests were collected. We adopted structural equation modeling for analysis, with vocabulary learning strategies consisting of memory, cognitive, and metacognitive categories, and vocabulary knowledge consisting of vocabulary size and depth. The results showed that motivation directly predicted vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary knowledge, and indirectly predicted vocabulary knowledge via vocabulary learning strategies. When further classified, intrinsic motivation was found to have a stronger influence on the use of vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary knowledge than extrinsic motivation. We discuss the implications of increasing learners’ motivation and repertoire of strategies for improving vocabulary size and depth.This study explores the complex relationships between language learning motivation, vocabulary learning strategies, and two components of second language vocabulary knowledge (i.e., vocabulary size and depth), within the framework of self-regulated learning. Responses to questionnaires were gathered from 185 secondary-level Korean adolescent learners of English as a foreign language, regarding their motivation and vocabulary learning strategy use; additionally, the results of their vocabulary size and depth tests were collected. We adopted structural equation modeling for analysis, with vocabulary learning strategies consisting of memory, cognitive, and metacognitive categories, and vocabulary knowledge consisting of vocabulary size and depth. The results showed that motivation directly predicted vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary knowledge, and indirectly predicted vocabulary knowledge via vocabulary learning strategies. When further classified, intrinsic motivation was found to have a stronger influence on the use of vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary knowledge than extrinsic motivation. We discuss the implications of increasing learners’ motivation and repertoire of strategies for improving vocabulary size and depth
Introduction to the special issue on L2 writing and feedback processing and use in pen and paper and digital environments: Advancing research and practice
Full text linkThe present special issue (SI) is a collection of position papers and empirical studies intended to advance disciplinary conversations on the learning and teaching of second or foreign language (L2) writing in instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) contexts. It does so by analyzing critically past research, providing new empirical insights obtained in controlled and classroom-based studies conducted in various educational settings with diverse populations, suggesting worthy avenues to be pursued in future research agendas, and drawing implications for practice
The role of cognitive individual differences in digital versus pen-and-paper writing
Full text linkIt is unknown whether and to what extent cognitive individual differences may play different roles in paper versus computer-based second language (L2) writing. This exploratory study is a first attempt to explore this issue, focusing on the effects of working memory and language aptitude on the quality of paper versus computer-based L2 writing performance. Forty-two Spanish learners of L2 English performed a problem-solving task either digitally or on paper, took a working memory n-back test, and completed LLAMA tests to measure language aptitude. The quality of their L2 written texts was assessed in terms of complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) measures. The results indicated that the role of cognitive individual differences may vary depending on the writing environment
Shifting focus through a small lens: Discursive and introspective perspectives on the emergence of L2 study emotions
Full text linkWhile perennial in the research landscape, empirical work investigating second language (L2) study emotions has proliferated in the past ten years (Dewaele, 2019). Nevertheless, this article argues there is space for more holistic yet detailed, social yet individual perspectives when conducting such research. As one avenue, the paper explores the potential of a “small lens” approach (Ushioda, 2016) to delve into particular emotional events in situ from learner-internal and learner-external points of view. It details an example of such an approach put into practice, in which the author examined the emergence of emotionally significant episodes for English as a foreign language undergraduates in Japan during short conversation sessions. The research explored data from discursive (video-recordings and transcripts of short conversations) and introspective (learner journals) angles. As a result, it was possible to observe the ways in which students’ emotional moves were both afforded by and acted on those of the other through their social interactions, and through interactions with additional aspects of their ongoing psychologies and relationships. The article thus aims to promote further situated L2 emotion research examining the dynamic interplay between various aspects of learners’ psychologies and the co-formed social context
Potential sources of foreign language learning boredom: A Q methodology study
Full text linkThe present study employed an interpretive approach to investigate individual learners’ viewpoints on foreign language learning boredom (FLLB). To this aim, a Q method, which shares features of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches, was used to explore 37 Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ perceptions of potential sources of boredom in the classroom. Nonprobability purposeful sampling was used to select participants from two private language institutes in Mashhad, Iran. A hybrid-type Q sampling was employed to produce 40 statements related to the sources of FLLB. Using PQ Method, an exclusive statistical package for Q methodology, the Q sorts were intercorrelated and factor-analyzed. Three factors were extracted and rotated using varimax rotation and hand adjustment. Factor arrays and qualitative analyses were utilized to find and interpret three different accounts of FLLB. The three factors showed that the students held three divergent prototypical points of view about the sources of boredom experienced in EFL learning in class: (a) teacher-induced boredom, (b) student-induced boredom, and (c) activity-induced boredom. The findings also showed that different learner prototypes experience FLLB distinctly. Thus teachers should consider using different strategies to prevent or reduce this negative emotion in the context of L2 learning since otherwise this process could be impeded
Editorial: Introduction to the special issue on conducting research syntheses on individual differences in SLA
Full text linkAs systematic research syntheses and meta-analytic studies are becoming more prominent in the social sciences, especially in the fields of psychology and ed-ucation, it appears that applied linguists have also started to follow suit (In’nami et al., 2019). One of the main reasons for this is that abundant knowledge has accumulated through the years about second and foreign lan-guage (L2) learning and teaching, making the time ripe to systematically syn-thesize the research findings in order to draw further conclusions and identify paths future studies could take. This is also true for the subfield of individual differences (IDs) research within applied linguistics, where proliferation in the number of studies focusing on individual learner differences with respect to a large variety of issues has been witnessed in the past decades. Hence, we saw it timely to compile a special issue on research synthesis in the subfield of IDs in L2 learning. We formulated the following aims to guide our venture: First of all, we intend to inform scholars of the nature and utility of research syntheses in our field. Second, we hope that the articles included in the special issue would serve as examples for researchers wishing to embark on conducting similar studies. Our third and not negligible aim was to see what tendencies regarding particular individual differences can be outlined based on previous research results. In order for the readers to make the most of these articles, in this editorial introduction we would like to articulate how we see the role of research synthesis in general and meta-analysis in particular in our field. To this end, we will offer relevant definitions and a short discussion on their utility. We will then move on to outline very generic guidelines for conducting sys-tematic research syntheses, and, finally, we will summarize the studies includ-ed in the volume and their contribution to the field of research on IDs.As systematic research syntheses and meta-analytic studies are becoming more prominent in the social sciences, especially in the fields of psychology and ed-ucation, it appears that applied linguists have also started to follow suit (In’nami et al., 2019). One of the main reasons for this is that abundant knowledge has accumulated through the years about second and foreign lan-guage (L2) learning and teaching, making the time ripe to systematically syn-thesize the research findings in order to draw further conclusions and identify paths future studies could take. This is also true for the subfield of individual differences (IDs) research within applied linguistics, where proliferation in the number of studies focusing on individual learner differences with respect to a large variety of issues has been witnessed in the past decades. Hence, we saw it timely to compile a special issue on research synthesis in the subfield of IDs in L2 learning. We formulated the following aims to guide our venture: First of all, we intend to inform scholars of the nature and utility of research syntheses in our field. Second, we hope that the articles included in the special issue would serve as examples for researchers wishing to embark on conducting similar studies. Our third and not negligible aim was to see what tendencies regarding particular individual differences can be outlined based on previous research results. In order for the readers to make the most of these articles, in this editorial introduction we would like to articulate how we see the role of research synthesis in general and meta-analysis in particular in our field. To this end, we will offer relevant definitions and a short discussion on their utility. We will then move on to outline very generic guidelines for conducting sys-tematic research syntheses, and, finally, we will summarize the studies includ-ed in the volume and their contribution to the field of research on IDs
Taking stock: A meta-analysis of the effects of foreign language enjoyment
Full text linkStudies examining the positive emotion of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) have recently increased exponentially, as researchers are applying the tenets of positive psychology in applied linguistics. It is therefore an appropriate time to take stock of the current literature and conduct a preliminary meta-analysis. The relationships between FLE and four variables, namely, foreign language anxiety (FLA), willingness to communicate (WTC), academic achievement, and self-perceived achievement were examined. A total of k = 96 effect sizes were analyzed with an overall sample size of N = 28,166 in random-effects models with correlation coefficients. There was a moderate negative correlation between FLE and FLA. In turn, moderate positive correlations were found between FLE and WTC, FLE and academic achievement, and FLE and self-perceived achievement. These positive associations confirm the value of FLE in FL learning and further affirm the need for researchers to examine positive psychology constructs in the foreign language classroom.Studies examining the positive emotion of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) have recently increased exponentially, as researchers are applying the tenets of positive psychology in applied linguistics. It is therefore an appropriate time to take stock of the current literature and conduct a preliminary meta-analysis. The relationships between FLE and four variables, namely, foreign language anxiety (FLA), willingness to communicate (WTC), academic achievement, and self-perceived achievement were examined. A total of k = 96 effect sizes were analyzed with an overall sample size of N = 28,166 in random-effects models with correlation coefficients. There was a moderate negative correlation between FLE and FLA. In turn, moderate positive correlations were found between FLE and WTC, FLE and academic achievement, and FLE and self-perceived achievement. These positive associations confirm the value of FLE in FL learning and further affirm the need for researchers to examine positive psychology constructs in the foreign language classroom