Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching
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Trends in language assessment and testing: A bibliometric study
Full text linkThe current bibliometric study employed citation analysis and keyword analysis to perform a review of language assessment and testing. Based on citation counts and keywords, this study identified the recent trends/changes and the most influential regions, institutions, scholars, and publications in the field. In addition, the intellectual structures of the field reviewed by the network maps of the most influential documents and scholars showed how these eminent documents and authors were related to each other. It was found that the field experienced significant changes with the emergence of new scholars, research themes, and topics. This study is also a tribute to hundreds of scholarly documents in the field, which keep the field moving forward
To lead or not to lead: The fluctuation of peer leadership in collaborative oral argumentation
Full text linkWorking with peers in small groups is conducive to learning, and collaborative learning has been widely adopted in second language classrooms. Leadership, defined as the initiative taken to influence others in a group, plays a significant role in successful teamwork, but has not received due attention in research on collaborative peer work. To address this research gap, we conducted a case study in a university English as a foreign language classroom in China in which the participants navigated their oral argumentation tasks collaboratively. The current study offers insight into the fluctuation of peer leadership in collaborative oral argumentation based on group discussion and semi-structured interview data. The findings suggest that peer leadership is a dynamic process that fluctuates in function and individual contribution over time. The study also revealed that peer leadership is a complex process influenced by multiple factors, including intrapersonal, interpersonal, and task-related ones. In conclusion, we stress that, to optimize collaborative peer learning, teachers should strive to stimulate and nurture the emergence of leadership and provide space for its long-term development
Invisible forces: How shame and guilt affect L2 achievement through regulating L2 anxiety and enjoyment
No full textEmotions play a crucial role in second and foreign language learning as extensive research in second language acquisition (SLA) has documented the influence of both positive and negative emotions on second and foreign language (L2) learners’ motivation, performance, and L2 attainment. Although language anxiety and enjoyment have garnered particular attention from scholars in the domain of L2 learning, their links with other emotions – more specifically, shame and guilt – remain underexplored. In other words, how L2 learners’ proneness to shame and guilt act as key determiners of their L2 anxiety and enjoyment experiences remains largely unexplored. As such, two separate studies investigated how shame-proneness and guilt-proneness influence L2 achievement by regulating L2 anxiety and enjoyment. In Study 1, a sample of 327 English major university students, and in Study 2, a total of 256 undergraduates from English and non-English majors were recruited. The initial correlational analyses in both studies revealed a strong, positive relationship between shame-proneness and anxiety but a modest, negative correlation between shame-proneness and L2 enjoyment. Conversely, guilt-proneness had a modest, positive correlation with L2 enjoyment and no meaningful relationship with L2 anxiety. Path analyses exhibited that shame-proneness reduced L2 achievement of the students mainly by increasing their L2 anxiety and suppressing L2 joy, whereas guilt-proneness enhanced L2 achievement by boosting L2 enjoyment. The theoretical and pedagogical implications of the findings will be discussed in detail with respect to the contexts of the studies
Causality and ability beliefs: An introduction to confounders and colliders
No full textCausal inference is a fundamental goal of many research endeavors, including scholarship in the field of language education and learning. Randomized controlled trials are considered an ideal design to test causal claims, but not all claims can be subjected to experimental treatment due to ethical and practical constraints. In this article, we provide an overview of the conditions under which causal inference may be made from observational data. This includes recognition of the role of confounders and colliders; the former are common causes of the independent and dependent variables and must be controlled, while the latter are common effects and must not be controlled. We illustrate these ideas with two examples involving ability beliefs and demonstrate them through directed acyclic graphs. We discuss the implications of this approach to causal inference from observational data, specifically in individual differences in language learning research, highlighting the need for explicit modeling of causal relationships and the risk of the atheoretical inclusion of variables, whether as controls, predictors, or covariates
Competence need satisfaction in language learning (and beyond): Current state of the evidence and directions for exploration
No full textAccording to self-determination theory, the need to experience competence is one of a well-recognized trio of basic psychological needs, alongside the need for autonomy and relatedness. Although often assessed at the activity level, the need for competence is met situationally when learners feel able to understand and affect the world around them. In language learning, this means the feeling of success firstly in the comprehension and then in the use of the new language. This situated, contextual sense of competence helps explain the complex and dynamic development of motivation within the language learner. In this review, we focus on the need for competence as it applies both theoretically and empirically to the study of learning a new language. Building on scholarship showing that competence need satisfaction is a powerful correlate of motivation in education generally, we survey the evidence for competence need satisfaction as a specific predictor of language learning motivation and achievement, with directions for future exploration. We present a thought experiment for new methods and approaches to the measurement of competence in classrooms
Reply to Shao, Stockinger, Marsh and Pekrun (2023). Applying control-value theory for examining multiple emotions in L2 classrooms: Validating the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire – Second Language Learning
No full textShao et al. (2023) make a number of critical comments on our previous research on foreign language (FL) emotions, but also add debatable claims, present an inaccurate view of existing research and present an instrument, the Achievement Emotion Questionnaire – Second Language Learning (AEQ-L2L), that does not capture the full range of habitual positive and negative emotions in regular FL classrooms by focusing exclusively on learner emotions during exams. We agree with the authors that some early scales had unclear factor structures but claiming that therefore these scales are invalid and unreliable is unjustified. We do not deny that the AEQ can provide a comprehensive measure of emotion, but it does not prioritize the context which is fundamental in research on FL learners’ classroom emotions. Moreover, the AEQ-L2L is too long to be reasonably included in complex studies
Longitudinal reciprocal dynamics between teacher emotional support and EFL learners’ emotional engagement: Between- and within-person perspectives
No full textEmotional engagement (EE) has emerged as a central factor in sustaining learners’ motivation and cultivating environments that promote both academic success and personal well-being. Central to fostering EE is perceived teacher emotional support (PTES), characterized by teacher behaviors such as warmth, empathy, and responsiveness that contribute to a positive and motivating classroom climate. However, the complex and reciprocal relationship between PTES and EE remains insufficiently explored. This study seeks to address this gap through the lens of complex dynamic systems theory (CDST). Utilizing data collected over the course of a semester from 126 fourth-year English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, the study employed cross-lagged panel models (CLPM) to investigate between-person effects and random intercept CLPM (RI-CLPM) to analyze within-person dynamics. The findings revealed a reciprocal relationship: Higher levels of EE enhanced learners’ perceptions of teacher support, while greater teacher support contributed to increased EE over time. The results underscore the mutually reinforcing relationship between PTES and EE, illustrating how these dynamics vary both within and between individuals. This research offers practical insights for teachers, advocating for the creation of emotionally supportive classroom environments that enhance learner EE and ultimately contribute to greater success in second language (L2) learning contexts.
Beyond achievement goals: How different goals drive second language learning and achievement
No full textGoals are central to understanding how students learn a second language. Much of the existing research on goals in the field of language learning has focused exclusively on achievement goals, particularly mastery and performance goals. However, exclusively focusing on achievement goals precludes language researchers from exploring other important types of goals such as work avoidance, social, and personal best goals. Furthermore, other key theoretical perspectives, such as goal content, goal-setting, and goal-complex approaches, are neglected in second language learning research. Hence, the paper aims to: (1) introduce second language researchers to other goal perspectives that might be useful to understanding language learning, such as achievement goal, goal content, goal-setting, and goal complex approaches, (2) provide theoretical insights into how different goal theories can advance language learning research and (3) offer practical implications for language researchers and teachers on how to harness goal-related insights, ideas, and models to improve students’ language learning