A common way of acquiring multiword expressions is through language input, such as during reading and listening. However, this type of learning is slow. Identifying approaches that optimize learning from input, therefore, is an important language-learning endeavor. In the present study, 85 learners of English as a foreign language read short texts with 42 figurative English phrasal verbs, repeated three times. In a counterbalanced design, we manipulated access to definitions (before text, after text, no definition) and typographic enhancement (with bolding, without bolding). The learning was measured by immediate and delayed gap-fill and meaning generation posttests. All posttests showed that learning with definitions was better than without, and that access to definitions after reading was more beneficial than before reading. Typographic enhancement effectively promoted contextual learning of phrasal verbs and increased the learning advantage associated with presenting definitions after reading.

Selecting appropriate texts for second language (L2) learners is essential for effective education. However, current text difficulty models often inadequately classify materials for L2 learners by proficiency levels. This study addresses this deficiency by employing the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) as its foundational framework. A cohort of expert English-L2 educators classified 1,181 texts from the CommonLit Ease of Readability corpus into CEFR levels. A random forest model was then trained using 24 linguistic complexity features to predict the CEFR levels of English texts for L2 learners. The model achieved 62.6% exact-level accuracy across the six granular CEFR levels and 82.6% across the three overarching levels, outperforming a baseline model based on three existing readability formulas. Additionally, it identified shared and unique linguistic features across different CEFR levels, highlighting the necessity to adjust text classification models to accommodate the distinct linguistic profiles of low- and high-proficiency readers.

Al-Hoorie, Hiver, and In’nami (2024) challenged the validity and corresponding validation processes of L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) research. A component of this challenge included claims of weak discriminant validity due to high correlations among L2MSS constructs. Papi and Teimouri (2024) countered by using semi-partial correlations to control for other L2MSS constructs, finding weak-to-moderate associations, which they claimed mollified potential discriminant validity concerns. In this methods-oriented response paper, we present a historical case that semi-partial correlations should be viewed within the context of multiple regression analysis, not as a standalone bivariate metric. Challenging Papi and Teimouri’s approach, we suggest that their method does not adequately address discriminant validity issues. Furthermore, when their semi-partial correlations are treated as multiple regression models, Al-Hoorie et al.’s concerns remain valid. Finally, we demonstrate that L2MSS literature does not support the assignment of outcome and predictor variables in Papi and Teimouri’s semi-partial correlations when correctly considered as multiple regression models.

As the field of heritage language acquisition expands, there is a need for proficiency to compare speakers across groups and studies. Elicited imitation tasks (EITs) are efficient cost-effective tasks with a long tradition in proficiency assessment of second language (L2) learners, first language children, and adults. However, little research has investigated their use with heritage speakers (HSs), despite their oral nature, which makes them appropriate for speakers with variable literacy skills. This study is a partial replication of Solon, Park, Dehghan-Chaleshtori, Carver & Long (2022), who administered an EIT originally developed for advanced L2 learners on a group of HSs. In this study, we administered the same EIT with minor modifications to 70 HSs and 132 L2 learners of Spanish with different levels of proficiency and ran a Rasch analysis to evaluate the functioning of the task with the two groups. To obtain concurrent validity evidence, scores on the EIT were compared with participants’ performance in an oral narration; evaluated for complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF); and compared with a standardized oral proficiency test, the Versant Spanish Test. Results of Rasch analyses showed that the EIT was effective at distinguishing different levels of ability for both groups, and analyses showed moderate to strong correlations between CAF measures and the EIT and very strong correlations between the EIT and the Versant Spanish Test. These results provide evidence that the EIT is an efficient and adequate proficiency test for HSs and L2 learners of Spanish; its use in research settings is recommended.

In recent years, the L2 Motivational Self System has faced increasing scrutiny over its theoretical clarity and empirical rigor. One element of this model, the L2 Learning Experience, remains ambiguously defined and theoretically underdeveloped. This study examined the content validity of the L2 Learning Experience scale and its potential overlap with intrinsic motivation, a cornerstone of self-determination theory. Using a panel of experts, we assessed to what extent items traditionally associated with the L2 Learning Experience scale align with their intended construct. Findings revealed that the items were predominantly identified as intrinsic motivation, not the L2 Learning Experience. These results suggest a significant overlap between the two constructs and raise concerns about a potential jangle fallacy. Our results also underscore the need for greater theoretical and terminological clarity in the field. Aligning language learning motivation research with broader psychological frameworks could lead to more parsimonious and robust theoretical models.

This paper reports an expansion of the English as a second language (L2) component of the Multilingual Eye Movement Corpus (MECO L2), an international database of eye movements during text reading. While the previous Wave 1 of the MECO project (Kuperman et al., 2023) contained English as a L2 reading data from readers with 12 different first language (L1) backgrounds, the newly collected dataset adds eye-tracking data on English text reading from 13 distinct L1 backgrounds (N = 660) as well as participants’ scores on component skills of English proficiency and information about their demographics and language background and use. The paper reports reliability estimates, descriptive statistics, and correlational analyses as means to validate the expansion dataset. Consistent with prior literature and the MECO Wave 1, trends in the MECO Wave 2 data include a weak correlation between reading comprehension and oculomotor measures of reading fluency and a greater L1-L2 contrast in reading fluency than reading comprehension. Jointly with Wave 1, the MECO project includes English reading data from more than 1,200 readers representing a diversity of native writing systems (logographic, abjad, abugida, and alphabetic) and 19 distinct L1 backgrounds. We provide multiple pointers to new venues of how L2 reading researchers can mine this rich publicly available dataset.

In a close replication study of Darcy et al., (2016), Huensch (2024) reported a lack of clear relationships between inhibitory control (IC) and phonological processing, contrary to the initial findings. Given the general unreliability of response-time differences, which are often the basis of IC measures and could potentially mask small effects, we performed secondary analyses on Huensch’s (2024) open data set to investigate (a) the extent to which the reliability of IC measures could be improved using model-based approaches (Hui & Wu, 2024), (b) the correlations between the different IC tasks, and (c) their predictive power for phonological processing, based on the more reliable indices. Results showed that model-based approaches generally improved reliability, and particularly for the Stroop and Simon tasks to acceptable levels. Yet, correlations between IC tasks remained low, and partial correlation and hierarchical regression still failed to reveal significant relationships between IC and phonological processing, further confirming Huensch’s (2024) findings.

This study is designed to understand embarrassment in the second/foreign language (L2) context. Following a mixed-method design, in Phase 1, a sample of 141 tertiary-level Austrian English language learners were asked to write a narrative about their experiences of embarrassment in their language learning histories. Analyzing the narratives showed that L2 embarrassment is a multidimensional construct that is frequently experienced by a range of language learners. In Phase 2, we developed and validated an L2 classroom speaking embarrassment (L2CSE) scale among a sample of 402 international English language learners drawing on the literature and analysis of the narratives. Data showed that L2 embarrassment is best represented by a bifactor exploratory structural equation model, capturing both general and specific aspects of L2 embarrassment. We found that a supportive classroom environment and fostering a growth mindset can decrease the risk of L2 embarrassment. As expected, L2 embarrassment was a negative predictor of willingness to communicate and self-perceived language proficiency. These initial findings suggest that L2 embarrassment could be an important and influential emotion in the language learning classroom context which requires further research.

This study revisits the relationship between second-language (L2) learners’ ability to distinguish sounds in non-native phonological contrasts and to recognize spoken words when recognition depends on these sounds, while addressing the role of methodological similarity. Bilingual Catalan/Spanish learners of English were tested on the identification of two vowel contrasts (VI) of diverging difficulty, /i/-/ɪ/ (difficult) and /ɛ/-/æ/ (easy), in monosyllabic minimal pairs, and on their recognition of the same pairs in a word-picture matching task (WPM). Learners performed substantially better with /i/-/ɪ/ in VI than in WPM, and individual scores were only weakly correlated. By replicating previous findings through a more symmetrical design, we show that an account of prior work rooted in methodological dissimilarity is improbable and provide additional support for the claim that accuracy in sound identification does not guarantee improvements in word recognition. This has implications for our understanding of L2-speech acquisition and L2 pronunciation training.

Al-Hoorie et al. (2024) have described L2 Motivational Self System research as having a “validation crisis.” In this response, I offer a brief history of recent motivation research to contextualize how we reached this point. I then discuss measurement invariance testing, the purpose of which is to ensure that the proposed measurement model holds across groups or time. Crucially, invariance testing is a necessary precursor to subsequent analyses because if invariance is not upheld, it is impossible to know whether differences reflect true underlying differences in the latent construct or are simply the byproduct of a changing measurement model. I argue that by combining measurement invariance testing with open science practices, we can create and validate better measurement models while cultivating a better understanding of their scope of application.

The duality of human nature, consisting of positive and negative personality traits, has intrigued scholars in different fields. Despite an overwhelming dominance of research on positive characteristics, particularly in the field of education, negative traits, such as those constituting the Dark Triad (DT; i.e., Psychopathy, Narcissism, and Machiavellianism) have been confirmed to be associated with both positive and detrimental outcomes. This paper aims to investigate the potential influence of these aversive traits on second language (L2) learning outcomes—L2 learning motivation, engagement, achievement, and willingness to communicate. L2 learners from a single country (n = 431) participated in this study. Multiple structural equation models (SEMs) were run to analyze the links and the directionality of significant effects. Overall, among the undesirable DT traits, Psychopathy and Narcissism were both positive and negative predictors of the L2 outcomes, while Machiavellianism unexpectedly emerged solely as a positive predictor. The intricacy of the results underscores the vague nature of the effects, pinpointing the need for more caution while examining negative personality traits in education and the L2 contexts. Based on the results of this study, implications and directions for future research on DT and language learning are suggested.

This article explores the utility of content-embedded working memory capacity (WMC) tasks for advancing second language (L2) research. While both complex span and content-embedded tasks implement a dual-task paradigm that requires processing and maintenance of information, they differ in that the former demand maintenance of extraneous memory elements during processing, while the latter demand processing and maintenance of the same elements. Since manipulating information stored in working memory is critical for L2 processing and development, particularly in intentional learning contexts, content-embedded tasks may serve as strong predictors of several linguistic outcomes. We report preliminary evidence suggesting that both content-embedded tasks (available in IRIS [https://www.iris-database.org/details/iv6nR-HD9NQ]) and complex span tasks can be significant predictors of explicit L2 aptitude and L2 reading comprehension, but that content-embedded tasks can show advantages over complex span tasks in some instances. We discuss methodological implications for the measurement of WMC in L2 research.

In this rejoinder, we provide a historical overview of the emerging critiques of the L2 Motivational Self System and examine the structural and conceptual factors that have perpetuated these unresolved issues. As our analysis shows, a core concern is that the L2 Motivational Self System lacks clear falsifiability criteria, making it difficult to evaluate or revise in light of contradictory evidence. Despite numerous inconsistent or null findings, there appears to be no threshold at which core assumptions are reconsidered. We argue that advancing the field requires a renewed commitment to falsifiability, where constructs are subjected to empirical scrutiny and can, in principle, be shown to be wrong. Beyond technical matters, we acknowledge the emotional and professional challenges involved in confronting evidence that undermines familiar frameworks. We advocate for a shift toward greater theoretical precision, methodological transparency, and openness to critique.

Additional language speakers (ALSs) often experience anxiety due to challenges posed by their nonstandard pronunciation. Building on these insights, this paper introduces an instrument, the Accent Anxiety Scale (AAS), specifically designed to assess three sources of anxiety that are experienced by ALSs, including (a) apprehension about negative evaluations from other individuals due to their distinctive speech style, (b) concerns about rejection from the target language community because of their “foreign” pronunciation, and (c) anxieties over potential communication hurdles attributed to the intelligibility of their pronunciation. We evaluated the psychometric robustness of the AAS by analyzing data from a total of 474 immigrant and international student ALSs at a predominantly English-speaking Canadian university. Study 1 focused on immigrants (N = 203) and employed exploratory factor and correlational analyses to isolate a concise number of internally consistent and valid items for each subscale. Study 2 extended these analyses to international students (N = 153) and employed confirmatory factor and correlation analyses to further validate the AAS in this population. Study 3 examined international students (N = 118) at two time points to establish the AAS’s temporal stability. These studies yielded robust psychometric evidence for the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the AAS. The findings not only support the use of the AAS as a research instrument but also offer implications for pedagogical strategies aimed at alleviating ALSs’ accent anxiety.

This methodological synthesis surveys study and instrument quality in L2 pronunciation research by scrutinizing methodological practices in designing and employing scales and rubrics that measure accentedness, comprehensibility, and intelligibility. A comprehensive coding scheme was developed, and searches were conducted in several databases. A total of 380 articles (409 samples) that employed 576 target instruments and appeared in peer-reviewed journals from 1977 to 2023 were synthesized. Results demonstrated, among other findings, strengths in reporting several listener and speaker characteristics. Areas in need of improvement include (a) more thorough evaluation and reporting of interrater reliability and instrument validity and (b) greater adherence to methodological transparency and open science practices. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for researchers and researcher trainers; by raising awareness of methodological and ethical challenges in psychometric research on L2 speech perception; and by providing recommendations for advancing the quality of instruments in this domain.

This paper introduces the Chinese Learner English Corpus (CLEC), comprising argumentative texts written by Chinese lower and upper secondary school students. CLEC expands learner corpus research by including texts from intermediate-level learners and rich metadata on their backgrounds, including engagement with self-initiated, so-called Extramural English (EE) activities outside the classroom. To illustrate potential uses, two case studies are presented. The first uses a keyword analysis to reveal thematic and stylistic differences between CLEC and its Swedish counterpart, SLEC, highlighting linguistic priorities related to distinct learning contexts. The second investigates lexical bundles associated with gaming, demonstrating how EE engagement might influence learners’ use of multiword units. Freely available online, CLEC facilitates contrastive interlanguage analysis and supports further research into L2 learning and use, particularly regarding the role of language exposure. The corpus is also a valuable resource for teacher trainees aiming to deepen their understanding of SLA processes.

This paper explores how long-term bilingualism affects the production of intervocalic plosive consonants (/p t k b d ɡ/) in the speech of Afrikaans–Spanish bilinguals from Patagonia, Argentina. We performed sociolinguistic interviews with three speaker groups: L1-Afrikaans/L2-Spanish bilinguals (14 speakers, interviewed separately in Spanish and Afrikaans), L1-Spanish comparison speakers from Patagonia (10 speakers), and L1-Afrikaans comparison speakers from South Africa (11 speakers). We analyzed the speech data using three acoustic measures (constriction duration, relative intensity, and percent voicing) to examine the degree of lenition of the target plosives. The results demonstrate a complex interplay of factors that bring about cross-language influence, which varies based on the target phoneme and phonetic measure. Notably, the findings suggest that phenomena that are gradient phonetic processes in both languages of bilingual speakers (such as the lenition of voiceless plosives in Spanish and Afrikaans) pattern differently than phenomena that are phonological in one language but phonetic in the other (such as lenition of voiced plosives in Spanish versus Afrikaans).