Applied Linguistics Research Research Articles

A primer on measurement invariance in L2 anxiety research

AbstractMeasurement invariance (MI) is essential to bolstering validity arguments behind psychometric instruments (Zumbo, 2007). Nonetheless, very few second language (L2) anxiety scales, including the most widely used L2 anxiety questionnaire—the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS; Horwitz et al., 1986)—have been tested for MI. The present paper seeks to address this deficiency in the literature (a) by demonstrating why this procedure is key to enhancing our understanding of the latent phenomenon in question, particularly in relation to different language learning contexts, (b) by outlining the main stages of MI testing with specific recommendations for L2 scale developers and users, (c) by providing commendable examples of the application of MI in applied linguistics research in order to illustrate the potential of this technique, and (d) by making a case for employing MI in future validation studies, thereby promoting methodologically sound research practices in the context of anxiety scales and elsewhere in applied linguistics.

Individual growth curve modeling for applied linguistics research

In applied linguistics research interest has surged in recent years for questions related to individuals’ development and change. The most commonly used methods in the field for analyzing repeated measures data, for studying variation and stability in individual change, and for investigating how individual level outcomes relate to the group may not be the most robust available. In this methods tutorial, we introduce a state-of-the-art longitudinal data analysis method: individual growth curve modeling. We describe the various uses for individual growth curve models (IGCM) in comparison with other cross-sectional or single-subject analytical methods, define important terms related to such models that describe outcome variable Y at time t, and show how IGCM can be used to analyze variables at the individual and group levels simultaneously. In our tutorial, we provide a worked example of IGCM that draws on a dataset of L2 students’ classroom disengagement and use R to exemplify the necessary steps for conducting IGC modeling. Through this example, we demonstrate how IGCM are especially suited to data structured on multiple levels, where repeated measures varying across time are nested within individuals, and where both time-variant and time-invariant measures are of interest. We further demonstrate how, in addition to examining changes over time in the outcome variable for the same individual using repeated measures, IGCM can also capture individual differences in those changes. We conclude with a brief review of how such models have been used recently across a selective sample of research domains in applied linguistics

Interactional Metadiscourse in Applied Linguistics Research Article Abstracts of Moroccan L2 Writers of English: A Small Corpus Investigation

Arguably, the Moroccan academic writing stratosphere has long been understudied. Such oversight is particularly discerning given how beneficial these studies can be for L2 writers of English. To this end, using Hyland’s (2005) metadiscourse framework, the current research studies interactional metadiscourse practices in a small corpus of 15 applied linguistics research article abstracts. These were collected from two Moroccan-based peer-reviewed journals. A “thick” approach for both frequency and textual analysis was adopted. Such an approach led to having contextually grounded results better matching the corpus nature. We can report that the abstracts exhibited a limited degree of reader interaction, shown by the low percentage of interactional markers and their functional orientation. This was attributed to the nature of the discourse community, disciplinary changes, and rhetorical transfer. We recommend that more effort be taken towards creating better academic courses for students in Morocco and elsewhere. We call for scholars of the field to kindly consider students as a source of input in this type of research.

Cross-curricular connection in an English Medium Instruction Western History classroom: a translanguaging view

Prior research in Applied Linguistics has explored how teachers mobilise diverse resources in order to make connections between the students’ out-of-school knowledge and experiences and the abstract content knowledge. Nevertheless, how teachers can transcend the boundaries of disciplinary knowledge by incorporating relevant content knowledge from other academic subjects to facilitate students’ learning of new content knowledge is a topic that is under-researched in the field. Adopting translanguaging as an analytical perspective, this study examines how the creation of a translanguaging space can afford opportunities for an English-Medium-Instruction (EMI) teacher to connect content-related knowledge for supporting students’ learning of new historical knowledge in EMI Western History classrooms. The data is based on a larger linguistic ethnographic project in a Hong Kong EMI secondary Western History classroom. Multimodal Conversation Analysis is used to analyse the classroom interaction data. The classroom interaction data is triangulated with the video-stimulated-recall-interviews that are analysed with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. This paper argues that a translanguaging classroom space can be ­created for activating students’ prior learnt subject knowledge for ­supporting students’ learning of new academic knowledge. Such a translanguaging space provides opportunities for classroom participants to not only engage in fluid language practices, but also encourages the teacher and students to bring in multiple epistemologies that help students understand new academic knowledge in a new classroom interactional context.

A scientometric analysis of applied linguistics research (1970–2022): methodology and future directions

Abstract In this study, we provide a scientometric analysis of 43,685 studies published in 51 quartile-1 journals in the field of applied linguistics (1970–2022). Scientometric analysis uses citation records to quantitatively compute networks of cited works and map out how published works have been cited. We adapted a multi-stage scientometric method consisting of database identification, dataset generation, document co-citation analysis, research cluster identification, and cluster characterization. A number of major research clusters were identified and a high degree of interconnectedness in terms of theoretical base was observed between the clusters. The pre-2000 publications had a conspicuous focus on theories derived from language use, which might be said had set the tone for the maturation of the field. By contrast, the clusters that emerged from the 2000s showed more specificity and granularity in focus and scope, suggesting the beginning of a research era with more specialized directions. Despite this trend, we identified influential publications which received several spikes in citations in different eras, indicating their continued temporal and thematic relevance in different clusters. In addition, we found evidence of inter-cluster cross-pollinations. We discuss how each cluster should be characterized in terms of its knowledge base and knowledge front. Highly cited works form the knowledge base of a cluster while novel works form the knowledge fronts of a cluster. Future directions are mentioned and highlighted.

Formulaic Sequences and Discourse Markers in Applied Linguistics Research Papers. A cross-linguistic corpus-based analysis of native and non-native authors published articles

Metadiscourse markers and their importance to academic writing are essential research subjects nowadays. The current corpus-based study aims at identifying interactional and interactive metadiscourse markers in terms of frequency and function in the abstract section of published research articles in applied linguistics developed by Algerian, Saudi, and Native researchers. 20 research articles for each group, with a total of 60 articles have been randomly selected and compiled as the research corpus for this study, then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using AntConc.3.2.4 relying on Hyland’s classification of metadiscourse markers. As a comparative study, the research considered the abstracts written by natives as a benchmark and attempted to find an answer to the main inquiry related to the frequency of use of metadiscourse devices by Algerian and Saudi researchers in comparison to their Native counterparts. The main research results showed how close were Algerian abstracts to native ones in terms of using endophorics, frame markers, code glosses, hedges, attitude markers, and self-mentions. While Saudi abstracts were close to the benchmark only in two markers that are transitions and engagement markers. The rest of the devices were shown to be far from the native norm in both cases. The findings also revealed that the use of metadiscourse markers is not the only indicator of papers publication rate in indexed journals by comparing the corpus analysis results to the source of the articles (journals), to find that even if Algerian researchers publish less in high indexed journals in comparison to Saudis, they are still closer in using markers to the natives as a benchmark.

Conversation Codes in Selected Nigerian TV Health Talks

A conversation entails the exchange of thoughts, ideas, emotions and questions between two or more individuals for a purpose. Conversation in the 21st century may be physical or blended. Studies have investigated discourse in friendship, negotiations, classroom and literary texts for interpretations, but little attention has been paid to the health talk in the recent time in Nigeria despite its significance in the post-Covid era. Few available linguistic analyses concentrated on doctor-patient interaction with less attention to those who are healthy at the moment but may need precautions to remain hearty. The laxness in a linguistic study on health will continue to create a gulf between health and linguistic analysis. Linguists need to engage in health jargon for proper exposition and linguistic simplification. Therefore, this research aims to analyze conversational codes in selected Channels TV health talks in Nigeria. With the application of the conversational codes by Harvey Sacks. Qualitative analysis is employed to interpret conversational codes in the data selected for the study. Out of the different episodes on Channels TV daily, five episodes on hypertension, COVID-19, heart attack, diabetes and sickle cell disorder constitute the data. The study explores the theory of conversation analysis by Harvey Sacks. The approach investigates communication systems and how discourse is constructed toward achieving the ultimate goal of interaction among discussants with minute overlaps. The study qualitatively examines turn-taking, adjacency pair, sequence, repair, opening and closing. Insight from Sacks' approach reveals that turn-taking is frequently used in the episodes with varying percentages (35-40%). Turns are flexible, and they could be determined by the host or the guests depending on the background exposure of the host to health matters. The use of fillers varies from speaker to speaker with percentages. Socio-cultural roles affect turn construction management. The hosts often ask more questions than the guest, depending on the information the guest supplies, which determines follow-up questions. Theoretically, this study can support the theory of conversational analysis- of conversational codes. The study can be a reference for applied linguistics research insights to account for telephone calls, political interviews, classrooms and debates.

Introducing and illustrating the Delphi method for applied linguistics research

This paper briefly explains how to conduct a Delphi study, an interactive and iterative data collection method that utilizes expert opinion to create an artifact. Using phase one of a larger ongoing project as an example case, this paper explores decision points of the project and discusses limitations and considerations that often go undisclosed in published manuscripts using the Delphi method. When applying the method in our project, we collected four rounds of feedback from an expert panel to create a taxonomy of questionable research practices (QRPs). While our project did not encounter major issues, we did face challenges, for example, sampling, timing, and power dynamics. Readers of this paper will gain an understanding of the basics of conducting a Delphi study along with a better understanding of the behind-the-scenes decisions that many scholars make when conducting research of this kind.

Applying cognitive linguistics to foreign language teaching and learning

AbstractThe discipline of Applied Cognitive Linguistics is a recent, still emerging framework, which is situated at the interface of Cognitive Linguistics (CL) and Applied Linguistics research (Pütz, Niemeier & Dirven 2001a,2001b). At its core, Applied CL is concerned with the use of CL models, theories, or concepts for L2 teaching and learning, where it aims to create effective teaching methods, activities, or materials. Owing to its more recent origin in the 1990s/2000s, a lively metadisciplinary discussion is still taking place within the discipline, which highlights various challenges or concerns that Applied CL research is currently facing (e.g.,Achard & Niemeier 2004;Pütz 2010;Roche 2014;Tyler & Huang 2018). Major concerns in this discussion are, for instance, (1) the underuse of empirical data in Applied CL research and (2) the yet limited application of CL theories to Communicative Language Teaching (as opposed to Present-Practice-Produce, in which it is typically embedded). This article outlines these two challenges to research in Applied CL and offers suggestions how to address these concerns in future investigations. By doing so, we intend to contribute to the ongoing metadisciplinary discussion about the Applied CL framework and to promote its further consolidation.

Transitioning between ‘Outside’ and ‘Inside’ Knowledge in an Online University EMI Chemistry Course

AbstractRecent studies in applied linguistics research have focused on how teachers draw on ‘outside’ knowledge relating to students’ everyday life for the purpose of teaching subject matter content. This study focuses on such practices in the context of English-medium instruction (EMI) higher education in an online undergraduate chemistry module. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, the study combines multimodal Conversation Analysis (CA) and the Autonomy dimension of Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) to examine how one lecturer shifts between ‘inside’ knowledge of chemistry and ‘outside’ knowledge for a range of different purposes. Multimodal CA is used to carry out micro-analyses of epistemics and identity-related positioning in interaction, while LCT ‘autonomy codes’ are used to trace knowledge-building trajectories in which knowledge is positioned inside or outside the target topic and is used for different purposes. The analyses highlight how the lecturer skilfully deployed a range of semiotic resources in transitioning between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ knowledge, and how these resources were leveraged for the building of disciplinary knowledge. Implications of this interdisciplinary approach for research and practice in university EMI contexts are discussed.

Students’ Perceptions of Ethics in Applied Linguistics Research at a Costa Rican Public University

This article examines students’ perceptions of ethics and ethical training in research on second language acquisition. The role of ethics in applied linguistics and research has received little attention, despite its relevance. This study, which was conducted from May to June 2022, involved 26 TESOL students enrolled in a Licenciatura program at a Costa Rican public university. It used a quantitative, direct needs assessment design. The researcher collected data through a survey designed to elicit students’ opinions on this issue. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Data analyses indicate that: 1) students tend to reject unethical behaviors in research (68.75%); 2) some behaviors seem more permissible than others; 3) students consider ethics an essential component of research (x̅ = 4.6, SD = 0.57, Mod = 5); and 4) the Licenciatura program does not incorporate a systematic approach to ethical training in SLA research (X̄ = 9.33; SD = 8.08. Consistent with the reviewed literature, these findings demonstrate the lack of ethical training in language teaching programs and second language research. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that direct instruction may broaden students’ understanding of ethical issues when conducting research. Finally, these findings suggest that students would greatly benefit from a more structured curriculum that considers the ethical component of research.

"The very interesting finding suggests that…": A cognitive frame-based analysis of interest markers by authors' geo-academic location in applied linguistics research articles.

Linguistic expressions of interest instantiated by interesting, intriguing, and fascinating that signal the authorial stance are not uncommon in applied linguistics research articles. Nevertheless, they have received little scholarly attention. This paper, taking a cognitive semantic approach, reports on a study that sought to examine how linguistically expressed interest in applied linguistics research articles is leveraged by researchers' geo-academic location (the Core vs. the Periphery). Drawing on a semantic frame generated for interest markers in academic writing, this study focused on the incidence of the various elements of the Interest frame in the discipline of applied linguistics based on a mixed-methods approach. The corpus-based quantitative analyses found that academic writers' geo-academic location was a robust predictor of authors' overall use of interest markers and some frame elements associated with the Interest frame. Triangulation with the interview data obtained from disciplinary specialists revealed that the observed differences could be attributable to the hierarchical academia featuring periphery-based scholars' unequal access to the knowledge production market and under-representation.

Using the e-questionnaire in qualitative applied linguistics research

The e-questionnaire (electronic questionnaire) offers remarkable opportunities for qualitative researchers aiming to capture the diversity of ways language learners and teachers experience and interpret language phenomena. Nevertheless, the literature on the use of the e-questionnaire in qualitative research, especially in applied linguistics, is sparse and fragmented. The purpose of this tutorial is therefore to advance the use of the e-questionnaire and to consider design issues and administration strategies. It aims to show that the e-questionnaire constitutes a valuable tool for qualitative applied linguistics research, one that offers many benefits, including broadened access to study participants and their views and experiences, greater efficiency in data collection, and reduced research costs.

THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE STUDENTS’ HABIT TO WATCH ENGLISH YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND THEIR SPEAKING SKILL

THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE STUDENTS’ HABIT TO WATCH ENGLISH YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND THEIR SPEAKING SKILL

L2 motivation and willingness to communicate: a moderated mediation model of psychological shyness

Abstract Psychological factors involved in learning a second language (L2) present a considerable interest for applied linguistics researchers and language educators. This study adopted the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) framework to examine links between L2 motivation, willingness to communicate in the target language (L2WTC), classroom environment (L2CE) and psychological shyness of Chinese learners of English. The study posited that L2 motivation would be positively associated with L2WTC and that L2CE would mediate this relationship. It was further proposed that the L2MSS → L2CE → L2WTC nexus would be moderated by the language learners’ psychological shyness. Data were collected from 846 (N = 846) learners of English as a foreign language in three large state universities in China and analysed using rigorous statistical methods. The findings indicated that L2MSS was positively associated with L2WTC and that L2CE mediated the association between the two constructs. Furthermore, psychological shyness moderated the first and the second links in the L2MSS → L2CE → L2WTC nexus. These findings have notable pedagogical implications, such as the need to help students generate a positive self-image as an L2 user, to provide encouragement to the shy students and to create an inclusive and supportive classroom environment.

Rhetorical Structure of Applied Linguistics Research Article Discussions: A Comparative Cross-Cultural Analysis

Background. Recent years have seen tremendous research efforts in the development of English for academic and research publication purposes, utilising an established approach to comparative genre analysis. This growing interest is primarily driven by the global dominance of Anglophone writing conventions, which necessitates raising awareness among researchers, particularly in non-Anglophone contexts.
 Purpose. This study explored and analysed the communicative intents of the discussion sections in research articles in two different contexts to investigate the effect of nativeness on the structural organisation in this genre. The focus of the study was on the rhetorical structure and employment of Moves in the applied linguistics research article Discussions, written in English by Iranian and native English-speaking researchers.
 Methods. A mixed-methods research study was conducted on two corpora, comprising 40 Discussions written by Iranian scholars and 40 Discussions written by native English-speaking scholars, selected from research articles published in international peer-reviewed journals.
 Results. The comparison of the two corpora revealed similarities and differences in the frequency, type, structure, sequence, and cyclicity of Moves. While there were significant differences in the frequency and sequence of Moves and Steps, both corpora employed the same types. They featured cyclical structures with no evidence of linear patterns across the Discussions. Both groups of researchers found it essential to provide background information and report and comment on the results in the research article Discussions, however, with notable differences in commenting strategies, i.e., Steps. The results indicated that socio-cultural conventions might have influenced the scholars' under- and over-employment of certain Moves and Steps in the research article Discussions.
 Implications. The findings of this study provide research-based evidence to practically and pedagogically assist in the context of English for academic and specific purposes, particularly in teaching English for research publication purposes to non-native English-speaking scholars.

A functional analysis of lexical bundles in the discussion sections of applied linguistics research articles: A cross-paradigm study

Lexical bundles, as “building blocks of discourse” (Biber Barbieri 2007: 263), vary across disciplines and genres. Mastery of lexical bundles signals professionalism and helps identify writers and speakers as members of specific discourse communities. Despite the contribution of lexical bundle research to our understanding of disciplinary variation, the constraints placed by the genre conventions of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches to research writing on the use of lexical bundles remain under-researched (Le Harrington 2015). This study aims to explore the extent to which quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research articles are similar or different with respect to the frequency and functional patterns of their lexical bundles. Towards answering this question, however tentatively, the present exploratory study reports on the extent to which lexical bundles function similarly or differently in the discussion sections of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research articles in the field of applied linguistics. A corpus-based analysis of discussion sections in 150 research articles culled from ten highly rated international journals in the field of applied linguistics suggest that at the level of discussion sections, different methodological paradigms are characterized by different functional uses of lexical bundles. These lexical bundles are sufficiently formulaic that it can be argued that they constrain writers’ language preferences. These findings may be of interest to applied linguists, second language educators and advanced learners of academic English.

The deployment of English lexical bundles in applied linguistics research articles by Vietnamese researchers

Lexical Bundles (LBs) have been considered an effective tool for not only academic writing but also spoken discourse. The use of these clusters has attracted a lot of researchers in different registers because of their characteristics and functions in constructing the texts. However, research into LBs seems to be quite rare in English Applied Linguistics (AL) Research Articles (RAs) written by non-native English researchers, especially Vietnamese researchers. This study, therefore, aims to scrutinise Vietnamese researchers’ use of LBs in English AL RAs. A corpus of 77 AL RAs selected from three Journals was built. This study adapted the theoretical frameworks by Biber, Johansson, Leech, Conrad, and Finegan (1999), Biber, Conrad, and Cortes (2004) and Biber (2006) for data analysis. The findings revealed that Vietnamese researchers tended to deploy noun-based LBs more than verb-based and preposition-based ones in their AL RAs. It was further found LBs showing research-oriented functions were prevalent in AL RAs over text-oriented and participant-oriented ones. This research has pedagogical implications in terms of LB use for Vietnamese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and learners in the teaching and learning of academic writing.

Development and validation of Foreign Language Teacher Support Scale (FLTSS)

Teacher support, as an essential type of social support and an important antecedent of many key outcomes in L2 learning, can significantly contribute to foreign language achievement. Although teacher support has received considerable attention in education and educational psychology, it has drawn scanty attention in foreign language and applied linguistics research. Therefore, the present study aimed to fill in this research gap by developing and validating a domain-specific scale to measure the types of teacher support perceived by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. An initial item pool was constructed based on some generic measures of teacher support and semi-structured interviews with EFL learners. Then, the items were submitted to a panel of experts and their content validity was checked using the content validity index. After a series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the final version of the Foreign Language Teacher Support Scale (FLTSS) measuring four types of perceived teacher support, namely, emotional, instrumental, appraisal, and informational, was prepared. The results of examining different types of validity and reliability indicated that the scale is suitable for measuring different types of perceived teacher support. Some suggestions for further research are presented.

Interactional Metadiscourse Markers in Scientific Texts (Based on Research Articles Written by Native and Non-Native Speakers)

The present research investigated textual representations of writer-reader interaction in academic writing. The focus of the study was on the use of metadiscourse markers, i.e., stance and engagement markers, in applied linguistics research articles (RAs) published in English and Persian, the former written by Persian and English-speaking researchers, and the latter by Persian-speaking researchers. A cross-cultural analysis of RAs revealed similarities and differences in how academic writers express their stance and interact with their readers. Among the stance markers, hedging devices were found to be more frequently used in English RAs for expressing the authors' position, regardless of their native language. Persian RAs, on the other hand, predominantly used attitude markers for that purpose. In terms of the engagement markers, directives were the most prominent linguistic features employed by the writers in their native language. However, they were significantly less frequent in English RAs written by Iranian scholars. Compared to native English writers, Iranian writers showed a slightly stronger tendency to use reader pronouns and personal asides in their native language. This study reinforces the impact of the writers' linguistic and contextual awareness of the first- and second-language academic discourse conventions on the establishment of a successful writer-reader interaction and effective communication of arguments in academic writing.