Second Language Research Articles

Adjective + noun collocations in L2 spoken English

Abstract This study explores the development of L2 phraseological knowledge, focusing on the relationship between L2 proficiency and the use of adjective-noun combinations from the perspective of collocation density and association strength. While a growing body of evidence suggests that more advanced L2 production tends to be characterised by (i) a greater collocation density and (ii) more strongly associated collocations, several studies did not find this trend. The present study draws on the British Council-Lancaster Aptis Corpus and data from four proficiency levels (A2-C of the CEFR) to test a hypothesis about the direction of collocation development in order to contribute to a systematic advancement of knowledge about the development of productive L2 collocation use. The study replicates some of the key findings from previous research, confirming that these trends are generalisable to different samples of L2 speakers and across different modes of communication.

Effects of interlocutors’ linguistic competence on L2 speakers’ lexical alignment

Effects of interlocutors’ linguistic competence on L2 speakers’ lexical alignment

Two decades later: letter transpositions within and across morpheme boundaries in L1 and L2 speakers

Two decades later: letter transpositions within and across morpheme boundaries in L1 and L2 speakers

What do citizens think of central bank digital currencies in the euro context? A Twitter sentiment analysis

PurposeThis paper delves into the discourse surrounding central bank digital currencies (CBDC) from the perspective of citizens’ views expressed on Twitter, on the potential implementation of a digital euro. The paper sheds light on citizens’ sentiments regarding CBDCs in relation to the euro and the euro area.Design/methodology/approachUsing “TextBlob” sentiment analysis, this paper analyzes 4,462 Tweets containing the keywords “cbdc” and “euro” posted between September 14, 2018, and June 19, 2023. It explores citizens’ perceptions and concerns, as well as the general sentiment conveyed by the Tweets, through sentiment analysis and word-cloud generation. Text analysis and the “KMeans algorithm” are used to identify similar groups of Tweets. Statistical analysis of Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) keyword values in each cluster provides information about the relative distribution of words within clusters. In a further step, sentiment analysis is performed on each cluster by rating it positively, neutrally or negatively to identify the relevant dominant themes.FindingsThis paper reveals the evolving nature of CBDC-related discourse on Twitter over a four-year period, demonstrating a slight overall trend of positive sentiments. The distribution includes Tweets with a pronounced negative and positive sentiment, highlighting the need for clear and citizen-friendly communication through social media channels (such as Twitter or LinkedIn) in addition to the traditional channels used by official institutions.Research limitations/implicationsThe extraction of Tweets was limited to English; bilingual Tweets containing English words were also considered. Future research could be expanded to include Tweets in additional languages and compare them to English Tweets. Geographical data on the origin of the Tweets were not considered due to potential inaccuracies resulting from the use of VPNs.Practical implicationsThe findings highlight citizens’ views, expectations and perceptions on the digital euro as a type of CBDC, suggesting ways in which the European Central Bank (ECB) can ensure customer satisfaction with its successful implementation.Originality/valueThe originality of the article revolves around the focus on the digital euro and on analyzing European citizens’ opinions regarding its implementation. In contrast to previous literature, this research discusses critically the pros and cons and possible design aspects of the new digital euro, by taking a citizen-centric approach and focusing solely on one type of currency. Technological advances and the digital era have left their mark on how society communicates and behaves. The implementation of CBDCs will affect the digital society. Therefore, the paper sparks a debate about European citizens’ sentiments toward adopting the digital euro, as a new digital currency, which will impact their lifestyle and financial decisions.

Stigma, self‐styling and ‘forced accents’ among English L2 speakers in Spain

AbstractThis paper examines the relationship between shame, stigma and accent for non‐native English speakers in Spain. The low English competence of the Spanish population frequently constitutes a source of individual and collective stigma – which includes the apparent undesirability of Spanish‐sounding English. Drawing on semi‐structured interviews conducted in Barcelona, this paper explores participant perceptions around L2 English and accent. The results show how keenly aware they are of the stigma surrounding Spanish‐sounding English. Also revealed is how some people may engage in stylisation of (American) English in order to reap the benefits of sounding like highly proficient speakers, and to distance themselves from a locally stigmatised English‐speaking persona. These attempts can however backfire, as speakers may potentially be perceived as inauthentically ‘forcing’ an accent. The paper argues for the need to pay close attention to the evolving indexicalities of English and the contrasting social personas in specific localities.

Item repetition matters: methodological considerations in bilingual language control research

ABSTRACT Language switching experiments often vary in stimuli list sizes, leading to differences in item repetition frequency and potentially obscuring our understanding of bilingual language control. This study addresses how item repetition frequency affects switching costs and the reversed language dominance effect (i.e. better performance in a non-dominant language in mixed language naming) among bilinguals with varying L2 proficiencies, and how these effects evolve as the task progresses. Two experiments were conducted with 29 low- and 36 high-proficiency Chinese-English bilinguals using a picture naming task. One experiment presented a low-repetition stimuli list, and the other a high-repetition set. Results showed that switching costs remained regardless of item repetition frequency. However, the influence of L2 proficiency and language dominance on switching costs was only evident in the low-repetition list. Notably, as the task progressed, switching costs decreased in L1 Chinese but increased in L2 English, regardless of item repetition frequency or proficiency. These findings highlight the importance of methodological considerations in language control experiments. Understanding how these factors influence the experiments’ outcomes is crucial for accurately interpreting bilingual language control and avoiding undesirable confounds.

First acquiring articles in a second language: A new approach to the study of language and social cognition

Pragmatic phenomena are characterized by extreme variability, which makes it difficult to draw sound generalizations about the role of social cognition in pragmatic language by and large. I introduce cultural evolutionary pragmatics as a new framework for the study of the interdependence between language and social cognition, and point at the study of common-ground management across languages and ages as a way to test the reliance of pragmatic language on social cognition. I illustrate this new research line with three experiments on article use by second language speakers, whose mother tongue lacks articles. These L2 speakers are known to find article use challenging and it is often argued that their difficulties stem from articles being pragmatically redundant. Contrary to this view, the results of this exploratory study support the view that proficient article use requires automatizing basic socio-cognitive processes, offering a window into the interdependence between language and social cognition.

“You Look So Pretty” to “Buzz Off!” An Intercultural Study of Compliments and Compliment Responses

The current study aims to discover variations in complimenting and complimenting responses between Arabs (Syrians) and Non-Arabs (Pakistanis) who have different L1s and speak English as L2 during their interactions at their workplace in Syria. The data was collected using a DCT containing 04 hypothetical situations or scenarios. The situations in these DCTs are based on 04 themes: 1) appearance; 2) skill; 3) possession; and 4) character. For this purpose, the DCTs were adapted from Yuan (2002) and tailored according to the situation required in the current study. The data reveals that among Pakistani L2 speakers of English, 60% of the compliments are explicit and 37.5% are implicit. Moreover, interjections brought a slight change in the syntactic structure of compliments. Interjections co-occurred with syntactic formulas as 30% of the Syrian compliments and 24% of Pakistani compliments. The data collected regarding Syrians reveals that 82.5% of the compliments are explicit and 15% are implicit. Likewise, in compliment responses, Syrians and Pakistanis respond to compliments either using the Token of acceptance (Thanks), shifting credit, downgrading, reciprocating or using a combination of these semantic strategies. The current study will be instrumental in bringing Pakistanis’ way of complimenting, from an intercultural perspective to the fore in the world of pragmatic research.

RETHINKING TEACHER EDUCATION IN CONTEXT TO NEP 2020 AND MULTILINGUAL CLASSROOMS

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 represents a transformative shift in India's educational landscape, particularly concerning multilingual education. As a comprehensive framework, NEP 2020 advocates for the integration of mother tongue or regional language instruction in the early years of education, underscoring the policy's commitment to preserving India's rich linguistic diversity while enhancing educational outcomes. Multilingual education is grounded in the belief that children learn best when they are taught in their mother tongue or a language familiar to them. Therefore, this idea has been strongly recommended by the policy which promotes the use of the mother tongue or regional language as the medium of instruction up to Grade 5, and wherever possible, up to Grade 8. This approach was taken up to improve comprehension, cognitive development, and academic performance by aligning the language of instruction with the students' linguistic background. Furthermore, NEP 2020 also encourages the learning of additional languages, promoting multilingualism as a means to foster cognitive flexibility, cultural understanding, and global competencies.In this paper, the authors attempted to explore the core elements of NEP 2020 relevant to multilingual classrooms, the anticipated impacts on educational practice, and the challenges and opportunities presented by its implementation. In addition to many benefits, the authors observed a few challenges in its implementation in Indian classrooms. One major obstacle was the lack of qualified teachers who can instruct in a multilingual environment and are fluent in multiple languages. Another major barrier worth mentioning was the development and distribution of teaching materials in multiple languages. The authors of this paper emphasize how critical it is to reconsider and consistently work on the curriculum of teacher preparation programs in order to incorporate the high demand aspects of today’s educational scenario. In conclusion, the authors strongly believe that by overcoming the challenges and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by NEP 2020, India can progress toward a more successful and equitable educational system that honors and builds upon its rich linguistic heritage.

AI Powered Legal Querying System using NLP

Abstract: The RAG-Based Legal Assistant Chatbot is a cutting-edge AI-powered solution designed to streamline legal information retrieval and document analysis. By leveraging Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and integrating technologies such as LangChain and FAISS (Facebook AI Similarity Search), the chatbot processes and indexes large volumes of legal documents, delivering precise and contextually relevant insights to user queries. This project addresses the challenge of navigating extensive legal literature by transforming legal PDFs into searchable embeddings stored in FAISS. Users interact with the system through a conversational interface built with Streamlit, which maintains query context to ensure accurate and accessible responses for legal professionals and non-specialists alike.The system’s backend infrastructure is implemented in Python, utilizing LangChain for efficient language model operations and FAISS for semantic search. Key functionalities include document ingestion, intelligent retrieval, and conversational interaction. The design prioritizes scalability and adaptability, enabling future integrations with diverse legal knowledge bases and supporting additional languages or jurisdictions.The chatbot’s performance has been validated through extensive testing, showcasing high retrieval precision and low response times. These features significantly enhance productivity by automating time-consuming tasks such as document search and legal analysis, allowing users to focus on critical decision-making.This project highlights the transformative potential of AI in the legal domain, bridging the gap between complex legal information and user accessibility. Future developments will aim to enhance the system's natural language processing capabilities, incorporate real-time data updates, and integrate advanced security measures to safeguard sensitive legal information. In conclusion, the RAG-Based Legal Assistant Chatbot is an intelligent and robust tool that simplifies legal information access, demonstrating how AI can revolutionize traditional industries through precision, scalability, and innovation

Temporal measurements for Second Language speaking fluency

This study investigates the relationship between temporal measurements and second language (L2) speaking fluency, focusing on speech rate (SR), mean length of utterance (MLU), and pausing patterns (PP). The study recruited 60 advanced English L2 adult learners (male and female) who were presented with a picture book where each page included only one picture representing a specific sequence of the story's development. The participants’ main task was to orally describe the story where their oral descriptions were electronically recorded using PsychoPy software. The primary goal was to determine which of the above-mentioned temporal measurements significantly influence L2 speaking assessment. These participants’ spoken samples were evaluated by five English language instructors using standardized L2 speaking assessment rubric. A statistical analysis was conducted to examine the effect of these three temporal measurements on L2 speaking assessment. The results showed that SR (average words per minute) and PP (average pause duration per minute), but not mean length of utterance (MLU), were significant factors of L2 speaking fluency assessment. However, the interaction between these factors was not significant. That is, SR and PP factors provide a listener with a positive impression about L2 speakers’ speaking performance. These results are consistent with other studies that examined L2 speaking fluency. The findings also underline the importance of listeners’ impression when it comes to L2 speaking assessment. In addition, the study highlights the effect of temporal measurements on L2 speaking assessments and provides insights for both evaluators and learners on the factors affecting L2 fluency assessment.

Mother Tongue (MT) a Challenging Factor in English Pronunciation in the Context of Ao Learners Learning English as Second Language (SL)

Mother Tongue (MT) a Challenging Factor in English Pronunciation in the Context of Ao Learners Learning English as Second Language (SL)

ВИКОРИСТАННЯ IT ТЕХНОЛОГІЙ У НАВЧАННІ АНГЛІЙСЬКОЇ МОВИ В СЕРЕДНІЙ ШКОЛІ

The article examines the methodology of using IT technologies in secondary school English language teaching, as well as an assessment of their effectiveness through experimental research. Today, the educational process involves the integration of innovative technologies such as mobile applications, interactive exercises, and online platforms that Журнал крос-культурної освіти/ Journal of Cross-Cultural Education. № 4 2024 8 contribute to improving the quality of education and enhancing students' motivation. The scientific novelty lies in an experimental study conducted at Lutsk Lyceum No. 22, aimed at identifying the most productive IT technologies in teaching spelling, vocabulary, listening and grammar of modern English. Methods such as pedagogical experiments, statistical analysis of test results, and observation of changes in students' motivation and communication skills confirm the validity of the conclusions. The findings showed that the integration of IT technologies improves students' average scores in grammar, listening, and overall language proficiency, as well as their motivation for learning and independent work. Based on the data obtained, practical recommendations for teachers have been proposed. These include enhancing teacher training through workshops, integrating IT technologies at all stages of learning, using elements of gamification and interactive platforms, and regularly monitoring their effectiveness. The results of the experiment suggest that wide use of such technologies in educational institutions is advisable, as it ensures high-quality learning, the development of communication skills, and increased student motivation. For example, Duolingo and Memrise help expand vocabulary, Grammarly improves writing and editing skills, TED-Ed and YouTube develop listening skills, Google Classroom and Moodle enhance students' organizational skills, while Kahoot and LearningApps facilitate learning through interactive tasks. All these provide a modern and high-quality approach to learning.

The role of demographic, linguistic and social-psychological factors in explaining plurilingual self-assessment of immigrant youth

ABSTRACT The current study investigates the predictive relationships among demographic (arrival age, gender, SES), linguistic (exposure, home languages), and social-psychological (attitude, motivation, parental aspirations) factors and immigrant students’ plurilingual self-assessment (SA). The sample includes 160 French-speaking immigrant youth drawn from 6 Israeli schools. Drawing on holistic views of multilingualism, the study utilises a unique plurilingual ‘can-do’ instrument for examining students’ SA in three languages: (1) French, the heritage language (2) Hebrew, the school language and (3) English taught as a foreign language. Questionnaires were administered to collect information about the factors under investigation. Hierarchical regression analyses reveal a differential pattern of prediction of SA in French, Hebrew and English respectively involving analogous background variables, notably current language use, and those playing a language-specific role, e.g. integrative orientation to learn French and Hebrew. Moreover, SA in Hebrew and English were found to be significantly related, implying that SA of additional languages is interdependent. The results highlight the role of the sociolinguistic context and the specificity of each language as a source of variation in multilingual learning among immigrant students besides individual characteristics. The results imply that immigrants’ perceived plurilingual repertoire along with context-specific variables must be taken into account in their instruction and assessment.

Multilingualism in metacognitive and self-regulation research: scoping review advocating for comprehensive representation of multilingual complexity

Metacognition and self-regulation play crucial roles in second language acquisition, but their roles in multilingual (L3+) contexts remain underexplored. This scoping review sought to examine how metacognition and self-regulation manifest in learning third or additional languages, particularly regarding how multilingualism was accounted for in the empirical research surrounding these constructs. Three inclusion criteria were: L3+ participants, variables related to metacognition and/or self-regulation, and empirical/experimental design. Studies on test or technology validations, or nonlanguage domains were omitted. A comprehensive search across three databases yielded 52 studies, which were analyzed to assess their exploration of multilingualism's impact on metacognitive and self-regulatory processes. Findings revealed that while these cognitive strategies are crucial for navigating complex linguistic environments, studies often conflated bilinguals with multilinguals, limiting insights into how varied linguistic repertoires influence metacognition and self-regulation. Future research must better differentiate between these groups and investigate how managing multiple languages fosters unique self-regulatory action in multilingual learners.

Integration across linguistic backgrounds: examining intertextual connections in L1 and L2 academic writing / Integración entre orígenes lingüísticos: análisis de las conexiones intertextuales en la escritura académica L1 y L2

This study examined multiple text integration in the academic writing of L1 and L2 English speakers. Participants read two texts describing the costs of college and rates of college enrollment in Latin America and the United States. Texts were organized either by region (e.g., cost and enrollment rates in the US) or by topic (e.g., discussing cost in both the US and Latin America), requiring students to make either intertextual or intratextual connections to compare regions. Students wrote comparative-contrastive reports, which were scored based on the number of connections (i.e., either intertextual or intratextual) generated. While no differences were found across experimental groups or by language status, supplemental analyses found English L2 students to rate texts about Latin America particularly interesting and comprehensible. Moreover, students were better at describing intratextual and intertextual contrasts rather than comparisons, with this effect also conditional on language status.

The effect of task authenticity on second language writing product and process: The case of a morphologically complex language – Russian

AbstractThere is compelling empirical evidence suggesting that more authentic learning tasks improve second language learners' motivation and learning (Long, 1996; Van Lier, 2014). However, most research on this topic has focused on Germanic and Romance L2 languages, primarily in the context of speaking skills. Little is known about the effect of task authenticity on L2 writing, especially in languages other than English. The present study investigated how increased task authenticity, operationalized as writing to a real recipient rather than an imaginary friend, affected L2 writing in Russian—a language that exhibits a high level of morphological complexity (Gilabert & Castellví, 2019; Nuss & Martelle, 2022). We adopted a mixed‐methods approach to investigate participants' writing behaviors and underlying cognitive processes. Twenty‐eight intermediate and advanced L1 English speakers, learning Russian as an L2, completed both more and less authentic writing tasks involving composing letters to either real or imaginary recipients. Dependent‐sample t‐tests revealed a significant effect of task authenticity on subordination complexity and fluency. Specifically, participants wrote texts with fewer subordinate clauses and exhibited a slower writing pace in more authentic tasks. These findings underscore the importance of investigating writing processes alongside writing products to achieve a more nuanced understanding of L2 writing.

Do School Exclusions and Attainment Outcomes Disproportionately Impact Minority Ethnic Pupils? Analysis of Pupil Characteristics, Segregation, and Outcomes in England

Large-scale administrative datasets show disproportionate figures for attainment outcomes and school exclusions for pupils in some ethnic groups in England. This surface gap in attainment and school exclusion is concerning, and we consider whether ethnicity is really the driver here. In this paper, we present the findings on KS2 and KS4 attainment and exclusion outcomes for the cohorts in 2019, which are available from the National Pupil Database in England (with around 600,000 pupils per cohort). We present the outcomes and other characteristics for each ethnic category available. The analyses then modelled the attainment and exclusion outcomes via multivariate regression, in terms of individual pupil characteristics and school-level figures including school segregation by pupil ethnicity and disability. The predictors were entered in batches from pupil background, through prior attainment, and school-level measures, to individual ethnicity. The findings show that prior attainment and special needs/disability status are the main drivers of attainment at both KS2 and KS4. Individual pupil ethnicity did not help to explain either attainment or exclusions, over and above these other factors, and this finding largely corroborates the descriptive results. However, the factors related to school-level segregation by ethnicity, free school meal eligibility (FSM), and having English as an additional language (EAL) are somewhat relevant in predicting pupils’ permanent school exclusion at KS4. These findings have implications for admission policies that can reduce school segregation and interventions that can support disadvantaged pupils’ wider learning experiences.

Academic literacies in course proposals to EMI teacher education

English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) is a phenomenon of rapid expansion in Brazil and around the world (Dearden, 2015; Martinez, 2016) and has raised interest in a relevant share of professors at Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (Hendges; Rodrigues; Pretto, 2020). EMI has been pointed out as an alternative for Internationalization at Home (Beelen; Jones, 2015) and for the promotion of more accessible intercultural, international opportunities as it can also foster access to additional language learning in tertiary education (Baumvol; Sarmento, 2019). The particularities of a Brazilian public university call for a situated and critical-oriented practice, which is entailed in the Academic Literacies framework – ACLITS (Lillis, 1997; Lea; Street, 1998). In this work, we examine three syllabi of EMI courses designed for university faculty from the ACLITS perspective. Employing the approach of rich features analysis (Barton, 2004), we identified contents related to pedagogic and linguistic literacies and classified them according to approximations with the three models of literacy: Study Skills, Academic Socialization, and Academic Literacies. The emphasis on Academic Socialization in the syllabi suggests there is space for the development of local EMI teacher education initiatives that expand discussions about genre awareness, equity, translanguaging, interculturalism, and plurilingualism. These findings bring important insight for laboratories and departments that work with language (pre-service) educators and language support actions.

Challenges faced by High School Learners in English First Additional Language Reading Comprehension in the Soshanguve Township, South Africa

Challenges faced by High School Learners in English First Additional Language Reading Comprehension in the Soshanguve Township, South Africa