Children of parents with psychopathology generally perform less well in school than their peers. Parental symptoms might not, however, account for their lower achievement, as other familial factors might contribute. To examine the role of parental symptoms, we analyse data from 9,000 families in the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Study (MoBa). Parents reported their symptoms of anxiety, depression, ADHD, eating disorders, and alcohol use disorder during pregnancy and during their child's childhood. Children in 5th grade (aged 10) completed nationally-standardised tests of mathematics, reading comprehension, and English (as an additional language). Comparing children who are cousins (children-of-siblings design), we controlled for unmeasured factors shared among family members that confound the relationship between parental mental health and children's academic achievement. We found small associations between greater parental symptoms and lower scores in reading and mathematics (- 0.060 ≤ β ≤ -0.013). However, these associations were no longer significant when comparing cousins whose parents differ in mental health. Results suggest that parental symptoms do not exert a direct, clinically meaningful effect on children's academic achievement. Although non-significant, associations with parental symptoms measured close to the child's academic test are less attenuated than those measured during pregnancy. Notably, comparison between the overall MoBa sample and the children-of-siblings samples suggests ascertainment differences that hinder strong generalisations. Our findings underscore the importance of quasi-experimental family designs in identifying modifiable targets in intergenerational health and education research. Supporting parental mental health is crucial but its direct effect on children's achievement may be smaller than often thought.

This study examines how English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) interlocutors employ communication strategies during task-based interaction and how these strategies relate to ELF-aware communicative orientations of intelligibility, adaptability, and multilingual–multicultural awareness. Ten university students learning English as an additional language completed a closed information-gap task. Interactional data were video-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed through a combination of distributional analysis and interactional analysis, and complemented by stimulated recall to examine learners’ strategic awareness. The findings show that, beyond commonly reported strategies, participants frequently engaged in co-creating messages, deconstructing complex information, and adaptive self-repair. These strategies enabled learners to collaboratively clarify meaning, adjust their linguistic production in response to interactional demands, and draw on shared multilingual resources. The analysis illustrates how these strategies support three ELF-aware communicative orientations: intelligibility through collaborative clarification and reformulation, adaptability through self-initiated monitoring and adjustment, and multilingual awareness through the use of shared linguistic resources. The findings highlight strategic competence as an interactionally enacted resource that supports collaborative and adaptive meaning-making during task-based interaction, and underscore the pedagogical value of tasks that promote these interactional processes.

ABSTRACT The alignment of second language acquisition (SLA) theories with first language acquisition models, while sharing certain aspects like behaviourist, linguistic, cognitive, and social dimensions, diverges in additional language (AL) development contexts, notably in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and second (L2) and third language (L3) learning contexts. Distinctions arise in input quantity, output opportunities, and acquisition sequence. Previous SLA frameworks have not sufficiently accounted for the reversed literacy-to-oracy trajectory, the scarcity of multimodal and social input, and the role of artificial intelligence (AI) mediation in AL classes including EFL, L2, and L3 contexts. To address this disparity, generative AI model for AL development is proposed, drawing from explicit instruction, implicit learning, and generative AI mediation. After reviewing first and second language acquisition theories alongside multilingual scholarship, it introduces three core principles. Generative AI for development of additional language (GenAIDAL) underscores the unique nature of AL development concerning its developmental trajectory, i.e. progressing from literacy to oracy and dynamism-oriented symbiosis, i.e. functions, uses, and users in today’s digital era. GenAIDAL model involves synergistic employment of the first language through explicit instruction and the AL through implicit learning utilising generative AI tools.

ABSTRACT L2 grit and growth mindset (GM) are increasingly linked to engagement in language education, yet prior work has largely assumed linear effects and focused on English learning. This study examined whether the alignment between L2 grit and GM, along with their potential nonlinear joint effects, predicts engagement among Thai learners of Chinese in a Languages Other Than English (LOTE) context. Survey data from 325 Chinese-as-an-additional-language (CAL) learners in Thailand were analyzed using polynomial regression with response surface analysis (RSA) in R to model congruence, incongruence, and interaction effects. A congruence hypothesis was not supported: results revealed that optimal CAL engagement did not occur simply when L2 grit and GM were aligned. Instead, CAL engagement increased most sharply as both constructs rose together. Effects were asymmetrical: GM exhibited a largely linear relationship with CAL engagement, whereas L2 grit showed a curvilinear pattern, with diminishing returns at higher levels, suggesting that additional grit may not always correspond to proportionally higher engagement. CAL engagement under the low–low configuration remained moderate, consistent with coping or ‘survival-mode’ engagement under contextual pressure. Educators should emphasize the quality of learners’ persistence over mere quantity, guiding them to employ adaptive strategies, set flexible goals, and make timely adjustments, while also harnessing the synergistic effects of L2 grit and GM to sustain CAL learners’ engagement. Extending RSA to an underexplored LOTE context, this study reveals that the relationship between L2 grit, GM, and CAL engagement is configuration-dependent, with evidence pointing to nuanced nonlinear effects.

ABSTRACT Although plurilingualism in education has been promoted in Europe at the legislative level by the CEFRCV (Council of Europe), it is known that language choice and language interaction may depend on several variables (Calafato, R. (2020). Evaluating teacher multilingualism across contexts and multiple languages: Validation and insights. Heliyon, 6(8), e04471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04471) such as contextual factors. In bilingual regions, variables such as the sociolinguistic context may influence teachers’ cognition (Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language Teaching, 36(2), 81–109. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444803001903) and teaching practices. Likewise, studies on language teachers’ beliefs focus on FL teachers, while very few address L1 teachers (Vikøy, A., & Haukås, Å. (2021). Norwegian L1 teachers’ beliefs about a multilingual approach in increasingly diverse classrooms. International Journal of Multilingualism, 20(3), 912–931. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2021.1961779). Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse secondary school language teachers’ (L1 and FL: N = 188) beliefs and their stated teaching practices concerning plurilingualism in a bilingual region. To do so, this study follows a mixed-method exploratory approach. Overall positive beliefs and perceptions in regard to plurilingualism and pluriculturalism have been reported by participants. However, plurilingual practices such as other language usage (apart from the TL) and activities that encompass several languages are introduced to a modest extent, which seems to address several challenges reported by teachers related to language compartmentalisation (FL teachers) and sociolinguistic issues (L1 teachers). The results indicate that positive plurilingual beliefs do not explicitly extrapolate to plurilingual practice and contextual factors play a significant role in its possible implementation.

Semantic radicals provide information on semantic categories and play a crucial role in the decoding and reading of Chinese characters for both native and non-native speakers. However, existing research has not sufficiently examined the representation of abstract semantic radical identity and has overlooked the degree of deformation as a factor. This study uses a masked-priming semantic judgement task (Experiment 1) and a same-different judgement task (Experiment 2) to investigate how the deformation degree of semantic radicals affects the Chinese learners' abstract representations of these radicals. Results from Experiment 1 indicate that for native speakers, the reaction time under identity prime is faster than that under control prime regardless of the degree of deformation. In contrast, second language learners only exhibit this advantage when the deformation degree is low, with no significant difference when the deformation degree is high, suggesting that deformation degree affects abstract semantic radical identity representations of L2 learners. Experiment 2 found inhibition effects under identity conditions for both native speakers and L2 learners, showing that both groups have mastered semantic radicals with a high deformation degree. These results indicate that the experimental task influences the results and that L2 learners are more affected by the task. Understanding the impact of semantic radical deformation on learners' abstract representational abilities helps teachers to adjust their pedagogical strategies in order to provide more precise guidance and recommendations for Chinese character instruction.

ABSTRACTPrevious research into children's comprehension of syntactic structures has investigated early awareness of transitive and intransitive structures amongst monolingual children but research into bilingual children's understanding of the same sentence structures is lacking. This study compared 46 3–5‐year‐old bilingual children who spoke English and an additional language with 64 monolingual, English‐speaking children, in their ability to associate transitive sentences with a causal scene, and intransitive sentences with a non‐causal scene. In contrast to previous studies, the current study used still images instead of videos to create eight trials per structure, increasing the number of trials and testing structure as a within‐participants manipulation. Children's vocabulary and executive function skills were also tested to observe interactions with the sentence comprehension task. Both groups showed the same overall pattern of effects, though the monolingual children were reliably more likely to match the causal scene to a transitive than bilingual children: Older children associated the transitive trials with causal scenes more than the intransitive trials, whereas 3‐year‐olds tended to associate both the transitive and intransitive sentences with causal scenes. Executive function performance did not differ between bilingual and monolingual children and was not related to sentence interpretation, but monolingual children had higher English vocabulary scores and children with greater vocabularies were better able to distinguish causal scenes as a match for transitive sentences. The results suggest that differences in comprehension of syntactic structures are more likely to be related to age and language ability, rather than differences in the number of languages spoken.SummaryBilingual and monolingual children showed similar patterns in their ability to comprehend transitive and intransitive sentences, though monolinguals more reliably associated transitives with causal scenes.4‐ and 5‐year‐olds were better at associating transitives with causal scenes and intransitives with either causal or non‐causal, whereas 3‐year‐olds associated both sentences with causal scenes.Age was a better predictor of differences in interpreting transitivity than the number of languages children speak.No executive function differences between bilinguals and monolinguals were found, monolinguals had larger English verb vocabularies; vocabulary was related positively to causal scene/transitive associations.

This article examines descriptions of auditory experiences used as training data in machine learning. While such training datasets play a key role in machine learning, only a few studies have investigated these training datasets from a linguistic perspective. Making an important contribution to the English-focused field, we compare descriptions produced in two typologically distant languages: English and Finnish. The English descriptions were produced by sighted participants, and the Finnish data both by sighted and non-sighted individuals, offering insight into variation in language use based on sensory experience. First, we provide an overview of the three datasets with a descriptive corpus analysis. The corpus analysis reveals greater variation among the Finnish corpora, in comparison with the English corpus. We attribute this to the use of L2 speakers as informants for the English data, considering potential data quality issues from a linguistic perspective. Second, we report on a qualitative content analysis conducted on a smaller sample of 150 descriptions, examining which elements the participants had identified and chosen to verbalize. In particular, the analysis indicates that the visually disabled participants make use of slightly richer lexical resources, especially in terms of verbalising spatial structure. In addition, a methodological finding of our study captures how the corpus-level and the discourse-level analyses lead to distinct, even seemingly contradictory results: while the corpus analysis focuses on token distributions, the qualitative discourse-level analysis reveals which different semantic domains are prevalent in different subcorpora. This article contributes to the growing research on cross-linguistic and language-internal diversity in the field of machine perception.

This mixed-methods study compared ChatGPT-4 generated feedback with teacher feedback in assessing secondary school EFL learners’ writing. Conducted in a state secondary school in Istanbul, Türkiye, the study involved 53 fifth-grade students who completed weekly writing tasks over six weeks. One class received teacher feedback, while two classes received feedback from ChatGPT-4. Students revised their texts based on the feedback, and changes in writing performance were analysed quantitatively. In addition, semi-structured interviews with 45 students were conducted to explore their feedback preferences and perceptions. The quantitative findings showed that both feedback types supported improvement in students’ writing, although teacher feedback produced more consistent gains across the six-week period. A strong positive correlation was found between ChatGPT-4 and teacher scores in both pre- and post-feedback assessments, suggesting that AI-generated scoring aligned closely with human evaluation. However, the qualitative findings revealed that students generally preferred teacher feedback, describing it as more personal, motivating, and easier to trust. ChatGPT-4 feedback was appreciated for its speed, clarity, and accessibility, but was also seen as less detailed and less emotionally engaging. The findings suggest that generative AI can serve as a useful formative feedback tool in EFL writing instruction, but it does not replace the pedagogical and relational strengths of teacher feedback. A hybrid model that combines the efficiency of AI with the contextual sensitivity of human feedback may offer the most effective approach for supporting writing development in secondary language classrooms.

This study aimed to investigate challenges that teachers and learners face in using compensation strategies in English as second language in written comprehension in secondary schools in Malawi. Hymes’ theory of communicative competence emphasises the use of learning strategies to achieve strategic, grammatical, discourse and sociolinguistic competencies to improve learners’ performances. A case study design, utilising participant observation and semi-structured interviews with teachers of English and form three learners from three community day secondary schools in Lilongwe Urban, was adopted to collect data. Compensation strategies which teachers and learners used during lessons were recorded using an observation checklist. Data was analysed using Creswell’s thematic procedure. The study revealed three significant challenges which both teachers and learners faced in using compensation strategies, namely a lack of learners’ interest in understanding the meanings of difficult words, teachers simply telling learners to use compensation strategies without guidance and large class sizes. The study recommends the incorporation of comprehensive instruction on compensation strategies into initial teacher and ongoing in-service training courses. By addressing these challenges, education stakeholders can create a conducive learning environment that fosters English language proficiency and, ultimately, academic success through training teachers on the use of compensation strategy instruction to effectively teach.

The use of lexico-semantics and gender marking as cues to prediction in L1 and L2 German.

ABSTRACT Examining accent training for Additional Language (EAL) speakers in UK drama schools, significant gaps between pedagogical approaches and student experiences are revealed. Through mixed methods including focus groups, alumni interviews, and peer discussions, this study uncovers how current training methodologies often fail to address the unique challenges faced by EAL or second language (L2) speakers. Key findings demonstrate that EAL speakers experience imposter phenomenon tied to their accents, struggle with the problematic concept of “own accent” as a pedagogical foundation, and face systematic bias and inequity. The research highlights how well-intentioned, sometimes unconscious approaches toward so-called “clarity” through standardized accents can inadvertently perpetuate discrimination and erasure of linguistic identity. Drawing on literature in sociolinguistics, voice pedagogy, and bilingualism research, this article proposes practical strategies for more inclusive practice, including a bidialectal approach, culturally responsive teaching, multilingual integration, and recognition of EAL speakers’ cognitive and linguistic strengths. These relatively straightforward adjustments can create dramatically more effective learning environments while preparing students for an increasingly global acting industry. The aim of this article is to offer insights and suggestions for improvements based on lived experience toward celebrating the full spectrum of EAL experiences.

Early language skill is predictive of many later life outcomes and is thus of great interest to developmental psychologists and clinicians. The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs), parent report instruments typically containing inventories of hundreds of children's vocabulary words, have proven to be valid and reliable instruments for measuring children's early language skill. The CDIs have been adapted to many dozens of languages, and cross-linguistic comparisons show both consistency and variability in language acquisition trajectories. However, thousands of languages do not yet have CDIs, nor the early language corpora needed to create them, posing a significant barrier to increasing the diversity of languages that are studied. Here, we propose a method for selecting candidate words to include on new CDIs through analyzing psychometric properties of the translation-equivalent concepts that are frequently included on existing CDIs. Leveraging 32 datasets from existing CDIs, we propose a list of 100 concepts that have low variability in their cross-linguistic learning difficulty. This pool of common concepts-analogous to the Swadesh lists, which are basic vocabulary lists used in glottochronology for cross-language comparison-can be used as a starting point for future CDI adaptations. We show that the proposed Swadesh-CDI list generalizes well to data from 10 additional languages.

ABSTRACT This study examines the participation experiences of multilingual students speaking English as an additional language (EAL) and their decisions to invest or disinvest in language practices during classroom discussions. Using an embedded multiple case study design, data were collected through classroom observations, weekly reflections, and individual interviews, and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings show that course characteristics, such as structure and topic, influenced power dynamics and identity negotiation, reinforcing sociocultural and linguistic norms aligned with Western participation practices. The complex interplay of course dynamics, norms, and broader ideologies contributed to multilingual EAL students’ novice identity, creating barriers that made it challenging for them to disrupt participatory norms and invest in the language practices of the course community. This article underscores the importance of reframing participation as a collaborative and critical process and highlights the need to create inclusive classroom environments to support the equitable participation of multilingual EAL students.

There is increasing awareness that many long-term care (LTC) residents may have experienced trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetimes, conditions that can be comorbid with dementia and/or complex mental health conditions. In Canada, health care aides provide the vast majority of direct care to such residents. This qualitative study explored their experiences working with residents whose responsive behaviors may indicate past trauma or PTSD. In Fall 2024, we conducted open-ended interviews with 24 care aides from 6 urban LTC homes in Alberta, Canada. Initial interview topics built on insights from 13 separate interviews conducted in 2023. Questions were iterated throughout data collection and the data analyzed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis approach. Our participants broadly reflected the demographic make-up of Alberta's care aide workforce: 91.7% female, 79.2% from racialized groups and 70.8% speaking English as an additional language. We identified 3 overarching themes in their experiences: (1) care aides regularly suspected some responsive behaviors to be trauma-related but seldom named these as such; (2) their strategies for managing these behaviors and providing personalized care involved adapting existing skills and innovating new ones; and (3) resident care connected to possible past trauma was complex and compounded current workplace challenges and struggles. Two improvements could help care aides working with residents with suspected trauma backgrounds: greater understanding of trauma and knowledge of trauma terminology, and use of a trauma-informed care framework. Such changes would likely improve resident quality of life by helping care aides better differentiate responsive behaviors, deliver targeted and individualized care, and avoid resident retraumatization. Implementation of trauma-informed care, however, needs to build on existing care aide expertise to facilitate uptake and ensure sustainability.

ABSTRACT This study examines whether L2 English proficiency functions as a threshold condition in the relationship between L2 and third language (L3) achievement among Chinese undergraduates majoring in Arabic, French, or Spanish. L2 proficiency was operationalised using scores on the nationwide College English Test Band 4 (CET-4), and L3 achievement was measured through standardised discipline-specific examinations. Using regression and segmented (piecewise) regression analyses, the study tested both linear and non-linear relationships between L2 and L3 proficiency. The results revealed a significant positive association between L2 proficiency and L3 achievement; however, this relationship emerged only after learners reached a certain level of L2 proficiency, providing clear evidence for a threshold effect. Once this threshold was surpassed, L2 proficiency became a reliable predictor of L3 achievement across all three target languages. Importantly, no evidence was found that this relationship is moderated by target language, suggesting that the threshold effect reflects a general proficiency-related condition rather than language-specific differences. These findings extend Cummins's Threshold Hypothesis to multilingual contexts and highlight the role of L2 proficiency as an enabling condition for additional language learning.

Second language (L2) learners often face a number of obstacles in acquiring target-like speech production patterns. This study examines L1 Japanese speakers' production of L2 English /l/ to investigate how they implement position-dependent allophonic variation while overcoming mismatches between Japanese (L1) and English (L2) in (1) the number of liquid phonemes, (2) their allophonic distributions, and (3) syllable structure. Acoustic and articulatory (ultrasound) analyses of word-initial and word-final English /l/ produced by thirteen L1 Japanese-L2 English speakers and nine L1 English speakers show that L1 Japanese-L2 English speakers produce target-like lateral allophony acoustically, although their lateral production is overall clearer (i.e., less velarised) than that of L1 English speakers. By contrast, L1 Japanese-L2 English speakers' articulation is non-target-like, characterised by different tongue shape dimensions and the absence of coronal-dorsal timing patterns found in L1 English speakers' production. Overall, the results highlight the complex nature of L2 speech production, in which L2 speakers utilise a wider range of phonetic cues to overcome learning challenges than is commonly assumed.

ABSTRACT Socially prescriptive speech technologies (SPSTs) are technologies that claim to provide feedback to speakers about how other humans perceive their speech and communication style, based on algorithms trained on a set of static, prescriptive standards. Such systems are increasingly integrated into popular videoconferencing programs like Zoom and Microsoft Teams and are being used to score and judge employee performance across conversational contexts and domains. The current study evaluates the design, promises, and performance of two such systems, the Zoom revenue accelerator (ZRA) and Read AI, and discusses the theoretical and practical limitations of software that evaluates speech based on opaque standards of idealized speech. The paper then presents the results of a laboratory experiment designed to test whether the systems provide fair and realistic feedback to a diverse group of American English speakers. Results of linear mixed effects regression (LMER) models testing scores for “sentiment” and “engagement” indicate that both programs systematically provide lower for non‐White speakers. Additionally, for sentiment, Read AI shows a bias toward L1 English speakers, while the ZRA shows a bias against L1 speakers. The systems also claim to evaluate the use of fillers, speech rates, and offensive speech, but they do by employing opaque metrics and coarse standards not based on psycholinguistic or sociolinguistic research. The ZRA rated 99% of speakers in this sample as employing too many fillers, and 78.4% as using a speech rate that was too fast. Read AI negatively evaluated 58% of participants who self‐identified as neurodivergent, on the basis that the speakers used terms that the system flagged as “non‐inclusive” language. Overall, the results of this study show that SPST systems do not provide realistic, contextually appropriate feedback to users. This study acts as a first step in understanding the mechanisms and standards employed in SPSTs, and provides a discussion of the linguistic, social, and ethical limitations of such systems as their use expands across employment and educational contexts.

Greek complementary schools (GCSs) in the UK are widely understood as institutions for maintaining Greek language and culture among the Greek Cypriot and Greek diasporic communities in Britain. However, recent migration and mixed marriages have significantly diversified their populations. This mixed-methods study provides the first sector-wide mapping of the languages spoken in UK GCS communities beyond Greek and English and of the national origins beyond Cyprus and Greece among pupils’ families and teaching staff in 2024/2025. A school-level online questionnaire investigated pupils’ family backgrounds and linguistic repertoires. The questionnaire was completed by 32 schools (51.6% of all UK GCSs), yielding quantitative estimates for 2,736 pupils (40.9% of sector enrolments). Follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 respondents representing nine schools. Survey findings show substantial heterogeneity. Pupils from mixed-heritage and non-Greek Cypriot/Greek backgrounds accounted for nearly half of enrolments on average. Parental origins spanned over 47 countries, with the UK and Albania most frequently reported, while 25 additional home languages were reported, most commonly Albanian. Interview data corroborate these patterns but suggest that diversity is often institutionally muted within Greekness-centred environments. Albanian heritage emerged as a salient site of tension, alongside examples of pupil agency and locally developed inclusive practices.

The purpose of this study is to find out how interactive digital tools can enhance students' academic achievement and engagement in secondary school English language classrooms in District Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan. The research employs a mixed-methods research design and uses quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to provide a holistic view of the impact of digital tools. The study used a standardized Likert-scale questionnaire to collect quantitative data from 250 students randomly selected (using stratified random sampling) from government and private schools and semi-structured interviews with 20 English language teachers (using purposive sampling) to collect qualitative data. The research examines the extent to which interactive digital tools impact students' English language learning achievement and their behavioural, emotional and cognitive engagement. The qualitative data were analyzed thematically while the quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (t-tests, ANOVA, correlation and multiple regression). In addition to the most effective digital tools, the study also examines teachers' and students' perceptions of their use in the classroom. The findings reveal a relationship between the use of interactive digital tools and increased student engagement and learning outcomes. The study highlights the importance of integrating technology into English as second language teaching and learning to establish active and student-focused learning environments. It has implications for teachers, curriculum developers, and policymakers that are interested in improving language learning through digital innovation.