Search Results (76)

Motivation remains a central concern in second language (L2) and English as a foreign language (EFL) education, yet its underlying mechanisms are insufficiently understood. This study employs the theory of Directed Motivational Currents (DMCs) to explore periods of intense, sustained L2 motivation among Chinese adolescent EFL learners across secondary and tertiary levels. Through in-depth interviews with ten participants, this research identified the conditions (e.g., collaborative peer dynamics, vivid goal visualization) that triggered their DMC experiences. The data also highlighted how facilitative elements—such as clear starting points, personalized goal alignment, behavioral routines, and timely feedback—played a crucial role in initiating and sustaining these motivational currents. These findings contribute to DMC theory by revealing how intrinsic and extrinsic factors jointly foster and maintain high levels of motivation over time, offering valuable insights for designing targeted interventions to enhance EFL motivation and learning among Chinese adolescents. Full article

This study examines how Chinese EFL learners behave in peer interactions by negotiating meaning through communication strategies. This is a small-scale study with both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Sixteen Chinese EFL students and one native English teacher were observed in an intensive English program. The students were asked to interact with their peers in a decision-making task and an information-gap task. Video-recorded data were collected, transcribed and analyzed. The results showed that negotiation occur more frequently in information-gap tasks than decision-making tasks and students primarily employed confirmation checks. For communication strategies used to negotiate, direct strategies were employed most frequently, in which students mainly used code-switch and mime. Indirect strategies followed, with repetition occurring as the most frequently employed strategy. Interactional strategies, including co-construction and appeal for help, were less frequently used. The findings highlight the influence of cultural factors and students’ motivation on their behaviors. Full article

In the evolving landscape of online language learning, informal digital learning of English (IDLE) plays a crucial role, particularly among English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Previous research has investigated the direct impact of IDLE on EFL learners’ engagement. However, little attention has been given to the underlying mechanisms that drive this relationship. To address the gap, this study examined the mediating roles of flow, online self-efficacy, and behavioral intention in the relationship between IDLE and EFL learners’ engagement, with survey data collected from 1194 Chinese EFL learners. Findings reveal that flow, online self-efficacy, and behavioral intention serve as key mediators between IDLE and EFL learners’ engagement in the digital setting. These results offer deeper insights into how informal digital learning influences EFL learners’ engagement in digital contexts, providing valuable implications for both educational theory and digital learning practices. Full article

The present study investigates the effects of token frequency, type frequency, and constituency on L2 compositional multiword sequence (CMS) processing among 60 Chinese L2 English speakers at two proficiency levels, using an online phrasal decision task. The findings reveal the following: (1) Both proficiency groups exhibited a significant token frequency effect in their L2 phrasal and non-phrasal CMS processing, indicating that both sequence types hold psychological reality in L2 learners’ mental representations. (2) The type frequency effect was observed in the higher-proficiency groups’ processing of phrasal and non-phrasal CMSs with low token frequencies, yet it was more pronounced in the less proficient group’s processing of phrasal and non-phrasal CMSs with high token frequencies, indicating that the effect of type frequency operates on a gradient continuum rather than being strictly categorical. (3) Constituency emerged as a robust predictor of processing efficiency, with phrasal CMSs being processed more efficiently than their non-phrasal counterparts across nearly all frequency conditions and proficiency levels. This consistent advantage for phrasal structures underscores the fundamental role of structural integrity in L2 CMS processing. These findings contribute novel insights into the mechanisms underlying L2 CMS processing, while also offering practical pedagogical implications for enhancing L2 CMS acquisition. Full article

Globalization enhances communication among people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. As cultural artifacts, English language teaching textbooks are crucial media for learners’ intercultural education, especially under the concept of English as a lingua franca. This study investigated the cultural elements in Chinese university English textbooks via the approach of content analysis. Specifically, a set of Chinese English language teaching textbooks was selected as the sample and the audio and video materials were transcribed into texts as the data. The results were displayed by the counts of cultural elements. The data revealed that international cultures and source cultures were highlighted, and the textbooks were not oriented toward native-speakers’ English. Moreover, the distribution of cultural categories across the textbooks remains imbalanced, with cultural products occupying the largest proportion, and cultural perspectives displayed the least. This is mainly attributed to the fact that cultural perspectives are implicit cultures under the surface of the iceberg, and notably, they are sporadically reflected by the cultural products, practices, and persons. The findings provide suggestions that writers include balanced cultural elements in compiling English language teaching textbooks, and teachers scrutinize cultural representation and design intercultural activities. Full article

The interplay among classroom environment, grit, and enjoyment in shaping the feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) of Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners remains underexplored. This study investigates how the classroom psychological environment and L2 grit influence FSB, categorized as feedback monitoring (FM, the passive observation of feedback) and feedback inquiry (FI, proactive requests for clarification), in the context of L2 writing. This study also focuses on the mediating role of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) in this process. A mixed-methods design was utilized to study 612 Chinese junior secondary students aged 13–15 with over five years of formal English instruction. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that perseverance of effort (POE) and consistency of interest (COI), as two dimensions of L2 grit, directly predicted FM (β = 0.19 and 0.27, respectively) but not FI. The classroom environment indirectly enhanced both FM (β = 0.05) and FI (β = 0.09) through FLE. Qualitative interviews highlighted cultural constraints: 83.3% of participants prioritized FM over FI due to face-saving norms, despite high grit levels (M = 3.61 on a 5-point scale), underscoring cultural barriers to proactive feedback-seeking in Chinese collectivist classrooms. These findings validate the tripartite framework of positive psychology in L2 learning and propose strategies to balance institutional support, grit cultivation, and cultural sensitivity in fostering adaptive FSB. Full article

Background: According to Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, private speech functions both as a tool for thought regulation and as a transitional form between outer and inner speech. However, its role in adult second language (L2) learning—and the neural mechanisms supporting it—remains insufficiently understood. This study thus examined whether private speech facilitates L2 oral production and investigated its underlying neural mechanisms, including the extent to which private speech resembles inner speech in its regulatory function and the transitional nature of private speech. Methods: In Experiment 1, to identify natural users of private speech, 64 Chinese-speaking L2 English learners with varying proficiency levels were invited to complete a picture-description task. In Experiment 2, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to examine the neural mechanisms of private speech in 32 private speech users identified in Experiment 1. Results: Experiment 1 showed that private speech facilitates L2 oral production. Experiment 2 revealed that private and inner speech elicited highly similar patterns of functional connectivity. Among high-proficiency learners, private speech exhibited enhanced connectivity between the language network and the thought-regulation network, indicating involvement of higher-order cognitive processes. In contrast, among low-proficiency learners, connectivity was primarily restricted to language-related regions, suggesting that private speech supports basic linguistic processing at early stages. Furthermore, both private and outer speech showed stronger connectivity in speech-related brain regions. Conclusions: This is the first study to examine the neural mechanisms of private speech in L2 learners by using fNIRS. The findings provide novel neural evidence that private speech serves as both a regulatory scaffold and a transitional form bridging outer and inner speech. Its cognitive function appears to evolve with increasing L2 proficiency. Full article

This study investigates how Chinese EFL (English as a foreign language) learners of low- and high-proficiency levels allocate attention between captions and audio while watching videos, and how visual complexity (single- vs. multi-speaker content) influences caption reliance. The study employed a novel paused transcription method to assess real-time processing. A total of 64 participants (31 low-proficiency [A1–A2] and 33 high-proficiency [C1–C2] learners) viewed single- and multi-speaker videos with English captions. Misleading captions were inserted to objectively measure reliance on captions versus audio. Results revealed significant proficiency effects: Low-proficiency learners prioritized captions (reading scores > listening, Z = −4.55, p < 0.001, r = 0.82), while high-proficiency learners focused on audio (listening > reading, Z = −5.12, p < 0.001, r = 0.89). Multi-speaker videos amplified caption reliance for low-proficiency learners (r = 0.75) and moderately increased reliance for high-proficiency learners (r = 0.52). These findings demonstrate that low-proficiency learners rely overwhelmingly on captions during video viewing, while high-proficiency learners integrate multimodal inputs. Notably, increased visual complexity amplifies caption reliance across proficiency levels. Implications are twofold: Pedagogically, educators could design tiered caption removal protocols as skills improve while incorporating adjustable caption opacity tools. Technologically, future research could focus on developing dynamic captioning systems leveraging eye-tracking and AI to adapt to real-time proficiency, optimizing learning experiences. Additionally, video complexity should be calibrated to learners’ proficiency levels. Full article

In recent years, several studies across a variety of target languages (e.g., Chinese, French, and Spanish) have demonstrated that students who study abroad acquire target-like patterns of variation. In Spanish-speaking contexts, recent research has moved beyond investigating the acquisition of features specific to Spain to examine that of features used in immersion contexts such as Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina. Nevertheless, many of these studies either rely on quantitative variationist analysis or implement qualitative analysis of one or two target dialectal features. In addition, learner omission and expression of pronominal subjects in these contexts have been largely underexplored. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study not only quantitatively examines learners’ production of several features of Buenos Aires Spanish, including sheísmo/zheísmo, /s/-weakening, voseo, and subject pronoun expression, but it also qualitatively relates the production of these features to learners’ experiences during a five-month semester in Argentina. It aims to answer the following research questions: When and to what degree do three English-speaking students studying abroad for five months in Buenos Aires, Argentina acquire target-like production of [ʃ] and/or [ʒ], s-weakening, vos, and subject pronoun expression? How do participants’ experiences, communities of practice, investments, identities, and imagined communities relate to this production? Speech data were gathered prior to, at the midpoint, and at the end of the semester by means of sociolinguistic interviews and elicitation tasks. To further understand the connection between these learners’ use of the target features and their overseas experiences, we explored the case studies of three learners of Spanish of differing proficiency levels (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) using qualitative data collected during semi-structured interviews at each interview time. The results suggest that all three learners increased their production of the prestigious, salient dialectal features of sheísmo/zheísmo and vos during the sojourn and that the amount of increase was greater at each proficiency level. While the beginning and intermediate learners did not move toward target-like norms in their use of the often-stigmatized, less salient, variable features of /s/-weakening and subject pronoun expression, the advanced learner did. As such, stigma, salience, and variability, as well as proficiency level, may play a role in the acquisition of variable features. Learners’ investment in the target language and participation in local communities of practice increased at each proficiency level as well, and learners’ imagined communities beyond their study abroad experiences were related to their identity construction and linguistic choices abroad. Full article

This study investigates the English adjective amplifier system of eleven Mandarin Chinese L2 speakers of English residing in Australia compared to a sample of ten native Australian English (AusE) speakers from the AusTalk corpus. Employing a variationist framework, we find that the L2 speakers employ a markedly overall higher rate (50.2%) of use of adjective amplifiers than AusE speakers (34.8%). This has been shown to be a common phenomenon among L2 speakers, who have a smaller range of adjectives at their disposal, and thus “over-use” amplifiers. However, we also argue that the propensity for amplifier–adjective bigrams in Mandarin Chinese transfers to their L2 English. The results show that Chinese L2 speakers use very more than really, whereas really is more frequent than very in AusE, suggesting that the L2 speakers may be lagging behind in this previously-reported change in AusE. The results also show that higher rates of English proficiency and length of residence in Australia result in more Australian-like amplifier behavior among the Chinese L2 group. The present paper can provide meaningful insights for future language teaching and learning in classroom and naturalistic settings, revealing potential for the instruction of more authentic language among L2 English learners. Full article

Using the analytical tool Rbrul, this study explores the object expression variations in the speech of twenty CSL (Chinese as a Second Language) learners whose first languages (L1) were English, Russian, Korean, and Japanese, and compares them to native speaker (NS) patterns. Multivariate analysis revealed that the learner patterns closely resembled NSs’ in most dimensions explored, except the learners tended to overuse overt pronouns and underuse null forms. For both CSL learners and NSs, the general patterns in object use were as follows: (1) animate objects tended to favor overt objects, while inanimate objects favored null forms, (2) switch in referents favored overt forms, while no referent change favored null, (3) specific referents favored null forms, whereas nonspecific referents favored overt expressions, and (4) conversational contexts favored null forms, but elicited narratives favored explicit forms. As for the patterns specific to learners, the findings were as follows: (1) among the four L1s included in the analysis, Japanese and Russian speakers tended to use null objects more than Korean and English speakers, (2) a stay in China of one, two, or four years tended to favor null forms, but a three-year stay favored explicit forms, and (3) high-intermediate learners tended to use null forms more frequently than advanced learners. These results indicated that learners successfully acquired null object use patterns in spoken Chinese, but they still required further development in understanding the nuances between overt object forms and null object use to enhance their sociolinguistic competence. Full article

Over the last ten years, continuous attention has been paid to the use of digital games in vocabulary learning. Their effectiveness and availability have been widely discussed. However, the experiences of language learners and the underlying patterns of their engagement while using digital games for vocabulary learning remain underexplored. In order to fill this significant gap, this study aimed to examine the influential mechanism of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ flow experiences in digital game-based vocabulary learning (DGBVL). The sample consisted of 306 Chinese EFL learners who had DGBVL app usage experience, and data collection was based on a DGBVL flow experience instrument employed through an online platform. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to assess the reliability and validation of the existing scale for various DGBVL apps. A multi-group analysis was then conducted, revealing that the influential mechanism was a process in which the effects of antecedents on outcomes could be mediated by flow experiences. In addition, the role of usage frequency was also explored, and three paths were found to differ across three usage frequency levels (i.e., seldom, sometimes, and always): the effect of balance of skill and challenge on enjoyment, the effect of enjoyment on satisfaction, and the effect of perceived learning on satisfaction. These findings provide new insights for the influential mechanism of flow experiences and will assist EFL learners in optimizing their learning outcomes in digital game-based vocabulary learning. Full article

Resilience and flow are crucial in language education, yet most research focuses on formal learning environments, with limited studies on their impact in informal settings. This study explores the relationship between basic psychological needs and engagement in the context of informal digital English learning (IDLE). Using a mixed-methods design, data were collected from 512 Chinese EFL learners. Structural equation modeling and NVivo analysis were applied to quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. The findings reveal that resilience fully mediates the relationship between basic psychological needs and engagement, serving as an adaptability enhancer, persistence promoter, stress buffer, self-efficacy builder, and emotional regulation facilitator. Conversely, flow partially mediates this relationship, though perceived competence does not significantly predict flow in this context. Building on this, flow contributes as an intrinsic motivation driver, positive cycle creator, external pressure mitigator, and efficiency enhancer. This research underscores the important role of resilience and flow in IDLE among Chinese university EFL students. By highlighting these mediating roles, the study provides valuable insights for enhancing the effectiveness of IDLE experiences, contributing to the broader discourse on language education in the digital age. Full article

Collocations typically refer to habitual word combinations, which not only occur in texts but also constitute an essential component of the mental lexicon. This study focuses on the mental lexicon of Chinese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL), investigating the representation of collocations and the influence of input frequency and L2 proficiency by employing a phrasal decision task. The findings reveal the following: (1) Collocations elicited faster response times and higher accuracy rates than non-collocations. (2) Higher input frequency improved the accuracy of judgments. High-proficiency Chinese EFL learners exhibit better accuracy and faster response times in collocation judgment tests. Additionally, input frequency and L2 proficiency interactively affected both response time and accuracy rate. These results indicate that L2 learners have a processing advantage for collocations, which function as independent entries in the mental lexicon. Both input frequency and L2 proficiency are crucial factors in collocational representation, with increased input frequency and proficiency shifting the representation from analytic retrieval toward holistic recognition in a continuum pattern. Full article

This study examines how Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) learners acquire the Chinese stance marker haihao with a focus on type and saliency. A total of 56 participants took part in the research, including 28 English-speaking CSL learners and 28 native Chinese speakers. The study utilized two evaluation judgment tasks. Results showed that participants categorized haihao into two simplified groups, guided by the economy principle and a positivity bias. English-speaking learners, influenced by a stronger positivity bias, tended to select more positive options, while Chinese participants favored slightly negative ones. Saliency improved the accuracy of recognizing negative haihao among American learners and low positive haihao among Chinese participants, though it was less effective for ambiguous expressions. These findings highlight how cultural differences and language saliency impact the interpretation of stance markers, offering insights for improving CSL teaching strategies. Full article