This contribution investigates gains in technical economy in measuring language ability by considering one recurrent interest of JD Brown: cloze tests. In the various versions of the Test of Academic Literacy Levels (TALL), its Sesotho and Afrikaans (Toets van Akademiese Geletterdheidsvlakke -- TAG) counterparts, as well as related other tests…

A fundamental distinction in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) is route versus rate of acquisition (or L2 development). While the former has traditionally referred to developmental sequences of learning, the latter denotes the speed with which learners progress through developmental trajectories (Muñoz, 2006). A second distinction at…

To efficiently learn new words, children use constraints such as mutual exclusivity (ME) to narrow the search for potential referents. The current study investigated the use of ME in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and neurotypical (NT) peers matched on nonverbal cognition. Thirty-two toddlers with ASD and 26 NT toddlers participated…

This study is the first attempt to explore the relationship between rater variables focusing on raters' language aptitude and their judgments of second language (L2) speech. Thirty-four English listeners rated 65 spontaneous native and nonnative speech samples for comprehensibility, accentedness, and fluency. They also completed the LLAMA language…

The concept of constructions has become increasingly important in theories of language acquisition and use during the last 20 years. Constructions are form-meaning pairings that are learned and stored as pieces of linguistic knowledge. Fillmore, Kay, and O'Conner (1988), and Goldberg (1995, 2006, 2019) were among the first linguists who paved the…

In this paper, I first provide a brief review of how scholars have conceptualized, tested, and elaborated aptitude frameworks relevant to second language (L2) speech learning. Subsequently, I introduce an emerging paradigm that assigns a fundamental role to domain-general auditory processing (i.e., having a good ear) in L1 speech acquisition and…

While the relationship between language experience and foreign language aptitude (FLA) has been studied extensively, little is known about the underlying intermediate link between them. This study investigates whether multilingual learning experience is correlated with FLA and whether working memory (WM) mediates this relationship. A total of 93…

Previous research on children's knowledge about the mind has primarily focused on their comprehension of false beliefs, leaving the conceptualization of thoughts and thinking less explored. To address this gap, we developed a new assessment tool, the interview about the mind (IaM), to assess children's understanding of the mind. Two studies…

Deaf-sighted, deaf-blind, and hearing-sighted people have been interacting within a small community in the Bay Islands of Honduras for over a century (Ali 2023; Ali and Braithwaite 2020). In this article, we sketch the history of the community and the ways in which signers make use of their own and their interlocutor's bodies to co-construct…

This study examined the comparative effect of recasts and prompts on EFL learners' pronunciation accuracy of consonants and vowels. Eighty-nine elementary EFL learners were selected among 117 through their performance on a piloted sample KET and were randomly assigned into two experimental groups (recast, prompt), and a control group. A piloted…

Despite the widespread use and effectiveness of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) composite score in predicting individual differences in L2 achievement and proficiency, there has been little examination of MLAT subtests, although they have potential for illuminating components of L2 aptitude and the mechanism of prediction. Here we use…

The area of individual differences (ID) in second language (L2) has been a point of interest for many researchers; however, the impact of ID on the writing performance of L2 learners has not been explored exhaustively. Only a limited number of studies have examined the role of language aptitude, vocabulary size, and working memory (WM) on L2…

Young learners' language aptitude is understudied due to a lack of tests covering this period of life. Young learners, in contrast with adults, are still acquiring their L1. Consequently, a language-dependent aptitude test should be carefully designed for it to be valid. An additional challenge is found when the young learners who are to take the…

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in case studies and surveys by researchers of second language acquisition (SLA) and cognitive (neuro-)science to probe into the group of exceptionally talented multilingual learners or polyglots who can understand and speak an impressive number of multiple foreign languages other than their own mother…

Hmong adolescents face many challenges during high school, particularly college and career readiness. School counselors are trained professionals who can help. This transcendental phenomenology study explored the lived experiences of six Hmong adolescents and how they make sense of college and career lessons in a group work format over six weeks.…