Greek and Spanish are two languages that display a similar subject distribution with unergative/unaccusative verbs, but different word orders with focused subjects (SV in Greek and VS in Spanish). Here we consider subject-verb word order in second language (L2) Greek and L2 Spanish in order to test the Interface Hypothesis (IH). To this end, we…

This study addressed the critical gap in research on the academic English vocabulary knowledge of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students at the college level, with a specific focus on academic English verbs. An English vocabulary test was developed to assess knowledge of academic verbs at three distinct corpus-defined lexical frequency ranges.…

This paper presents a unified Arabic version of the English action verbs mentioned in Bloom's taxonomy (1956) that has been checked for validity and reliability by a panel of education experts. Methodologically, the Bloom's list of action verbs was first translated into Arabic by an expert professor of translation. Then, using a mixed-method…

Critical thinking, creativity, communication, teamwork, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, empathy, resilience, ambition, grit, and innovation (Heckman & Kautz, 2012). These skills, often referred to as 'soft' skills, are considered a requirement for employment and advancement for the 21st-century graduate (Carnevale & Smith, 2013).…

The introduction of modal verbs in English textbooks across levels in China was surveyed and compared with Chinese learners' use in writing to explore the potential impact of textbook introduction on learners' real use. The results have revealed: (1) divergences between the sequence of modal verb presentation in textbooks and their frequency order…

This study explores whether English-dominant (ED) speakers and speakers of English as a foreign language (EFL) perceive the same degrees of formality in combinations of (in)formal greetings (Hi/Dear) and address forms (informal First Name/Ms. Last Name) with (in)formal nouns, verbs, and adjectives (Latinate/Germanic). It also explores which of…

The present study explored the processing units of high-proficiency second language (L2) Chinese learners in on-line reading in an eye-tracking experiment. The critical aim was to investigate how learners segment continuous characters into words without the aid of word boundary demarcations. Based on previous studies, the embedded words of 2- and…

This study examines the extent to which verb argument construction (VAC) based indices of syntactic complexity could predict four different writing task conditions: a simple task with no repetition (S + NR), a simple task with repetition (S + R), a complex task with no repetition (C + NR), and a complex task with repetition (C + R). Ninety-six…

"Valuing the Everyday: A Verbal Study in GTA Response to Pre-Designed Curriculum" culminates in a verbal understanding of how four graduate teaching associates at the University of Arizona used and responded to pre-designed courses (PDC) and may suggest ways to structure training or learning management systems (LMS) themselves to better…

In spite of the proliferation of research studies on vocabulary knowledge, investigating the relationship between self-regulation, vocabulary size, and collocational knowledge among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners has received scant attention. The current study aimed to investigate whether vocabulary and collocation size can explain…

We evaluate the impact of gestures during the teaching of vocabulary in a foreign language (FL). Spanish speakers learned words in a FL in four gesture conditions according to the relationship between the meaning of the words and the gestures (congruent gestures, incongruent gestures, gestures without meaning, and no gestures). The participants…

Reporting verbs (RVs) are commonly used features in academic texts. While college textbook authors are less likely to be transparent about their views, they frequently employ RVs to signal their attitudes about the claims and findings of others. University students, particularly those placed in transitional reading courses, however, may have…

This study investigated the relative ease or difficulty of grammar commonly taught in intermediate (second-year) German at the university level. Previous studies have investigated the ease or difficulty of specific grammar structures, factors that make it difficult to learn L2 grammar, and teachers' and learners' perceptions of difficult grammar.…

The role of top-down control in divergent creativity remains heavily debated. An outstanding question about the state dynamics of creativity concerns acute shifts between heightened and lowered creative states. Particularly, do transitions between creative states incur a "switch cost" as observed in other domains of cognition? Prior…

Modifying and hedging one's claims appropriately is an important characteristic of academic writing. This study focuses on the three main English modal verbs used to express "epistemic possibility" to avoid making strong statements, viz., "may", "might", and "could". The purpose of this corpus-based study is…