In the last few decades, it has been documented that the field of TESOL is filled with discriminatory practices that affect professionals who dedicate their lives, time and academic backgrounds to teaching English as a foreign language. Previous research evidence has shown that these practices are mostly initiated by issues concerning the language…

In the last few decades, several studies have documented the discrimination that teachers face in the field of Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). To date, these studies have shown that discrimination tends to be motivated by issues concerning the native- versus non-native language status of these professionals. Moreover,…

English has become a key subject of educational systems worldwide. Thus, researchers have centered their attention on psychosocial processes that influence English proficiency in EFL settings. The aim of our study was to investigate the relation between affective variables, motivation and proficiency and assess which attitudinal/motivational…

Research on nativelike variation in second language (L2) systems indicates that learners studying abroad may adapt to regional norms as they build sociolinguistic competence (e.g., Kanwit & Solon, 2013; Salgado-Robles, 2014). Spanish exhibits variation between the intensifiers "muy" [very] and "bien" [very] across numerous…

This study examines how dominance and proficiency relate to Spanish heritage speaker vowel productions. Participants' normalized vowel measurements were compared to nonheritage native speakers of Spanish and English using the Pillai score, an output of Multivariate Analysis of Variances (MANOVAs) that allows comparisons across distributions of two…

This study investigates the interaction of native speaker--non-native speaker (NS-NNS) dyads engaged in conversational interaction as part of a video-based synchronous computer mediated communication (VidSCMC) eTandem language program. Previous work has indicated certain advantages of NNS-NS conversational interaction for language learning (e.g.,…

The process by which novice language teachers negotiate their professional identity has been described as mediated by factors such as peers' support, mentor's influence, and even ideologies such as the native speakers' fallacy. However, the role that students may play in these negotiations still needs attention. The present study examines how a…

E-tandems, or virtual synchronous exchanges, offer opportunities for language learners to practice their skills with native speakers. While they are regularly conducted informally, some institutions are exploring their academic use. This paper reports on the experience of eight students who were learning English at a public university in Mexico.…

This paper examines the strategies used by speakers of Spanish as a second language (L2) for marking Information Focus, a phenomenon found at the syntax-discourse interface. Sorace and colleagues have proposed the Interface Hypothesis, according to which the syntax-discourse interface poses unique challenges for bilinguals (Sorace, 2011). With…

Based on Bordieuan concepts of symbolic power and legitimization, this study analyzes the identity of a language teacher in Puebla, Mexico. Through a series of in-depth interviews, we examine how Mexican institutions may (de)legitimize the teaching expertise of an EFL educator by promoting a discourse of "native"-speakerism. In contrast…

Over the last three decades, research has centred the attention on discrimination within TESOL motivated by issues concerning the distinction between native- and non-native English speaking teachers. However, based upon the authors' experience as English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and researchers, it is claimed that discrimination in…

Indigenous languages of Mexico have largely been excluded from formal education spaces. This ethnographic action research study highlights a context where "Diidxazá"/ Isthmus Zapotec, an Indigenous language of Oaxaca, has recently begun to be taught in higher education. We examine the ways that administrators, the teacher, and students…

This experimental study tests the Interface Hypothesis by looking into processes at the syntax-discourse interface, teasing apart acquisition of syntactic, semantic and discourse knowledge. Adopting Lopez's (2009) pragmatic features [[plus or minus]a(naphor)] and [[plus or minus]c(ontrast)], which in combination account for the constructions of…

In native speakers of gender-marking languages, mechanisms of gender production appear to be affected by the morphophonological cues to gender present in the noun phrase. This influence is manifested in higher levels of production accuracy when more transparent cues to gender are present in comparison to when they are not. The goal of the present…

A common predictor of language gains during study abroad (SA) is amount of language use. Yet little attention has been given to determining what factors influence the extent of language use while abroad. Studies in this area have mainly been case studies of learners in single locations. In this larger study, we seek to determine variables…