The objective of our study was to understand learners' experiences in an LMOOC (Language Massive Open Online Course) and to highlight those elements that make an LMOOC successful. Our research focused on three questions: how do learners perceive their overall experience in the course, which specific LMOOC components learners appreciate, and to…

Language-specific (i.e. the ideal L2 self) and plurilingual selves are now at the forefront of scholarly inquiry in L2 motivation research. Yet, there is a lack of empirical studies examining how language learners reframe their sense of self as speakers of an L2. This study draws on a questionnaire (N = 162) and on semi-structured interviews (N =…

Virtual Reality applications are predicted to create a paradigm shift in education, but there is little empirical evidence of their educational value. Virtual Reality affordances to support language learning have not yet been realized. This quasi-experimental study investigated the effect of a Virtual Reality application on foreign language…

In the last ten years, positive emotion in foreign language learning has been increasingly investigated in many research areas, including Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE). FLE has been defined as a positive emotion felt when an individual's psychological needs are met. This study investigates the relationship between perceived levels of Subjective…

To date, most classroom-based research into the learning of a third language (L3) in the US has examined patterns of acquisition among various groups of bilinguals. Situated mainly within the context of "Portuguese for Spanish Speakers" (PSS), studies typically group learners based on the sequence / age of onset of their main background…

This case study explores how simultaneous Turkish-English bilingual identity emerges from a child-raising context where English is neither the first nor the primary language of the parents or the community. In the context of Turkey, where a special value is attributed to the English language knowledge, Turkish--English bilingualism is associated…

The increasing use of English in higher education around the world has prompted a large amount of research into the causes, effects and perceptions of this phenomenon, particularly relating to the introduction of English-medium instruction. While most previous research has focussed on institutions that have effectively 'added' English to existing…

A substantial body of research shows that various types of audiovisual (AV) input such as videos and videos with second language (L2) subtitles can facilitate language learning. However, language teachers' day-to-day practices with regard to multimodal input is less understood. To bridge the gap in language education, this study investigates…

This study compared the effects of listener training and tact training on the emergence of intraverbal responses in the form of foreign language equivalents of the native language. The study was based on Skinner's verbal operants with a focus on intraverbal responses. All participants received listener training and tact training after which a…

Metacognitive awareness of listening strategies has a supporting role in explaining L2 listening comprehension. Although metacognitive awareness is language-independent, language proficiency may determine whether learners can utilize such a cognitive resource during multiple language development. The current study explores the listening strategy…

Through two elicited production experiments we investigated how preschool Italian-speaking children access the left periphery of the clause with respect to topics in Clitic Left Dislocation (ClLD) structures. Since the discourse conditions of the experiments are felicitous for the production of passives as well, we also investigated children's…

This study explores the effectiveness of podcasting as an approach to project-based and experiential learning implemented in an intermediate Italian studies unit at an Australian university. In the project, students are asked to write and record a podcast script on a topic related to their experience as university students or to events concerning…

This case study explores the cognitive and emotional development of a university student using the schema of a complete orienting basis of action (SCOBA) in her learning of Italian as a foreign language. The article follows Marie, a 19-year-old undergraduate student, as she used a SCOBA that illustrated the concept of Genre and Register in…

This qualitative study explores how native peers as teaching assistants can support language learning in Higher Education. The data of five semi-structured group interviews of 15 teaching assistants in total were analysed thematically. The results indicate that the assistants embraced multiple roles during the programme and within the lessons.…

Italian relative clauses like "Il bambino che bacia la mamma" 'the child that kisses the mom' are ambiguous between a subject reading and an object reading with postverbal subject. However, the latter is scarcely accessible for word order and theory-internal considerations. This study aims at investigating the role of semantic…