Research shows that sojourning L2 learners are often eager to speak with their native-speaker peers, but they may not realize how these interactions differ from their experiences in the L2 classroom. Using the Communication Accommodation Theory (Giles & Ogay, 2007) as a guiding principle, this mixed-method study aims to, at two different time…

This study examines the effectiveness of study abroad and pragmatic instruction on L2 learners' acquisition of the speech acts of requesting, thanking, and refusing. In the study, speech acts produced by L2 learners of Spanish who studied abroad for six weeks in Buenos Aires, Argentina and L2 learners who received eight weeks of pragmatic…

The Perceptual Assimilation Model (PAM) (Best, 1995) claims listeners directly perceive articulatory gestures of the vocal tract rather than acoustic/auditory signals. Accordingly, the articulatory similarities and discrepancies between native and non-native sounds determine the perceptual assimilation patterns of non-native sounds. This study…

This study investigates acoustically one of long-term debated phonetic characteristics, the so-called Arabic voiced pharyngeal fricative /[voiced pharyngeal fricative]/. Most recent studies have found the Arabic pharyngeal to be approximant, while others have categorized it as a stop in careful speech, and still others have suggested it is a…

Native Arabic speakers used idiomatic expressions such as idioms, formulas, and collocations, in their daily communications. In learning Arabic as a second language (L2), effective communication requires "the ability to understand and use idioms appropriately and accurately in a variety of sociocultural contexts, in a manner like that of…

One of the challenges facing the field of Chinese language pedagogy in the second decade of the 21st century is how to train teachers of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) to teach effectively in emerging education markets. Emerging CFL markets are the result of a widely perceived need to learn Chinese as a foreign language in places where…

Upon acquiring or learning another language, cross-linguistic influence (CLI) is an inevitable phenomenon with which a bilingual speaker lives. One key aspect of CLI is its bidirectionality, flowing between both the first (L1) and second languages (L2) mutually affecting each other. However, investigations of L1 CLI on L2 have dominated previous…

The majority of the extant literature claims that native Arabic speakers are typically more indirect in their refusal strategies, a specific speech act, than are native English speakers. The present study examined the level of directness in the refusal strategies of native Arabic speakers, living in the United States and the Middle East, compared…

In recent years, the number of Mexican youth moving (back) to Mexico from the US has been steadily growing (Sanchez Garcia & Hamann, 2016; Jensen & Jacobo-Suarez, 2019). The Pew Research Center for Hispanic Studies estimates that between 2009 and 2014, roughly 1 million Mexicans and their families moved from the US to Mexico…

This dissertation examines the social process of language study abroad in a multilingual West African setting, paying attention to how language learners mobilize multiple linguistic resources to navigate the superdiverse linguistic landscape and the ideologies that drive their practices. Study abroad is generally believed to be an ideal space for…

Language learning strategy (LLS) has been long considered as one of the most important variables impacting language performance. Learning context, as a major effect on LLS choices, has not been paid much attention compared to other individual variables in LLS research. For the purpose of highlighting contextual influence in LLS research, the…

Research on advanced L2 adult learners and viable classroom instruction for them has become increasingly important along with increasing global connections. This study investigated the effects of different kinds of spoken input modification on listening comprehension and incidental vocabulary learning by 106 advanced Chinese speakers of Japanese…

In Asia, English is used as a lingua franca (ELF; Kirkpatrick, 2010). For Thai university graduates to be successful in their future careers, being able to understand various accents with Thailand's major trading partners, particularly American, Chinese, and Japanese, seems vital. As a listening test which includes these accents is needed, the…

The study abroad (SA) experience is often viewed as an opportunity to gain proficiency in a foreign language due to immersion in the target language and culture. Nevertheless, the increased amount of research conducted on SA over the last two decades indicates that it does not necessarily lead to gains in all areas (Collentine & Freed, 2004;…

The scholarly discourse around English as an international language (EIL) is reflected in educational policies and is a determining factor in proposals for ELT curriculum design and pedagogical practices (Matsuda, 2017). The purpose of this study is to examine Iraqi pre-service teachers' attitudes toward EIL and explore the perceived role and…