Research in first-language (L1) sentence processing has found evidence that language comprehenders use binding condition A as a filter to rule out noun phrases that are binding-inaccessible before proceeding with the task of finding the correct antecedent. Sturt (2013) notes that this strategy does not appear to apply to advanced speakers of…

This study examines how second/foreign language (L2) word difficulty estimates derived from item response theory (IRT) and classical test theory (CTT) frameworks are virtually identical in the context of vocabulary testing. This conclusion is reached via a two-stage process: (a) psychometric assessments of both approaches and (b) L2 word…

The interaction between multilingualism and emotions has so far mostly been researched in Northern contexts. The findings obtained suggest that the first language is typically preferred for emotional and mental activities (i.e. 'first language primacy'). In this article, we extend this area of investigation to Africa. We use the Bilingualism and…

This article examines the use of the repertory grid technique as a method to investigate learner perceptions in language education research. An important issue raised in this article concerns how far a researcher's agenda may be unintentionally imposed onto a research study which is investigating learners' perceptions, and how far the ensuing data…

Besides explicit inference of word meanings, associating words with diverse contexts may be a key mechanism underlying vocabulary learning through reading. Drawing from distributional semantic theory, we developed a text modification method called reflash to facilitate both word-context association and explicit inference. Using a set of left and…

This article sheds light on the linguistic and extralinguistic conditions that determine the likelihood of L1 grammatical attrition in late sequential bilinguals. We explore whether aspectual interpretations associated with the present tense may be a vulnerable area for the native grammar of 30 late Spanish-English bilinguals who have settled in…

In addressing the widening research-practice gap in the field of second language (L2) education, an increasing emphasis has been placed on a bidirectional and mutually beneficial relationship between L2 researchers and practitioners. Through the lens of an ecosystems model, this qualitative study explored how seven researchers at a research center…

Applied linguistics has recently seen a surge in research and methodological approaches to do stronger studies. One important factor affecting such a new movement is the researchers' individual differences in shaping their research repertoire. Therefore, this study, which employs a path-analytic approach, investigates the interrelationship between…

Humanizing complexity research is already strongly advocated by much of the literature on complexity (Kramsch, 2011; Larsen-Freeman, 2011; Sampson, 2016) and yet there is a recent trend towards a potentially alienating approach, which could confound readers, utilising a dense vocabulary and overly technical methods. We advocate a more practical…

Coalson, Peña, and Byrd published a systematic review that demonstrated significant limitations in the language profile descriptions for multilingual participants who stutter for studies that were completed through September 2011. Given the average number of investigations of multilingual speakers who stutter has shifted from one study every 5…

In our article, we investigate the complex dynamics of linguistic understandings and mis- or non-understanding within multilingual contexts. Through the lens of sociolinguistic exploration, we navigate the multifaceted landscapes of language use, applying a multi-perspective approach and the triangulation method to explore the depths of linguistic…

"Variability" and "fractality," two key concepts in Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST)--the former concerning changes and variations, and the latter concerning recursiveness and self-similarities--may seem contradictory at first glance. This forum piece attempts to elucidate how the two seemingly contradictory properties can…

There has been increasing L3 research on L3 transfer selectivity, especially concerning which factor triggers crosslinguistic influence during L3 acquisition. According to Slabakova's (2016) Scalpel Model, every linguistic property has distinct and unique input factors regarding L3 acquisition such as high/low frequency or positive/negative input.…

Research Methodology (RM) is the backbone of any TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) MA programme. Although a burgeoning body of research has investigated students' attitude towards research and RM course in various disciplines, students' attitudes towards research and research methods courses in TEFL research has remained a relatively…

Globally classrooms are increasingly linguistically diverse. Research often oversimplifies lived linguistic heterogeneity as binary variables: native versus non-native. Linguistic distance (LD) measures allow a fine-grained operationalization of linguistic diversity in foreign language education. This study investigated associations of cognate LDs…