Some theories of second language acquisition have had a major influence on the teaching and learning of a second language. This study reports the acquisition of English as a second language over a six-month period by a six-year-old Nicaraguan girl. Findings are based on a cross-sectional study and data that come from observation, journaling, and…

The present article sought to compare two case studies on the relationship between the theories of Language Acquisition and of their application for EFL Teachers Programs, in two different national settings. The first one conducted in the Republic of Chile and the second one, more recently developed in the Dominican Republic. It prompted our…

This paper examines pedagogical responses to James Banks's concept of "failed citizenship," namely the structural factors that inhibit migrants and minorities from accessing fully functioning citizenship and their human rights. Banks commissioned and published 16 case studies of social studies teachers in different national contexts to…

Drawing on sociocultural theories of language and literacy practice and Curdt-Christiansen's theoretical framework of family language policy (FLP), this multiple case study investigates the perceptions, practices, and challenges regarding heritage language maintenance (HLM) of Chinese immigrant families in a mid-sized Midwestern American city. The…

The focus of this paper is to investigate how teacher candidates reflect on their observations in practicum schools from a retrospective angle. First, ten English language teacher candidates, who were pairs during the practicum, wrote reflection reports considering the dynamics of a language classroom throughout a period of ten weeks. Those…

Foreign language learners' failure in learning English despite many years of language instruction in state schools has been a widely discussed topic. However, relatively few studies have attempted to explore possible effects of failure attributions and metacognitive awareness on language learning. As metacognitive awareness is an acknowledged…

Few studies in language teacher education programs provide insight on how knowledge of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) is developed by teacher candidates to support their metalinguistic awareness and preparation to teach language. Building upon the contributions of Johnson and Byrnes, we combined Halliday's language-based theory of learning…

This article reports on a case study that centers experienced language teachers as participants. To depict their instructional practices, the researcher employed grounded theory with open and axial coding design. To describe results, a "listening experience" framework was created that highlights the choices second language (L2) listening…

Previous research on the foreign language (FL) learner has yielded a rich body of knowledge on personality, individual differences, and conceptions of the self as a measure of motivation. While these contributions have greatly enriched our understanding of learner psychology, the current paper proposes an analytical framing of language learning…

This article investigates the correlation between emotion and eventual identity change of five teachers learning drama for ELT, a project that involved the author as a drama expert and researcher. It argues that the participants' attribution patterns, regulated by their teaching beliefs, lead to particular emotional responses to the teaching…

While previous research has identified misalignment of L2 teachers' beliefs and practices on written corrective feedback (WCF), much remains to be known about whether and how writing teachers' beliefs may vary across contexts and evolve over time, as well as the extent to which their beliefs are manifested in their practice. To address this issue,…

This paper forwards the notion that languages are an important resource for sustainable development for modern societies. Informed by theories from both sociolinguistics and language economics on the value of language skills, it is suggested that language(s) have different kinds of value in multilingual societies. Sociolinguists often emphasize…

Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) has witnessed an explosion of interest from consumers and researchers. However, consumers often complain about the limited functionality of MALL applications, which typically do not allow for critical self-reflection or for users to consider different aspects of their learning such as the task itself, the…

Language learning strategies are an important variable in language learning, as they both facilitate learning and make learning more effective. Previous research has categorized and placed language learning strategies into taxonomies. However, despite calls for more socioculturally-appropriate strategy questionnaires, there is a paucity of…

One critical question for English language teachers is how their learners, especially in non-English-speaking developing countries, address global issues as they learn the foreign language. The question seems more viably answered following the United Nations' dissemination of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 to be achieved by 2030.…