The degree to which meanings are related in memory affects ambiguous word processing. We examined irregular polysemes, which have related senses based on similar or shared features rather than a relational rule, like regular polysemy. We tested to what degree the related meanings of irregular polysemes ("wire") are represented with…

The purpose of this article is to describe a tested teaching idea that can be implemented in elementary schools to introduce young children to fruits and vegetables that they may not be familiar with.

The roles of visual sonority and handshape markedness in sign language acquisition and production were investigated. In Experiment 1, learners were taught sign-nonobject correspondences that varied in sign movement sonority and handshape markedness. Results from a sign-picture matching task revealed that high sonority signs were more accurately…

This study assessed whether olfactory familiarization can render food odors more pleasant, and consequently food more attractive, to children with autism spectrum disorder. Participants were first presented with a series of food odors (session 1). Then, they were familiarized on four occasions (time window: 5 weeks) with one of the two most…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report student attitudes and beliefs towards climate change adaptation and sustainability-related behaviours. Design/methodology/approach: A paper-based questionnaire was completed by 247 first-year (students in their first semester of study) and third-year (students in their final semester of study)…

This paper reports on an approximate or partial replication of a study by Salsbury, Crossley & McNamara (2011) that examined the longitudinal developmental of a number of core lexical features related to word imageability, concreteness, familiarity, and meaningfulness in a spoken corpus of English second language (L2) learners. Salsbury et al.…

The 'Sawtooth Effect' is where cohort performance on high-stakes assessments drops after assessment reform, and then improves over time as test familiarity increases. Despite its importance, limited research has been conducted to date. In this study, we took a novel approach of using changes in grade boundaries (cut scores) over time as a proxy…

This study attempted to identify the information and communication technology items that affected students' mathematics and science literacy scores by making use of the 2015 PISA data, The presence of numerous items related to ICT in the PISA and the administration of these items to large groups of people provides researchers with a large data…

This study examined students' ability to select and pay attention to appropriate learning material when exposed to an instructional lesson delivered with an animated PowerPoint presentation (i.e., information presented one part at a time instead of all at once). A total of 169 students were randomly assigned to watch a multimedia presentation that…

The results of a transatlantic survey on technology-mediated Task-Based Language Learning (TBLL) are presented and discussed. The study was conducted within the scope of the European-funded Pan-European Task Activities for Language Learning (PETALL) project. The aim was to determine the teachers' acquaintance with TBLL and with the potential of…

Productive hiring practices can increase the opportunity that every student will be taught by an effective teacher. Integrity of hiring practices is sacrificed when decision-making models, methods, and protocols fall short due to improper implementation. To compensate for the lack of information generated from poor hiring resources and protocols,…

Studies on predicative metaphors like "The rumor flew through the office" have not received due attention until recently. Through a behavioural experiment, this study investigates the cognitive mechanisms as well as the effects of familiarity on Chinese EFL learners' comprehension of English predicative metaphors, adopting a two factors…

The present study examined the effectiveness of a novel 6-session, prejudice-reduction group for Greek preadolescents. The sample consisted of 106 elementary school students aged 10-12 years, allocated to the intervention (n = 55) or control group (n = 51). Results indicated that, compared to the control group, participants in the intervention…

Although the key role of utilizing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in foreign language learning and language teacher education is well-established in the literature, understanding the extent to which the student teachers of English are aware of and proficient in using ICT tools remains a key consideration. Therefore, this…

Despite numerous potential benefits of cloud computing usage, there are still some users reluctant to adopt this technology. This study aims to investigate the factors that influence student adoption of cloud computing in higher education settings and to generate a set of decision rules to guide through a series of critical decisions needed in…