Concerns have recently been raised about the validity of scales used in the L2 motivational self system tradition, particularly in relation to sufficient discriminant validity among some of its scales. These concerns highlight the need to systematically examine the validity of scales used in this tradition. In this study, we therefore compiled a list of 18 scales in widespread use and administered them to Korean learners of English (N = 384). Testing the factorial structure of these scales using multiple exploratory and confirmatory factor-analytic criteria revealed severe discriminant validity issues. For example, the ideal L2 self was not discriminant from linguistic self-confidence, suggesting that participant responses to such ideal L2 self items is not driven by actual–ideal discrepancies as previously presumed but more likely by self-efficacy beliefs. We discuss these results in the context of the need to encourage systematic psychometric validation research in the language motivation field.

This study investigates the extent to which (a) Spanish heritage (HL) and second language (L2) writers’ linguistic complexity differs across register contexts and (b) Spanish proficiency and writing motivational beliefs differentially affect HL and L2 writers’ performance. Participants were 58 HL and 54 L2 Spanish learners who completed two persuasive writing tasks—the Email to Friend and Letter to Dean tasks—designed to be topically similar while eliciting different registers. Proficiency measures included an elicited imitation task (EIT) and a cloze test. Mixed-effects models indicated that both HL and L2 writers evidenced greater lexico-syntactic complexity in the Letter to Dean task; nonetheless, HL writers demonstrated more robust cross-register distinctions in syntactic complexity. The EIT and cloze test positively predicted syntactic and lexical complexity, respectively, although differential patterns were also observed by group. Intrinsic/interest and cognitive/linguistic value beliefs about Spanish writing emerged as positive and negative predictors of linguistic complexity, respectively.

Usage-based theories hold that mental representation of language is shaped by a lifetime of usage. Both input to which first language (L1) and second language (L2) users are exposed and their own language production affect their construction learning and entrenchment. The present study investigates L2 users’ knowledge of two introductory-it variants, Adj-that (e.g., it is clear that …) and Adj-to (e.g., it is difficult to …). We probed the extent to which adjective–variant associations in an academic section of COCA and L2 users’ engagement with academic writing affected learners’ generation of adjectives distinctively attracted to the two variants. An analysis of cue-outcome contingency was conducted to establish adjective–variant associations, and an elicitation task was carried out, probing L2 users’ ability to generate adjectives when prompted with the variants (e.g., it is [blank] to). The participants were 84 graduate students in the United States, 44 from L1 English and 40 from L1 Thai backgrounds. The results indicated that the adjective–variant associations predicted L2 users’ generation of adjectives. However, academic writing engagement did not affect learners’ performance. The findings suggest that statistical information in the input affects L2 users’ constructional representation.

Usage-based theory has proposed that learning of linguistic constructions is facilitated by input that contains few high-frequency exemplars, in what is known as a skewed (or Zipfian) input distribution. Early empirical work provided support to this idea, but subsequent L2 research has provided mixed findings. However, previous approaches have not explored the impact that cognitive traits (e.g., working memory) have on the effectiveness of skewed or balanced input. The experiment reported here tested learners’ ability to develop new L2 categories of adjectives that guide lexical selection in Spanish verbs of “becoming.” The results showed that, when explicit rules are provided, low-working memory learners benefitted from reduced variability in skewed input, while high-working memory individuals benefitted from balanced input, which better allows for rule-based hypothesis testing. The findings help clarify the mixed findings in previous studies and suggest a way forward for optimizing the L2 input based on individual traits.

There has been increasing interest in the effects of note taking in second language (L2) research. However, no meta-analysis has been conducted to examine the relationship between note taking and learning through exposure to L2 input. We retrieved 28 effect sizes from 21 studies (N = 1992) to explore the overall effects of note taking as well as to examine the extent to which the effectiveness of note taking is likely to vary as a function of a set of potential moderators (i.e., learner variables, treatment variables, note-taking features, learning target, and measurement type). Results revealed that note taking had a small to medium positive overall effect on learning through exposure to L2 input (g = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.24–0.88). Subsequent moderator analyses revealed that variability in the size of note-taking effects across studies was explained by learner variables (context, region, orthographic scripts, institutional level), treatment variables (mode of input, material type), note-taking features (note-taking behavior, number of note-taking sessions, provision and type of note-taking strategy instruction, total length of instruction, opportunity to review notes), learning target, and measurement type. Based on the obtained findings, teachers are recommended to incorporate note taking in L2 classrooms. Pedagogical suggestions and directions for future research are also provided.

This meta-analysis synthesized 35 English studies (130 effect sizes, N = 1,981) that employed online tasks to investigate the processing of multiword sequences (MWSs). We examined (a) to what extent MWSs enjoy a processing advantage over novel word combinations; (b) how such a processing advantage is moderated by statistical regularities (i.e., phrasal frequency, association strength), MWS type, and explicitness of experimental tasks; and (c) whether such moderating patterns differ between L1 speakers and L2 speakers. The results confirmed the processing advantage for most subtypes of MWSs, with effect sizes ranging from small to medium. For L1 speakers and L2 speakers, the processing advantage of MWSs was found across the continuum of phrasal frequency and association strength and varied. Interestingly, task explicitness moderated the processing advantage of MWSs but only for L2 speakers. Taken together, our results shed light on the understanding of MWSs as well as directions for future research.

Despite the widespread use and effectiveness of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) composite score in predicting individual differences in L2 achievement and proficiency, there has been little examination of MLAT subtests, although they have potential for illuminating components of L2 aptitude and the mechanism of prediction. Here we use regression commonality analysis to decompose the predictive variance from the MLAT into unique components for each subtest alone and for each possible combination of subtests (duos, trios, etc.) that may have shared variance. The results, from a longitudinal study of 307 U.S. secondary students during 2 years of Spanish learning, provide strong evidence for the role of literacy-related skills in all subtests and in predicting all L2 outcomes. These and other results support a view of L1 literacy and language skills leading to metalinguistic development, which in turn leads to stronger L2 aptitude and achievement.

It has been proposed that second language (L2) learners differ from native speakers in processing due to either influence from their native language or an inability to integrate information from multiple linguistic domains in a second language. To shed new light on the underlying mechanism of L2 processing, we used an event-related potentials (ERP) paradigm to examine the processing of sentences with only in English by native speakers of English and advanced Dutch learners of English. Successful processing of sentences with only requires rapid integration of prosodic information with semantic and syntactic information. We found that L2 listeners showed native-like processing of the acoustics of contrastive pitch accents when adjacent to only. However, they needed more cues than L1 listeners to perform native-like in forming expectations for focus placement. Our results thus provide first ERP-based evidence for difficulty in the integration of information for focus expectation in difficult L2 constructs.

Digital educational game-based apps can be effective in helping young children develop language skills, particularly when paired with formal instruction. However, we need to know more about how educational games benefit learning in the absence of formal instruction, given children’s proficiency with and willingness to use mobile devices anytime, anywhere. This study uses a randomized controlled trial design to investigate the impact of a digital app—ABCmouse English—on L2 learning of seven- and eight-year-old Japanese children over a 16-week period. Pre- and post-assessments of the children’s English proficiency, together with an analysis of when and how they played with the app, were used to shed light on the relationship between the children’s in-app game choices and their language learning outcomes. Surveys and interviews with parents provide qualitative insights and information about the experiences of children and their families while using the app and its impact on their development as language learners.

The development of L2 utterance fluency has been extensively researched, whereas that of cognitive fluency has rarely been examined. This study investigated the longitudinal development of L2 utterance and cognitive fluency and their relationship. Thirty-one Chinese learners of English completed speaking tasks and a set of tasks for cognitive fluency before and after 5 months’ study abroad. The results showed that participants made a significant improvement in mean syllable duration, end-clause pause frequency, and the speed of syntactic encoding and articulation but not in mid-clause pause frequency or lexical retrieval speed. Mixed-effects modeling confirmed a significant relationship between syntactic encoding speed and mean syllable duration and mid-clause pausing. Furthermore, the significant relationships were maintained over time. The findings highlight (a) the differences between mid-clause and end-clause pausing in terms of their developmental patterns and relationship with cognitive fluency and (b) a significant role of syntactic encoding speed in L2 utterance fluency.

The study evaluated whether the direction (inhibitory or facilitative) of the phonological neighborhood density effect in English spoken word recognition was modulated by the relative strength of competitor activation (neighborhood type) in two groups of English-dominant learners of Spanish who differed in language experience. Classroom learners and heritage learners of Spanish identified spoken English words from dense (e.g., BEAR) and sparse (e.g., BOAT) phonological neighborhoods presented in moderate noise. The phonological neighborhood was separately manipulated at word onset (cohort) and word offset (rhyme). Classroom learners were overall slower in recognizing spoken words from denser neighborhoods. Strongly active (onset) neighbors exerted inhibitory effects in both classroom and heritage learners. Critically, weakly active (offset) neighbors exerted inhibitory effects in classroom learners but facilitative effects in heritage learners. The results suggest that the activation of both within and cross-language neighbors should be considered in determining the direction of neighbor effects in bilingual lexical processing.

This study expands on previous research into filler-gap dependency processing in second language (L2) English, by means of a replication of Canales’s (2012) self-paced reading study. Canales, among others, found that advanced L2-English speakers exhibited the same processing behavior that Stowe (1986) found for native English processing: On encountering a filler, they posited gaps in licensed positions and avoided positing gaps in grammatically unlicensed island positions. However, the previous L2 studies focused on advanced-level L2 proficiency and did not test specifically for first language (L1) influence. The present study compares two groups of intermediate-level L2-English speakers with contrasting non-wh-movement L1s, Jordanian Arabic and Mandarin, to investigate the effects of L1 influence and individual differences in proficiency. Our results provide evidence that at intermediate level, too, L2 filler-gap processing adheres to grammatical constraints. L1 did not affect this behavior, but proficiency effects emerged, with larger licensed filled-gap effects at higher proficiency.

A growing body of evidence demonstrates that individual differences in declarative memory may be an important predictor of second language (L2) abilities. However, the evidence comes from studies using different declarative memory tasks that vary in their reliance on verbal abilities and task demands, which preclude estimating the size of the relationship between declarative memory and L2 learning. To address these concerns, we examined the relationship between verbal and nonverbal declarative memory abilities within the same task while controlling for task demands and stimulus modality, to estimate the upper bound of the relationship between verbal and nonverbal declarative memory. Results indicate that when task demands and stimulus modality are controlled, verbal and nonverbal declarative memory abilities shared a medium-to-large amount of underlying variance. However, future studies should exercise caution in appraising associations between declarative memory abilities and L2 learning until a more precise understanding of the underlying mechanisms is achieved.

Researchers in second language (L2) and education domain use different statistical methods to assess their constructs of interest. Many L2 constructs emerge from elements/parts, i.e., the elements define and form the construct and not the other way around. These constructs are referred to as emergent variables (also called components, formative constructs, and composite constructs). Because emergent variables are composed of elements/parts, they should be assessed through confirmatory composite analysis (CCA). Elements of emergent variables represent unique facets of the construct. Thus, such constructs cannot be properly assessed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) because CFA and its underlying common factor model regard these elements to be similar and interchangeable. Conversely, the elements of an emergent variable uniquely define and form the construct, i.e., they are not similar or interchangeable. Thus, CCA is the preferred approach to empirically validate emergent variables such as language skills L2 students’ behavioral engagement and language learning strategies. CCA is based on the composite model, which captures the characteristics of emergent variables more accurately. Aside from the difference in the underlying model, CCA consists of the same steps as CFA, i.e., model specification, model identification, model estimation, and model assessment. In this paper, we explain these steps. and present an illustrative example using publicly available data. In doing so, we show how CCA can be conducted using graphical software packages such as Amos, and we provide the code necessary to conduct CCA in the R package lavaan.