The bilingual advantage hypothesis, which associates bilingualism with benefits in executive functioning (EF), has been challenged by studies demonstrating inconsistent results. Considering explicit calls to revise the hypothesis, research has turned toward understanding which specific bilingualism-related aspects might impact bilinguals’ EF. Notably, patterns of everyday language use, referred to as interactional contexts in the adaptive control hypothesis (ACH), have emerged as a prominent factor modulating the association between bilingualism and EF. This scoping review synthesizes findings from 49 studies investigating interactional contexts and bilinguals’ EF. The results indicate that the current literature is highly heterogeneous regarding the operationalization, measurement, experimental manipulations of interactional contexts, the EF tasks employed and sample characteristics. This variability limits definitive conclusions about the adaptation of bilinguals’ EF to the demands of interactional contexts. More studies with comparable research designs and clearer predictions on the associations between EF domains and bilinguals’ language-use patterns are needed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of acoustic filtering and modality on speech-in-noise recognition for Spanish-English late bilinguals (who were exposed to English after their 5th birthday) and English monolinguals. All speech perception testing was conducted in English. Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) were estimated at 50% recognition accuracy in an open-set sentence recognition task in the presence of speech-shaped noise (SSN) in both low-pass and no-filter conditions. Consonant recognition was assessed in a closed-set identification task in SSN in four conditions: low-pass and no-filter stimuli presented in auditory-only (AO) and audiovisual (AV) modalities. Results indicated that monolinguals outperformed late bilinguals in all conditions. Late bilinguals and monolinguals were similarly impacted by acoustic filtering. Some data indicated that monolinguals may be more adept at integrating auditory and visual cues than late bilinguals. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Changes in the characterization of communicative competence, especially in the context of large-scale testing, are typically driven by an evolving understanding of real-world communication and advancements in test construct theories. Recent advances in AI technology have fundamentally altered the way language users communicate and interact, prompting a reassessment of how communicative competence is defined and how language tests are constructed.

In response to these significant changes, an AI-mediated interactionalist approach is proposed to expand communicative competence. This approach advocates for extending the traditional concept of communicative competence to encompass AI digital literacy skills and broadened cognitive and linguistic capabilities. These skills enable effective AI tool usage, as well as the interpretation and application of AI-generated outputs and feedback, to improve communication. Embedding these competencies into language assessments ensures alignment with contemporary communication dynamics, enhancing the relevance of language assessments, and preparing learners for navigating AI-augmented communication environments.

While high-stakes testing faces considerable challenges in adopting this expanded construct, low-stakes formative assessments, where scores do not influence critical decisions about individuals and where opportunities exist to rectify errors in score-based actions, if any, provide a fertile ground for exploring the integration of AI tools into assessments. In these contexts, educators can explore giving learners access to various AI tools, such as editing and generative tools, to enhance assessment practices. These explorations can start to address some of the conceptual challenges involved in applying this expanded construct definition in high-stakes environments and contribute to resolving practical issues.

Human language is increasingly written rather than just spoken, primarily due to the proliferation of digital technology in modern life. This trend has enabled the creation of generative artificial intelligence (AI) trained on corpora containing trillions of words extracted from text on the internet. However, current language theory inadequately addresses digital text communication’s unique characteristics and constraints. This paper systematically analyzes and synthesizes existing literature to map the theoretical landscape of digitized language. The evidence demonstrates that, parallel to spoken language, features of written communication are frequently correlated with the socially constructed demographic identities of writers, a phenomenon we refer to as “digital accents.” This conceptualization raises complex ontological questions about the nature of digital text and its relationship to social identity. The same line of questioning, in conjunction with recent research, shows how generative AI systematically fails to capture the breadth of expression observed in human writing, an outcome we call “homogeneity-by-design.” By approaching text-based language from this theoretical framework while acknowledging its inherent limitations, social scientists studying language can strengthen their critical analysis of AI systems and contribute meaningful insights to their development and improvement.

Over the past two decades, English has become a key medium of instruction in higher education in non-native English contexts, especially Asian countries. Extant research highlights the rapid expansion of English-medium instruction (EMI) and challenges in policy implementation, revealing tensions between different language policy levels (i.e., macro, meso and micro). Thus, a multilevel analysis is needed to understand these tensions. This review examines factors influencing EMI adoption in China, Japan, Malaysia, and Nepal, focusing on policy implementation by educators and students. Findings show that EMI adoption is driven by English's role as a global lingua franca and the permeation of neoliberal ideologies at the macro policymaking level. Such a macro-level endorsement of monolingual EMI has resulted in micro-level inequalities for students, with resistance manifested through multilingual practices, such as translanguaging, in the classroom. The discrepancies between language policies and practices highlight the necessity of reassessing the adequacy of monolingual EMI policies and the importance of adopting a multilingual policy framework. The article concludes with a critical discussion of the trends observed in these contexts and recommends several policy directions for the future.