This study examined the interaction of different types of crosslinguistic cues in second language (L2) morphosyntactic processing. Our target constructions, Korean morphological causatives, contain morphosyntactic constraints that present interlingual overlap for Japanese speakers when the construction is derived from an intransitive verb, while constituting interlingual contrast when derived from a transitive verb. For Chinese speakers, these constraints only exist in the L2 and thus constitute L2-unique information. In two self-paced reading experiments involving proficiency-matched Japanese- and Chinese-speaking learners of Korean, we found that Japanese speakers successfully detected morphosyntactic errors only in the intransitive-based construction, which shares overlapping constraints with Japanese, but not in the transitive-based construction whose morphosyntactic constraints contrast with the Japanese counterparts. In contrast, Chinese speakers exhibited sensitivity to the violations in both intransitive- and transitive-based constructions. These findings suggest that crosslinguistic competition causes a major problem in L2 sentence processing.

The love factor in the field of second language acquisition has gained considerable traction since the turn of the century. This article is the first to take a variationist perspective to investigate how multilingual coupledom affects sociolinguistic development in the second language (L2). Participants were 76 users of L2 German living in Austria, all of whom were in a romantic relationship with an Austrian partner. We analyzed the effects of multilingual coupledom on self-reported changes in learners’ use of, attitudes toward, and proficiency in standard German, the Austrian dialect variety, and first language(s), and whether (psycho-)social variables moderate this relationship. Individual differences in psychological and social variables (e.g., adaptability, Open-mindedness, length of residence, orientation toward the Austrian dialect) predicted reported changes in the sociolinguistic repertoire. Qualitative analysis revealed a blended operation of socioaffective and exposure-related factors, which helped explain why, how, and for whom multilingual coupledom affects (socio-)linguistic development.

The present article provides a diachronic analysis of the negation and contraction patterns of will and would in British and American English. It contrasts nineteenth- and twentieth-century data from British and American fiction, comparing the collocational preferences of negated versus non-negated and contracted versus non-contracted modals. Utilising Configural Frequency Analysis, we explore frequency differences as well as variety-specific association patterns. Results reveal predominantly commonalities. The spread of the modal contractions ’ll and ’d as well as the spread of the contracted negator n’t proceeded at similar speeds in both varieties. The analysis at the level of cotextual configurations shows the emergence of several emancipated subschemas that are each differentially entrenched and conventionalised.

How do sensory experiences shape the words we learn first? Most studies of language have focused on hearing children learning spoken languages, making it challenging to know how sound and language modality might contribute to language learning. This study investigates how perceptual and semantic features influence early vocabulary acquisition in deaf children learning American Sign Language and hearing children learning spoken English. Using vocabulary data from parent-report inventories, we analyzed 214 nouns common to both languages to compare the types of meanings associated with earlier Age of Acquisition. Results revealed that while children in both groups were earlier to acquire words that were more strongly related to the senses, the specific types of sensory meaning varied by language modality. Hearing children learned words with sound-related features earlier than other words, while deaf children learned words with visual and touch-related features earlier. This suggests that the easiest words to learn are words with meanings that children can experience first-hand, which varies based on children’s own sensory access and experience. Studying the diverse ways children acquire language, in this case deaf children, is key to developing language learning theories that reflect all learners.

Speakers adapt their syntactic preferences based on syntactic experience. However, it is not clear what cognitive mechanism underlies such adaptation. While error-based mechanisms suggest that syntactic adaptation depends only on the relative frequency of syntactic structures, memory-based mechanisms suggest that both frequency and recency of syntactic structures matter in syntactic adaptation. To distinguish between these two mechanisms, I manipulated the order of passive and active primes in two syntactic priming experiments, presenting passive primes either before active primes (active-recent condition) or after them (passive-recent condition), while controlling for frequency. The results showed that the magnitude of priming was numerically greater in the passive-recent condition than in the active-recent condition in Experiment 1, and significantly greater in Experiment 2. These results provide novel evidence that syntactic adaptation involves a memory-based mechanism.

This study investigated an 18‑week teacher education model grounded in technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Known as CATERR (comprehending, analyzing, teaching, evaluating, reflecting, and refining), this teacher education model cultivated the computer-assisted language learning (CALL) competencies of 43 content and language integrated learning (CLIL) preservice teachers (PSTs) from Taiwan. The model promotes peer coaching, where participants collaborate, reflect, and refine their teaching over three rounds. The study utilized a multi-method case study and triangulated the quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data refers to the TPACK-CLIL questionnaire administered before and after the teacher education model. Qualitative data included lesson plans, self-analysis, teaching demonstration videos, revised lesson plans, classroom discussion records, peer evaluations, and reflection notes. Data analysis involved paired-samples t-tests and descriptive statistics for the coding framework, thematic analysis for qualitative data, and a repeated measures ANOVA to compare three total scores across three rounds using scoring rubrics. Results showed that the CATERR teacher education model enhanced CLIL PSTs’ self-perceived and observed CALL competencies. Specifically, as “digital native” PSTs with high levels of technological knowledge (TK), they successfully transferred their TK into TPACK by adding pedagogical values and contextualizing the ICT tools in their CLIL lessons. Meanwhile, their ability to use ICT tools to facilitate interaction and students’ autonomous learning substantially improved. The theoretical and pedagogical implications for CALL teacher education research and practice are discussed.

This study examines how English is semiotically represented in video games, an under–explored but promising virtualscape. Drawing on the concept of semiotic landscape, this study critically explores how English and other semiotic resources work together to create social meanings and what are the ideological forces governing the process of semiotic appropriation. Data were collected from the in–game English representation and other semiotic resources from two female–oriented Chinese video games. It is found that English embodies cosmopolitan and poetic dispositions in the romanticized virtual space. Such dispositions are made relevant to the globally consuming elite class who are assumed not only to have access to the world consumption opportunities but also to show literary appreciation with a sense of distinction. The paper highlights the implications of these findings for understanding romance–mediated English as classed and gendered ideologies in the context of the increasing popularity of female–oriented game sphere.

This paper introduces the Chinese Learner English Corpus (CLEC), comprising argumentative texts written by Chinese lower and upper secondary school students. CLEC expands learner corpus research by including texts from intermediate-level learners and rich metadata on their backgrounds, including engagement with self-initiated, so-called Extramural English (EE) activities outside the classroom. To illustrate potential uses, two case studies are presented. The first uses a keyword analysis to reveal thematic and stylistic differences between CLEC and its Swedish counterpart, SLEC, highlighting linguistic priorities related to distinct learning contexts. The second investigates lexical bundles associated with gaming, demonstrating how EE engagement might influence learners’ use of multiword units. Freely available online, CLEC facilitates contrastive interlanguage analysis and supports further research into L2 learning and use, particularly regarding the role of language exposure. The corpus is also a valuable resource for teacher trainees aiming to deepen their understanding of SLA processes.