AILA Review - Online First

The study focuses on the language learning experiences of adult migrants from refugee backgrounds with limited educational experiences before migration. This group is often referred to as LESLLA learners; LESLLA is an acronym for Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults. The study used Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) — a data-driven, bottom-up methodology for qualitative research — to gain understanding of the conditions that help or hinder LESLLA learners’ language development and of the strategies they use to enhance learning and to overcome obstacles. The dataset is comprised of thirty interviews with adult refugees from Syria and Eritrea learning Dutch in the Netherlands. The analyses identified self-efficacy, which has been described as ‘the soul of strategies’ (Oxford, 2017), as a core category, differentiating between learners who showed contentment about their language learning achievements and expressed confidence in further learning, and those who expressed little confidence and a sense of failure. Conditions hindering self-efficacy include the cognitive conditions ‘forgetting’ and ‘stress’, and the social condition ‘isolation’. Facilitative conditions in the cognitive realm are ‘motivation’ and ‘language learning strategies’. ‘Social strategies in new social networks’ is the condition that stands out as strongly supportive for self-efficacy. The data showed how LESLLA learners are often not in the position of power to build their networks. This means that social strategies are not an individuals’ asset but rather a condition that is distributed in a social system.

Existing literature shows that discrepancies between the expectations of students and language instructors might discourage high school students from progressing in their language learning at college. This study aims to address such discrepancies by examining students who studied Chinese in high school but were still taking an introductory-level language course at college, with the intention of declaring a minor or major in Chinese Studies at a Midwestern university in the United States. Drawing on the concept of identity and investment, a qualitative research method was employed to address the time- and context-sensitive nature of identity and investment. Data were collected from interviews and reflection journals to reveal their investment in Chinese language learning and how they coalesced their identities as Chinese language learners in high school and college. Findings show that they firmly fought against the stereotypical assumption that taking another introductory-level class at college was for an easy A, as current world language education policy and implementation rendered them voiceless in the top-down implementation process. This present study provides new insights into the connections between investment and articulation in world language education, and invites stakeholders to reevaluate the predominant emphasis placed on language proficiency in foreign language research and education.

This qualitative study explores the experiences of 22 Grade 11 students, aged 17–18, studying science subjects at highly selective English medium instruction (EMI) schools. The study is guided by Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System (namely, the ideal/ought-to L2 self concepts) and Hajar’s (2019) distinction between compulsory and voluntary strategies. Specific focus was paid to the participants’ English learning challenges, language learning strategies (LLSs) and future selves. The data were collected from two rounds of semi-structured individual interviews with 22 participants. The interview data revealed that most students indicated that although it was their parents’ decision to send them to outstanding English-medium schools, they gradually realised that studying at this type of school fostered their identity formation as users of English and helped them visualise their ideal end state. This end state related to professional, intercultural and academic gains. The students reported that they sometimes faced challenges in understanding new terminology in science, along with using English to answer their teachers’ questions. Despite these challenges, the students exercised their agency by valuing studying in a resource-rich EMI environment, using certain effective strategies, and receiving fee-charging private tutoring. This study highlights the importance of understanding language learners’ motivations for attending English private tutoring and how it impacts their LLS use and future vision. Also, it reveals how educational policy and the distribution of language learning resources can affect individuals’ LLS choices and use, and their identity development.

The development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its associated tools has revolutionised the learning and use of foreign languages (L2). One such tool is machine translation (MT), which has become increasingly popular among university students worldwide, spurring research on MT use in L2 writing. However, previous research has primarily focused on the writing products of intermediate or advanced L2 learners, neglecting the writing process with MT of students with limited L2 proficiency. Therefore, this case study aimed to qualitatively explore how the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) A2 university students employ strategies for L2 writing with MT and how their strategies change after strategy instruction. Seven participants completed writing tasks on a PC before, immediately after, and four weeks after three one-hour out-of-class instruction sessions based on the Strategic Content Learning (SCL) approach. Their writing process was screen-recorded, followed by stimulated recall interviews to elicit their strategies, which were coded and categorised using a framework by O’Malley and Chamot (1990). The results showed an increase in students’ elaborate use of strategies after instruction. In particular, strategy clusters were observed for all participants, demonstrating their cognitive engagement in the writing process. Furthermore, first-language (L1)-related strategies were used more frequently post-instruction, indicating learners’ efforts to create translation-friendly L1 input for MT. The findings suggest that teaching MT-use strategies is crucial to fostering learners’ active engagement in the L2 writing process in a technology-enhanced learning environment.

This article reports on a two-phased research study on the promotion of learner autonomy conducted in a teaching college in Madagascar. Phase one aimed to help English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pre-service teachers improve their writing and simultaneously develop their self-regulated learning (SRL) skills through journal writing in a bespoke nine-week reflective writing course. The course was designed with the belief that promoting learner autonomy necessarily involves reflection on the learning process, goals, and outcomes of learning, and that successful SRL results in increased learner autonomy. In addition, teachers who have experienced learner autonomy are more likely to promote it in their teaching. The collected data from the course consisted of the participants’ journal entries related to each writing task and written reflections on the course, which were submitted to thematic analysis. Phase two took place two years after phase one. Data collection for this phase consisted of Google Form questions and email exchanges that were intended to investigate the long-term impact of the reflective writing course on the pre-service teachers’ ways of learning and on their preparation for their teaching practice. To illustrate the impact of the two phases in detail, this article focuses on two case studies. They were chosen because these two participants showed lack of self-confidence and struggles with writing at the beginning of phase one, and yet, were able to develop their SRL skills, in particular, their goal setting and self-evaluation. This paper provides a unique contribution to the field, since not much research has investigated learner autonomy or SRL in education in Madagascar, and few studies have returned to participants after some time to assess long-term impact.

Learning the host country’s language(s) is a necessary step toward social and professional inclusion for migrants. However, it is often regarded as a challenging task that depends heavily on the sociocultural context in which migrants are situated. This study explores the Norwegian language learning strategies of highly educated Indonesians outside the classroom, particularly in the workplace, in Norway. Following the social turn in second language learning research, the study aims to investigate how social context influences migrants’ strategies for learning Norwegian. The data were collected through a combination of qualitative methods consisting of sequential in-depth interviews, language diaries, and focus group discussions with four focal participants, including both recently arrived and long-term migrants. Based on Darvin and Norton’s (2015) investment model, participants’ narratives of their reported language learning strategies are analyzed in relation to language ideology, identity, and capital in their language learning experiences. The findings from this study suggest that migrant learners’ ideal learning strategies are influenced by their language ideologies. However, different contextual factors, such as work tasks and roles, have a considerable impact on their learning opportunities, and consequently, on why and how they end up using certain learning strategies but not others. Migrants’ professional identities also play an important role in their strategy choice and use. By analyzing migrant learners’ narratives, this study provides a nuanced and learner-centered understanding of language learning strategies in the context of migration in the globalized world. This study also contributes new insights into the use of learning strategies of languages other than English by adult migrant learners inside and beyond the classroom.

This study investigates the perceived effect of friendship on the difficulty arising from the fear of negative evaluation experienced by Japanese university students when engaging in pair work and speaking English. Furthermore, this study aims to determine the perceived effectiveness and opinions towards friendship-building activities in an L2 English classroom. The investigations administer a questionnaire to students after 14 weeks of friendship-building activities that include icebreakers, games, and randomly assigned seating. Students report their perceived level of difficulty when engaging in pair work and speaking English with friends and non-friends. Additionally, students report on their perceived effectiveness and opinions towards friendship-building activities. The investigations find that learners associate less difficulty with pair work and speaking English among friends. Moreover, the results indicate that learners perceive friendships as a mitigator of the fear of negative evaluation and its effects. The results also suggest that friendship-building activities facilitate the creation of friendships and are perceived as necessary and positive by learners. The study promotes the use of friendship-building in the classroom, particularly for learners with sociocultural backgrounds that are more prone to experiencing the fear of negative evaluation.

Over the past two decades, translanguaging has become a powerful concept in applied linguistics, enabling teachers and students to respond to linguistic and cultural diversity in the classroom. However, how teachers and students prepare for translanguaging pedagogy and practice in writing has so far received less attention (Huang & Chalmers, 2023). Therefore, this systematic review focuses on the application of translanguaging strategies in the English as a Foreign/Second Language (EFL/ESL) writing classroom. Following the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews, this study searched five databases to obtain articles spanning from 2013 to 2023. We reviewed 23 articles focusing on translanguaging, writing and higher education. Our results show that (1) most studies were conducted in North America and Northern Asia, with qualitative studies being predominant; (2) most researchers implemented translanguaging interventions in the EFL/ESL classroom to study the impact of translanguaging on students’ English writing skills; (3) students applied translanguaging strategies during the writing process to communicate with others on content and vocabulary; (4) translanguaging strategies provided teachers with diverse perspectives and enhanced students’ various skills; (5) the use of digital resources and different types of activities contributed to the application of translanguaging in the writing classroom, but students’ limited language skills in their L2 but also in their L1, and their uncertainty about their linguistic identity limited implementation of translanguaging in the English writing classroom. This systematic review points towards the need for educators to consider the various factors, functions and applications of the use of translanguaging strategies in English writing classrooms.

The study aims to conduct a thorough examination of the semantic space of a literary text, taking into account the preservation and stylistic alteration of both the explicit and implicit meanings of the work during the translation process. The study is grounded in a methodological approach that combines theoretical, conceptual, and comparative methods, along with elements of lexical semantics, to analyse a literary work. This study focused on examining how extralinguistic reality is reflected in verbal expressions, both explicitly and implicitly. The research also involved a detailed analysis of the semantic space, taking into account its conceptual layers, translation strategies, and methods (such as transliteration and the use of descriptive constructions). Furthermore, the study examined the semantic and stylistic transformations of these concepts and reflected on the parameters that shape the semantic structure of a literary text. The study’s materials can be utilised to examine the techniques and approaches involved in constructing the conceptual framework of a translated text. This is achieved through the use of explicit and implicit lexico-semantic tools such as metaphorics, symbolism, subtext, folklore, and historical allusions.

In developing English as a Lingua Franca, educators and researchers must employ new methods in language acquisition to make the learners internationally intelligible and comprehensible. This study aimed to determine the implication of infinite access to Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)-based language-learning program promoting pronunciation skills acquisition of vocational higher education students. In this study, the students learned English as Lingua Franca (ELF) through a collaborative approach. It applied a qualitative approach with 67 first-year university students from three intact classes as participants. One class of 24 students was assigned as the first group utilising the ASR BoldVoice as the additional learning materials in their speaking class. In contrast, the other two classes of 43 students were set as the second and third groups carrying out conventional learning procedures. The development of participants’ utterances was analysed in terms of fluency, completeness, and accuracy at pre- and post-test. In order to support the obtained data, a semi-structured interview was performed right after the post-test. The result showed that the pronunciation skill of the experimental group was significantly improved in particular phones of pronunciation: /ch/, /th/, /sh/, and /j/. The analysis of the interview data confirmed that the students gained substantial improvement with regard to their pronunciation and communicative competence compared to the conventional learning process.