Australian Review of Applied Linguistics - Volume 48, Issue 3, 2025

Abstract

This study explores the role of parental ideologies in heritage language (HL) maintenance among three interlingual families in New Zealand. This study draws on data from semi-structured interviews with Korean immigrant mothers and non-Korean fathers. A thematic approach was used to analyze the data. The findings in this study revealed that the three families placed great value in Korean HL maintenance. All three family language policies (FLPs) centered around a “One Person, One Language” approach, with the mothers using Korean. However, there were still wide-ranging variations in their FLPs. Moreover, the mothers’ attitudes toward HL learning were related to their perceptions of their children’s identities, which affected their HL-teaching strategies. The mothers’ HL maintenance efforts were possible because of their partners’ support. However, their husbands’ positive attitudes were also clearly associated with heteronormative gender roles and a related ideology of parenting. The findings suggest that even in positive FLP contexts, there is thus still a role for a more holistic and critical approach to HL maintenance.

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study investigated the efficacy of two distinct approaches for vocabulary learning, namely vocabulary notebooks and word lists, specifically in the context of learning medical terms. Sixty first-year undergraduate EFL students enrolled in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) medical course were recruited and divided equally into three groups: one group received guidance on using and maintaining vocabulary notebooks to learn 50 target terms, one group was instructed in the use of word lists to study the same 50 target words, and the control group did not undergo any intervention. The results indicate that both treatment approaches yielded significant advancements in vocabulary learning from pretests to posttests. However, the vocabulary notebook group demonstrated significantly superior performance in long-term effectiveness compared with the word list group. The findings imply that both approaches should be incorporated in a medical ESP curriculum.

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study investigated the impacts of two instructional conditions on the fluency of learners’ performance. In the first condition (strategy training), learners were provided with explicit fluency strategy training for a portion of each lesson before rehearsing versions of the speaking task for the remainder of the lesson. In the second condition (massed practice), learners rehearsed the versions of the target speaking task for the entire lesson. Both instructional conditions allowed learners to benefit from language input and task repetition to help conceptualize and encode the content of their speech. Two intact classes of university EFL learners participated in this study. The data were audio recordings of participants’ oral performance of news report presentations in pre-test and post-test conditions. This data was transcribed and coded for speech rate, articulation rate, phonation/time ratio, number of filled and unfilled pauses, mean duration of pauses, mean length of run, verbatim repetition, and repairs. Although the overall effect of the training was found to be insignificant, the estimation analysis revealed that both instructional conditions improve participants’ speech fluency, with the effect sizes ranging from small to medium. These effect sizes are considered meaningful for the speech fluency development of EFL learners in the study context. Hence, both instructional conditions could be applied as a potentially complementary pedagogical strategy in EFL classrooms at the university level, particularly with regard to increasing the accuracy of teachers’ perceptions of learners’ oral proficiency.

Abstract

Although Reading-Writing Integrated Tasks (RWITs) are known to be effective for vocabulary learning, few studies have explored learners’ cognitive behaviors in processing new words during RWITs. Using a mixed-methods design, this study examined both the learning outcomes and cognitive processes of vocabulary acquisition through the Story Continuation Writing Task (SCWT), an emerging RWIT in EFL contexts. Forty-one Chinese EFL students were divided into two groups: one created an ending to an English story (SCWT), and the other summarized its main ideas (control). Results showed that (1) the SCWT group outperformed the control group in retaining word knowledge related to meaning and use, though no significant difference was found in form knowledge gains; and (2) SCWT participants engaged in more frequent and deeper vocabulary processing, including checking glossaries, preparing words for writing, engaging deeply with the text, activating personal experiences, and meticulously revising their work. These findings enhance our understanding of RWITs and inform the use of SCWTs for vocabulary instruction in EFL contexts.

This article reviews Introducing Pragmatics: A Clinical Approach