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Australian Review of Applied Linguistics - Online First
Online First articles are the published Version of Record, made available as soon as they are finalized and formatted. They are in general accessible to current subscribers, until they have been included in an issue, which is accessible to subscribers to the relevant volume
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A study on the developmental features and stance construction of shell nouns by Chinese EFL learners
Author(s): Yinxia Wei, Xiaorui Liang and Yingying LiuAvailable online: 02 June 2025More LessAbstractThe unique semantic characteristics of shell nouns (SNs) endow them with a rich interpersonal function in academic discourse. However, little attention has been paid to the developing features of SNs and their lexico-grammatical patterns in Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. This study bridges these gaps by tracking the progression of 15 English postgraduate students in terms of their use of SNs in academic writing across three stages. Key findings reveal: (1) objective SNs remained the prevailing choice, but significant longitudinal increase was only observed in the use of ‘meta-text’ SNs; (2) stance expressions involved fewer object nouns, which highlighted the interactive and evaluative feature of academic papers; (3) the use of anaphoric shell-noun patterns increased, reflecting an emphasized author-centric stance formation; (4) learners had a preference for the use of objective premodifiers, revealing a divergent trend from SNs. Moreover, the study exposed features in learners’ stance construction, characterized by simplicity in use, limited interactivity, and imbalance in development.
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Development of word lists for agriculture and forestry students
Author(s): Chutima Bunparit and Pong-ampai KongcharoenAvailable online: 02 June 2025More LessAbstractIt is undeniable that vocabulary plays a vital role in second-language learning since it facilitates comprehension and production of the target language. Similarly, students in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classes are required to know both academic and field-specific vocabulary to master academic competence in their disciplines. In this corpus-based research, three field-specific word lists were developed from 1,569 academic research articles in the areas of agriculture and forestry, including the Agriculture Word List (AGWL), the Forestry Word List (FRWL), and the Agriculture-Forestry Word List (AFWL). The corpora in this research comprised 6,785,011 running words for the agriculture corpus, 2,402,045 running words for the forestry corpus, and 9,187,056 running words for the agriculture-forestry corpus. To analyze the data, the Key BNC Program and the AntWordProfiler Program were used to develop the three word lists. After 2,000 word families in the General Service List (GSL) and 570 word families in the Academic Word List (AWL) were eliminated, there were 1,149 word families for the Agriculture Word List, 348 word families for the Forestry Word List, and 1,726 word families for the Agriculture-Forestry Word List, with the word lists accounting for 9.10%, 6.63%, and 10.42% of the three corpora, respectively. These word lists can familiarize agriculture and forestry students with the academic words in their disciplines. They could also be beneficial for teachers and material designers to prepare instructional activities and develop useful educational materials as well as vocabulary tests for ESP classrooms.
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Unraveling willingness to communicate in Chinese as a second language : The role of L2 grit, growth mindset, and foreign language enjoyment
Author(s): Yu LiAvailable online: 02 June 2025More LessAbstractDrawing on the tenets of positive psychology, this study delves into the intricate interplay between three pivotal character strengths: second language grit (L2 grit), foreign language enjoyment, and growth language mindset, and their subsequent influence on willingness to communicate in Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners. By administering a survey to 202 CSL learners and employing structural equation modeling, the findings indicate that (1) perseverance of effort, a sub-component of L2 grit, significantly and positively predicts both growth mindset and foreign language enjoyment; (2) perseverance of effort and foreign language enjoyment are direct predictors of willingness to communicate; (3) perseverance of effort positively influences willingness to communicate through the sequential mediation of growth mindset and foreign language enjoyment; and (4) consistency of interest, another sub-component of L2 grit, does not exhibit predictive power over growth mindset, foreign language enjoyment, or willingness to communicate, further underscoring the unique effects of perseverance of effort in this context. Essentially, this study emphasizes the pivotal role of perseverance of effort, alongside foreign language enjoyment and growth mindset, in driving engaged and supportive communication in CSL learners. The findings provide educators and researchers with valuable insights for refining language learning experiences and outcomes through the application of positive psychology principles.
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Towards a playworld translanguaging approach in early childhood education
Author(s): Grace Oakley, Carly Steele, Christine Robinson, Toni Dobinson, Sender Dovchin and Wendy Cumming-PotvinAvailable online: 02 June 2025More LessAbstractIn this conceptual paper, we integrate interdisciplinary perspectives from early childhood education and applied linguistics to propose a new framework: Playworld Translanguaging. This framework refers to the intentional blending of pedagogical translanguaging and conceptual playworlds to create a supportive, inclusive pedagogy in early childhood education settings for children from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
We argue that pedagogical translanguaging and conceptual playworlds share complementary features and philosophical foundations that can enhance language and literacy development, conceptual understanding, problem-solving skills, identity formation, personal agency, and overall wellbeing in young children. As both approaches are rights-based, inclusive, and responsive, their combination has the potential to effectively address the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse children.
While extensive research has shown the benefits of pedagogical translanguaging and conceptual playworlds independently, there is limited theorising and research on how combining these approaches might further improve outcomes in early childhood education. This paper thus aims to bridge that gap by introducing Playworld Translanguaging as a promising, unified approach.
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Review of Smith & Giesler (2023): Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching: Historical Perspectives
Author(s): Ella Maksakova and Erzsébet Ágnes BékésAvailable online: 02 June 2025More Less
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Representation of the Spanish language in the virtual linguistic landscape of university websites in Australia
Author(s): Luis Torres-Vásquez and Rodrigo ArellanoAvailable online: 20 March 2025More LessAbstractAlthough it can be argued that the language of the internet is English, the portrayal of other languages in virtual academic settings such as university websites may face constraints related to institutional and monolingual policies. Thus, this research adopts a linguistic landscape perspective to explore the representation of the Spanish language and culture in Australian university websites. In particular, it focuses on how Spanish language/studies programs or courses are portrayed and what meanings are conveyed in the virtual linguistic landscape of four Sydney universities. This paper applies a social-semiotic, multimodal analysis to explore the hierarchical organization of information on universities’ websites and webpages and the meanings conveyed by the designers in relation to the semiotic resources selected to promote Spanish language/studies programs or courses. The study concludes that only two of the studied webpages attempt to portray Spanish language/studies programs or courses fully multimodally, one uses text and video, and the last relies solely on written text to convey meanings. These choices may have ideological implications because these institutions fail in their attempt to represent Spanish as a pluricentric language. Additionally, these programs/courses are disadvantageously positioned in the hierarchical organization of information on the four analyzed websites, which makes it harder for potential students to find relevant content about these programs/courses.
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The case of Sydney universities : Embracing multilingualism or preserving English-only practices in the Australian context?
Author(s): Rodrigo Arellano and Luis Torres-VásquezAvailable online: 20 March 2025More LessAbstractWithin the study of multilingualism, research using the lens of “linguistic landscapes” (LL) has caught the attention of sociolinguists by describing the make-up of urban centers and shedding light on issues of social justice and linguistic harmony. The current study aimed to determine if the language used in the public domain in the university context endorses a monolingual mindset, or whether it promotes multilingual ideologies. To accomplish this goal, photographic data was collected by exploring the physical campuses of two Australian universities in Sydney. By using discursive analysis in the context of LL methodologies, the following categories emerged from the data: (1) omnipresence of monolingual signage, (2) relatively high frequency of Asian languages and Arabic, (3) Westernization and/or commodification of Indigenous languages, (4) symbolic use of university space, (5) differences between top-down and bottom-up messages, and (6) display of information about health issues. These findings suggest the pervasiveness of a monolingual mindset in university campuses in Sydney, despite nascent attempts to incorporate messages in languages other than English in the public domain.
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Who says men can never change? : A corpus-based study of recent changes in the use of the Chinese plural suffix men
Author(s): Angela Cook and Dongchen YaoAvailable online: 18 March 2025More LessAbstractLanguage change in Modern Standard Chinese has been an area of research interest for several decades. However, the field continues to be characterized by a focus on written Chinese, with a lack of systematic, fine-grained analyses of specific morphosyntactic features in spoken Mandarin and a dearth of diachronic spoken data. This paper aims to address these shortcomings by examining recent developments in the use of the plural marker men based on an analysis of its use in a diachronic corpus of spoken Mandarin spanning 2005 to 2020. The study reveals several indications of language change, including an increase in the overall frequency of use, a shift in the semantic distribution of nouns undergoing pluralization, and a weakening of the correlation with definite reference. Incipient changes in the use of the plural marker men in spoken Mandarin suggest a trend in morphological patterns of behavior in some contexts towards those of plural suffixes in languages with obligatory grammatical marking for number. The pedagogical implications of this research are also discussed.
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The predictive power of intercultural sensitivity on preservice EFL teachers’ plurilingual and pluricultural competence
Author(s): Ömer ErenAvailable online: 25 February 2025More LessAbstractMultilingualism is becoming more ubiquitous and studies on this nexus have proliferated, with a focus on plurilingual individuals’ behaviors within their contexts of interaction. However, there is a paucity of research regarding the effects of the intrinsic relationship between affective dimensions of culture and multilingualism. To address this research gap, the current study investigated the predictive power of intercultural sensitivity on preservice EFL teachers’ (n = 241) plurilingual and pluricultural competence through quantitative and qualitative analyses. Several regression analyses revealed that dimensions of intercultural sensitivity significantly predicted the variance in plurilingual and pluricultural competence with medium explanatory power. Multivariate analyses examined the contributions of demographic variables (gender, bilingualism vs. multilingualism, hometown, the sojourn experience) to the overall model, and findings indicated that the sojourn experience contributed to higher plurilingual competence as well as higher self-confidence. Plurilingual individuals seem to have higher pluricultural competence and are more attentive compared to bilinguals. However, gender and hometown did not reveal a significant relationship. Participants’ reflections reiterated the findings through three main constructs: (1) Collectivist Pluricultural Identity, (2) Emotions and Multilingual Awareness, and (3) Unitary Translanguaging Practices.
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Review of Durbidge (2024): Language Learning, Digital Communications and Study Abroad — Identity and Belonging in Translocal Contexts
Author(s): Todd J. AllenAvailable online: 25 February 2025More Less
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Chunk reading strategy training improves multiword processing by Japanese English learners
Author(s): Takumi Kosaka and Helen ZhaoAvailable online: 24 February 2025More LessAbstractThe Chunk-and-Pass model suggests that language acquisition involves learning to appropriately chunk language input into multiword sequences and to form more abstract linguistic representations. While the theoretical model has gained widespread attention in the language sciences, there are limited studies that adopt this model, particularly in the context of second language (L2) learning and teaching research. This study examines the effects of Chunk Reading Strategy Training (CRST), which was developed based on the model, on multiword processing in low-proficiency Japanese learners of English. A treatment group received CRST, while a control group underwent standard block-format reading training. A phrasal decision test assessed online multiword processing at pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest stages. The results indicated improvement in response times post-intervention for the treatment group, and only in the delayed posttest for the control group. This study, therefore, discusses the theoretical implications and limitations of CRST.
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Exploring L1/L2 and time impact on linguistic complexity of Laozi translations
Author(s): Joyce Oiwun CheungAvailable online: 30 January 2025More LessAbstractResearch shows that language complexity is a crucial measure of proficiency and that academic and scientific writing has evolved over time. However, linguistic complexity may differ between first (L1) and second (L2) language translations, and its development over time remains unexplored. This study examines how the translator’s native language and the time of translation affect the complexity of Laozi translations. Using a corpus of 79 translations, we analyzed syntactic and lexical complexity to compare L1 and L2 English speakers’ translations across three distinct periods. Contrary to expectations, our results reveal no significant complexity differences between L1 and L2 translators, suggesting that native language proficiency does not necessarily influence translation complexity. However, significant variations were found across different historical periods, indicating changes in translation styles over time. These findings show that time influences translation complexity more than the translator’s native language.
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Exploring Chinese heritage language (CHL) retention in New Zealand Chinese immigrant families : The relationship between family language policy and children’s CHL proficiency
Author(s): Di JiAvailable online: 30 January 2025More LessAbstractNew Zealand is a multicultural and multilingual country, with Chinese being the largest ethnic group after New Zealand Europeans and Māori. However, the retention of Chinese heritage language (CHL) in New Zealand has not been extensively researched, and there is a lack of understanding of intergenerational CHL transmission in this context. Through a quantitative approach involving 114 Chinese immigrant families in New Zealand, the research investigates how three components of family language policy (FLP) — family language beliefs, language practices, and language management — interrelate with each other and influence children’s CHL development. The results indicate an intricate relationship between FLP and children’s CHL proficiency. Specifically, children’s Chinese language practice is a significant driver in enhancing their communicative proficiency, while effective language management is a crucial driver in improving Chinese literacy.
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Parental ideologies in heritage language maintenance : The case of Korean interlingual families in New Zealand
Author(s): Mi Yung Park and Min Jung JeeAvailable online: 17 December 2024More LessAbstractThis 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.
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The impact of explicit and implicit instruction on EFL learners’ oral performance
Author(s): Dony MarzukiAvailable online: 26 November 2024More LessAbstractThis 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.
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Exploring EFL vocabulary learning through the story continuation writing task : A mixed-methods study
Author(s): Mengwei Tu, Qing Ma and Lin JiangAvailable online: 26 November 2024More LessAbstractAlthough 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.
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Learning medical terminology in an ESP medical course : Vocabulary notebooks versus word lists
Author(s): Zainab M. GaffasAvailable online: 26 November 2024More LessAbstractThis 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.
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Review of Dimova, Kling & Margić (2023): EMI Classroom Communication A Corpus-Based Approach
Author(s): Esra Yatağanbaba and Erdem AkbaşAvailable online: 18 October 2024More Less
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Review of Cummings (2023): Introducing Pragmatics: A Clinical Approach
Author(s): Jiegen ZhangAvailable online: 27 August 2024More Less
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The focus group interview
Author(s): Debbie G.E. Ho
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The changing face of motivation
Author(s): Elizabeth Campbell and Neomy Storch
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