Abstract This cross-sectional study addresses for the first time the non/linear association between individual learner differences of social, proficiency-related, and socioaffective nature (length of residence [LoR], varietal proficiency, exposure, and socioaffect) and differential outcomes in L2 sociolinguistic repertoires against the backdrop of the Austro-Bavarian naturalistic context. Forty adult migrant L2 German learners participated in a virtual reality experiment involving interactions with dialect-speaking and standard German-speaking interlocutors. The goal was to explore differences in participants’ interpersonal varietal behavior, that is, their addressee-relational variable use of standard German, Austro-Bavarian dialect, and mixture varieties. The results of Bayesian multinomial modeling indicated that LoR, dialect exposure, and proficiency, as well as reduced anxiety when speaking dialect, predicted differences in interpersonal varietal behavior. That said, a visual-quantitative analysis revealed critical thresholds concerning when, within these predictors, changes in sociolinguistic behavior manifested, indicating a rapid change in sociolinguistic development at the inter-individual level and ultimately facilitating initial insights as to how advanced one needs to be in order to engage in sociolinguistic variation in the Austro-Bavarian naturalistic context.

Journal Article Public Applied Linguistics in Action: A Conversation Between Emile YX? Jansen and Quentin Williams on Hip Hop Culture & Activism, Afrikaaps, Indigeneity, and Decolonial Futures Get access Emile Jansen, Emile Jansen Heal the Hood Project, Cape Town, South Africa Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Quentin Williams Quentin Williams University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa E-mail:qwilliams@uwc.ac.za Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Applied Linguistics, Volume 44, Issue 3, May 2023, Pages 576–584, https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amad015 Published: 20 April 2023

Abstract Heritage Language Instruction (HLI) is a resource used in many immigration-receiving countries that allows students with an immigrant background to continue to be in contact with their Heritage Language (HL). However, many of the psycholinguistic effects of this instruction are still unknown. This study aims to provide an in-depth view of the effects of HLI on the development of the HL and the languages of the host country. For this purpose, the sample consisted of 108 students (20 HL learners, 88 controls) of Romanian origin who had emigrated to Catalonia. Their language skills in the phonetic, orthographic, morphosyntactic, lexical, and semantic domains were analysed using linear regression statistics and covariance analysis. The results showed that HLI exerted a mitigating effect on HL attrition, as well as a significant improvement of the linguistic competencies in the autochthonous languages. These results indicate that HLI is an effective tool in the psycholinguistic development of immigrant students, capable of facilitating their academic and social performance.

Abstract In this study, we investigated how student engagement and disengagement change over the course of a semester in the L2 classroom. We modeled change at the inter- and intra-individual levels, using time-variant predictors to examine differences in student classroom engagement and disengagement trajectories. In addition to these temporal dynamics, we also examined what motivational antecedents are related to these changes in engagement and disengagement over time. We collected data from 686 students enrolled in general-purpose English courses at two publicly funded universities in mainland China at three waves in a 17-week semester, and tested a series of multi-level, mixed-effects growth models. Our analyses showed that students who reported higher initial classroom engagement or disengagement levels had lower growth rates than their counterparts as the semester proceeded. Students’ classroom engagement in language learning dipped to its lowest point around the middle of the semester and peaked toward the end of the semester. Motivational antecedents were also strong predictors of student engagement and disengagement in the language classroom at both within- and between-person levels. We discuss the implications of these temporal dynamics of learner engagement in the language classroom.

Abstract In the field of educational psychology, self-regulation is part of a well-established research paradigm that has been extensively applied to learning contexts. However, despite proposals highlighting its benefits, some researchers claim that its cross-pollination into applied linguistics has been slow. In their recent Applied Linguistics’ Forum article, Teng and Zhang (2022) discuss some of the reasons why this may be the case. They also further repeated calls for the importance of self-regulated learning in second/foreign language learning and teaching. In this response article, we wish to add to their proposal by focusing on the role that language plays in language learning. Specifically, to maximize the benefits of second/foreign language learning and teaching centered on regulatory training (whether it is self-, co-, or otherwise derived), then alongside the how (learning process), we need to more fully consider the what (aspect of language being learned), and how the two are, in essence, mutually constitutive and reciprocally conditioned. This entails broadening our perspective on self-regulated learning to encompass the multi-functional nature of language use.

Abstract This article investigates the roles of language teachers in a language and integration programme in Denmark. The results show that the teachers’ work goes beyond the role of language teacher per se. The teachers are shown to take on the role of integration workers, who, as part of the integration system, contri­bute to socializing the students into a marginalized position. At the same time, the teachers also use their agency to bend the rules and help their students. While the teachers fulfil the role of mediators who set aside time to help students find their way in the Danish bureaucracy, they also struggle to set boundaries for their students. Finally, the teachers balance the role of cheerleaders who keep the students’ hopes up, with the role of realists who bring a sobering outlook on refugees’ prospects in the labour market. This study contributes to the field of applied linguistics by highlighting the daily positioning work done by teachers in language and integration programmes in a delicate balancing act between marginalizing and empowering students.

Since communicative language tasks appeared on the radar of language instructors and researchers, they have been extensively utilized in second language (L2)/foreign language (FL) classrooms and researched in terms of theory and practice (Long 2014). Despite over fifty years of research, little is known about how tasks are implemented in L2 instruction around the world. Additionally, the literature lacks insight on challenges that language teachers face and best practices they employ when centering their language classes around tasks. Addressing such issues surrounding task-based language teaching (TBLT), the book ‘Using Tasks in Second Language Teaching: Practice in Diverse Contexts’ edited by Craig Lambert and Rhonda Oliver (2020) aims to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge about task-based instruction and its implementation in various educational and geographical contexts. The editors assemble a broad variety of chapters on task-based instruction, a method that has gained worldwide popularity due to the demonstrated benefits of communicative tasks in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). This book is the first attempt to provide coverage of various formats of instruction (e.g. state vs. private schools), levels of instruction (e.g. pre-school, school, university), and modes of instruction (e.g. with and without technology). The authors also pay close attention to the learners’ needs and individual differences such as age, L1, level of proficiency, and socioeconomic status.

Abstract A growing number of studies have explored the ways how teachers contingently respond to students’ unexpected responses or a lack of student responses in second language classrooms. From a sociocultural perspective, teacher contingency involves a departure from the lesson plan in local response to the unexpected or unforeseeable actions in the classroom interactions (van Lier, 2001). This study adopts translanguaging as an analytical perspective in order to examine how a teacher employs various resources to contingently respond to students’ initiatives and reformulate his utterances in order to prompt student participation. The data are based on a larger linguistic ethnographic project in a Hong Kong English-Medium-Instruction secondary history classroom. This paper reconceptualizes the notion of teacher contingency and argues that the process of how the teacher contingently responds to the unexpected outcomes that arise in real-time interactions is a process of translanguaging. Such a process requires the teacher in orchestrating the available linguistic and multimodal resources to construct pedagogical actions on the spot, instead of being planned in advance.

Abstract This qualitative phenomenological study examines a cohort of multilingual employees’ translanguaging practices in business communication at seven multinational corporations in China. It is found that these employees integrate various linguistic features of named languages stored in their linguistic repertoires; they spontaneously prioritize the linguistic features of different named languages in different contexts to achieve effective communication. They value sense-making more than grammatical correctness in communication practices, so they deploy multiple semiotic resources in translanguaging practices. This paper suggests that multilingual employees’ translanguaging literacy should be valued as their linguistic/human capital since it provides them with communication resources in a globalized business context. This paper advances understandings of translanguaging and enriches research practice, broadening the research scope of transnational business communication by expanding translanguaging practices from the bilingual education field to a multilingual, transnational workplace context.