This study examines how audiences and creators co-produce value in YouTube English-learning communities. Drawing on Bourdieu's capitals and the linguistic marketplace, and Bakhtin's dialogism, engagement metrics are analysed alongside audience sentiment for three online language influencers on YouTube. The cases illustrate how YouTube can operate as a participatory linguistic marketplace in which prestige, authority, and legitimacy are continually negotiated through audience uptake and platform-visible metrics. Combining metrics with qualitative analysis of comment discourse traces how symbolic value is created, recognised, and positioned as potentially convertible into economic gain. Audiences were not passive but active co-constructors of linguistic value. They reinforced dominant hierarchies via praise for nativeness, authority, and prescriptive norms, yet also challenged them through multilingual comparisons, peer correction, and solidarity around 'common mistakes'. Pronunciation content attracts the largest reach, while smaller channels often achieved denser interaction, signalling concentrated recognition. These dynamics illuminate capital conversion pathways and underscore audiences' central role in shaping legitimacy in digital English language teaching today.
Vocabulary plays a central role in second and foreign language learning, yet relatively little is known about how mainstream textbooks address the full spectrum of lexical knowledge, including both single-word knowledge aspects and the formulaic dimension. This study investigates the extent to which the English (L2) and French (FL) textbooks used in Dutch secondary education provide systematic coverage of these domains across proficiency levels. Drawing on Nation's framework for single-word knowledge and a complementary taxonomy of formulaic sequences, 5,963 activities from 20 textbooks were coded and analysed. The findings reveal a clear single-word bias: 71.7% of vocabulary-focused activities in the English textbooks and 96.1% in the French textbooks target single lexical items. Across both languages, only a narrow subset of the nine aspects of word knowledge - primarily form-meaning connections and grammatical functions - receives systematic attention. Formulaic vocabulary receives far less attention (28.6% in the English textbooks and 4% in the French textbooks), with lexical bundles accounting for the majority of formulaic activities. Overall, the textbooks examined remain oriented toward isolated words, perpetuating a narrow conceptualisation of vocabulary and limiting opportunities for deeper lexical development and phraseological competence. These findings carry important implications for materials design and classroom practice.
Grounded in interactive models of second language (L2) listening, schema theory, sociocultural accounts of mediation, and control-value frameworks of achievement emotions, this study examines a theory-informed AI-supported approach to listening instruction. In a Saudi university English as a foreign-language (EFL) programme, 66 first-year learners in two intact sections participated in a quasi-experiment. Both groups followed the same syllabus, audio texts, and instructor; however, the experimental group used adaptive pre-listening prompts, learner-controlled pause and replay (with moderated pacing), strategic on-demand transcripts, and brief post-listening dialogue with immediate formative feedback. Listening comprehension was assessed with parallel tests, listening anxiety with the Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS), and flow with an adapted classroom flow scale. Mixed-design ANOVAs showed significantly greater comprehension gains for the AI-supported group (post-test d = 0.88; gain differential d = 1.30), with particularly strong effects for inferencing and contextual lexical inference. Listening anxiety decreased substantially in the AI-supported group, whereas the comparison group showed minimal change, and post-intervention flow was higher for AI-supported learners. Anxiety reduction was moderately associated with listening gains (r approximate to -0.42). Overall, the results suggest that a carefully designed AI-supported listening cycle can improve listening development while also reducing anxiety and supporting sustained engagement.
More than two decades of research on virtual exchange (VE) have highlighted its benefits for foreign language learning and teacher education. Yet, while VE projects are known to be emotionally charged, the impact of these experiences on pre-service teachers' emotional development remains underexplored. This study investigates the emotional experiences of 19 pre-service EFL teachers participating in a VE project between German and New Zealand students. Drawing on sociocultural theory, which views transformative learning as a process integrating cognition, emotion, and action, the study examines the types of emotions reported, the experiences that triggered them, and the evolution of individual emotional trajectories over time. Data were collected through reflective journal entries, a final survey, and case studies using emotiograms and interviews. Findings reveal that emotional experiences in VE are not incidental but central to professional development, fostering emotional awareness, and supporting the cultivation of reflective practice. The study demonstrates that VE functions as an authentic context for professional learning enabling pre-service teachers to experience, reflect upon, and regulate emotions that may resemble those encountered in their future professional practice. By focusing on emotions in VE, teacher educators can support the development of emotional competence, which is essential for teacher well-being, resilience, and student engagement.
This article recentres the anticolonial and language reclamation roots of translanguaging pedagogies as practices of language sovereignty for Indigenous and minoritised languages. The authors examine the role of language sovereignty in Indigenous and minoritised heritage language reclamation education, specifically HMoob (Hmong) language education. Despite HMoob (Hmong) language having multiple, sometimes meshed, non-hierarchical dialects, forced displacement to the United States and other countries has imposed dialect separation and subordination through monoglossic pressures of assimilation and school-based language teaching practices. This article uses narrative policy portraiture to reflect community language policy work that establishes and wrestles with HMoob's multidialectalism. We assert language sovereignty as a central translanguaging stance for language reclamation and futurity efforts by and for HMoob people.
Teacher learning is a lifelong process, and cultivating an inquisitive mindset - characterised by questioning and reflecting on practice - is integral to the profession. Adopting a research orientation from the very start of teacher education is thus critical to ensure the continuous professional development of teachers. As initial teacher education (ITE) forms the base on which this research outlook emerges and grows, examining the development of teachers' conceptualisation of research from their candidacy to early career practice is particularly significant for understanding how ITE shapes their relationship with research. This study examines how a group of ten English language teaching (ELT) practitioners conceptualise and engage with research five years after graduating from an ITE programme that included a research component. The database consists of ten semi-structured interviews amounting to 6.5 hours. The qualitative analysis reveals that participants maintained a largely academic view of research, seeing it as the domain of scholars rather than a tool for classroom inquiry. Although their teaching experience increased awareness of the potential value of research for practice, engagement in teacher-led classroom research remained limited. The study showcases the impact of undergraduate research training as part of ITE programmes on fostering research engagement among early career language teachers.
This study explores Australian language teachers' familiarity with and attitudes towards gender-inclusive language (GIL) in the classroom. Through a mixed-methods approach combining survey data from 51 teachers and interviews with 6 participants, the research examines teachers' understanding of GIL, their views on its implementation and perceived challenges. Findings reveal that while most teachers are familiar with GIL, this knowledge often comes from informal sources rather than teacher education. Most teachers express positive attitudes towards incorporating GIL, viewing it as important for student inclusivity and identity affirmation. However, a spectrum of perspectives emerges, ranging from enthusiastic adoption to resistance based on ideological and/or pedagogical concerns. Key challenges identified include a lack of standardisation, limited resources and training and tensions between inclusive practices and assessment requirements. The study highlights the complex interplay between teachers' personal beliefs, pedagogical challenges and evolving linguistic norms in shaping GIL implementation, emphasising the need for targeted professional development, clearer curriculum guidance and ongoing dialogue to support teachers in navigating gender-expansive practices.
For two decades since modern languages (MLs) secondary qualifications ceased being mandatory in the English curriculum. Compounded by curricular or external pressures that followed, numerous critics have written about the primarily negative impact on learning motivation and teaching practice. However, the impact has not been uniform across school sectors even though they share common stressors, and few have considered cross-sector sharing of language practices for exchanging and enhancing professional knowledge and experience. This paper reports practice-based research that involved teachers and students from three sectors (state, complementary and independent) who mutually visited for paired observations and focus groups before reflective interviews. Thematic analysis of the transcripts generated three overarching themes: creative and useful practices that teachers and students valued; divergent challenges from teachers and students' perspectives distinguishable by their focus on structural or external and language-based issues, respectively, and reflecting cross-sector disparity; and impacts from the cross-sector exchange. Findings indicate how certain practices are driven by resourcing issues as shared experiences. This study suggests that multi-player, cross-sector language practice exchanges should be implemented more widely for garnering collective pedagogic capital and continuing professional development.
The continuous professional development (CPD) of teachers builds predominantly on regular participation in in-service teacher training, and this is especially necessary for teachers who regularly teach 'out-of-field'. Out-of-field teachers are those who are certified but regularly teach a subject for which they did not undertake any subject-specific training as part of initial teacher education. In this study, we explore whether there are differences in motivational orientation and frequency of participation in professional training among primary teachers with diverse professional qualifications. We report findings from a questionnaire study with 844 German primary teachers who regularly teach English as a foreign language (EFL) and differ in their professional qualifications for this subject, including a group teaching 'out-of-field'. Our findings show that fully qualified English teachers tend to participate in continued professional development (CPD) courses more frequently; furthermore, fully trained EFL teachers tend to be motivated by more intrinsic motivational orientations such as personal interest as well as a strong desire for professional contacts. Our paper discusses the implications of these findings for teacher education.
English-Medium Instruction (EMI) motivation research suffers from theoretical fragmentation and Western cultural bias that inadequately address student experiences in non-Western educational contexts. This study investigates motivational patterns among Vietnamese EMI students through Complex Dynamic Systems Theory, examining how contextual factors shape motivational dynamics in culturally distinct settings. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design recruited 322 undergraduate students from three Vietnamese universities. Quantitative data collection employed adapted L2 Motivational Self System scales and contextually developed instruments, while qualitative semi-structured interviews with 45 purposively selected participants explored emergent patterns. Cluster analysis identified four distinct motivational profiles: Integrative-Intrinsic Learners (28.3%), Instrumentally-Driven Achievers (31.7%), Socially-Oriented Learners (24.2%), and Amotivated Strugglers (15.8%). Findings reveal that Vietnamese cultural values - particularly collectivism, hierarchical respect, and face-saving concerns - fundamentally moderate motivational orientations differently from Western contexts. Pedagogical quality, peer dynamics, and instructor rapport emerged as interactive contextual factors amplifying motivational patterns. These results challenge the universal applicability of Western-derived motivation theories in Asian EMI contexts and demonstrate the necessity of culturally grounded theoretical frameworks. Findings inform culturally responsive EMI pedagogy and advance understanding of motivation as a culturally embedded, dynamically evolving phenomenon in multilingual educational settings.
Although metacognitive listening instruction has been recognised for enhancing learners' awareness and self-regulation, its classroom application in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts is still underexplored. The primary objective of this study was to investigate EFL teachers' perceptions of their listening instruction and the integration of metacognitive instruction into their listening lessons. A qualitative descriptive approach, using semi-structured interviews, was employed with four EFL teachers from different universities in Vietnam. Findings revealed that teachers viewed listening as a difficult but teachable skill, hindered by students' low English proficiency, limited vocabulary, and weak phonological awareness. Other learner-related factors such as low motivation, limited autonomy, and negative attitudes further constrained progress. Contextual challenges, including exam pressure, time limitations, and uneven institutional support, also shaped instructional practices. Despite these obstacles, teachers demonstrated adaptability, reflection, and growing awareness of digital and out-of-class listening opportunities. Nevertheless, their use of metacognitive listening instruction was partial, implicit, and pedagogically inconsistent. Instructional activities rarely involved systematic reflection, monitoring, or collaboration. Key components of metacognitive instruction, particularly person knowledge, evaluation, and problem-solving, were underdeveloped. These insights emphasise the need to strengthen teacher preparation, learner self-regulation, and institutional support to advance metacognitive listening pedagogy in the research contexts.
Language students' use of the target language (TL) of study in English-dominant settings beyond the classroom is both a means and an end for university-based language programmes: TL exposure outside of the classroom facilitates learning, and using the TL to engage with speakers and cultures is a valued outcome of language learning. While much is known about proficiency outcomes for language students in US universities, less is known about how often such students actually engage in various activities using their TLs. To better understand students' out-of-class TL activity and investigate likely influences on engagement, we descriptively analysed large-scale (N = 2560) questionnaire and proficiency test data collected from language students at three public universities in the US. Findings indicate that typical students use the TL outside of the classroom infrequently; among activities surveyed the median response was most commonly 'once a month or less'. Students with higher levels of proficiency, as measured by ACTFL exams, and with more extensive experience abroad reported more frequent engagement in a range of activities. Finally, several interesting patterns in activity engagement were observed across languages, with learners of Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese showing more frequent engagement with TL videos and social media.
Building on 'translanguaging space' (Li Wei 2011. Moment analysis and translanguaging space: discursive construction of identities by multilingual Chinese youth in Britain. Journal of Pragmatics 43: 1222-1235) and 'decoloniality' (Mignolo, W. D. 2007. Introduction: coloniality of power and de-colonial thinking. Cultural Studies 21, no. 2-3: 155-167; Quijano, A. 2007. Coloniality and modernity/rationality. Cultural Studies 21, no. 2-3: 168-178), we discuss how focusing on epistemic positionality and identity affirmation among multilingual students offers critical perspectives on understanding the role of translanguaging as a social justice pedagogy. Adopting a critical ethnographic approach, we analyze the data from a Multilingual Creative Writing Project for South Asian ethnic minority students in Hong Kong and Translanguaging Pedagogy in Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) in Mainland China. The analysis shows that translanguaging as a social justice pedagogy is an action that challenges linguistic and epistemic boundaries to affirm and reclaim multilingual students' 'translingual being' (Li Wei, 2024. Transformative pedagogy for inclusion and social justice through translanguaging, co-learning, and transpositioning. Language Teaching, 57, no. 2: 203-214). Our findings suggest that translanguaging pedagogy should focus on affirming the epistemic subjecthood of multilingual students. For this, translanguaging could be purposefully integrated into pedagogical activities to show how breaking linguistic and epistemic boundaries is essential to reclaiming multilingual students' translingual being and positioning them as epistemic subjects.
This study examines how multilingual and multicultural teachers in a Korean-English Two-Way Immersion (TWI) programme enact translanguaging through multimodal and culturally embedded practices in everyday classroom interaction. Although TWI programmes typically enforce strict language-separation policies, the findings reveal that such boundaries are continually negotiated as teachers mobilise their full semiotic repertoires, integrating linguistic, embodied, and cultural resources, to teach, manage, and connect with students. Drawing on video-based discourse analysis of 24 hours of classroom data, this study shows how teachers' practices, such as the use of hapjuki, a Korean call-and-response routine, and silence as a culturally grounded expression of respect, reflect the blending of Confucian-informed norms and Western pedagogical expectations. These translanguaging enactments highlight both the fluid and frictional dimensions of meaning-making in bilingual classrooms, illustrating how institutional language policies intersect with teachers' cultural identities and values. The study contributes to translanguaging scholarship by illuminating how educators' multimodal and culturally hybrid practices expand our understanding of what counts as equitable and authentic bilingual pedagogy.
This qualitative, exploratory study explores how translingual spoken word poetry shaped language learning and meaning-making practices in an online English for academic purposes (EAP) course. Situated in a Canadian post-secondary institution, the pedagogic innovation examined challenges the persistent dominance of monolingual, form-focused pedagogies that can marginalise multilingual students and their affective experiences. Drawing on translanguaging for critical multilingual language awareness, the study positions language as socially, culturally, and relationally situated, emphasising emotion as integral to multilingual meaning-making. Fifteen advanced EAP students participated in the study. The analysis of course artefacts, weekly journals, spoken word poetry collections, and semi-structured interviews highlighted three interrelated themes in participants' responses to the pedagogic innovation: (1) a shift from grammatical correctness toward meaning-making, enabling more authentic self-expression; (2) emotional and translingual creativity, where students drew on diverse linguistic and multimodal resources to articulate personal, cultural, and affective experiences; and (3) reciprocal and relational engagement, highlighting participants' increased attention to audience and connection. Findings suggest that spoken word poetry activities can foster linguistic flexibility, critical awareness of metalinguistic difference, and emotional agency. The study contributes to EAP pedagogy by illustrating how such practices can humanise language learning, challenge deficit-oriented norms, and cultivate more inclusive, relationally-affirming classrooms.
Translanguaging and multimodal composition are increasingly recognised and promoted in educational settings that serve diverse student populations, particularly multilingual learners. Scholars and argue that these practices challenge longstanding monolingual norms by fostering more inclusive educational spaces and activities, thereby enhancing students' critical language awareness and cognitive engagement. Yet little is known about how these practices enable multilingual students to reshape what counts as academic and intelligible knowledge. This qualitative multicase study examines a translanguaging and multimodal genre translation project conducted at a US university. Drawing on data collected over two academic quarters - including students' multimodal compositions, reflective essays, interviews, course materials, and researcher memos - we analysed how participants leveraged their linguistic and semiotic repertoires to reimagine audience, function, and language standards in their work. Analysis revealed that students strategically mobilised diverse linguistic and semiotic resources linked to their complex identities, tailored messages for specific audiences, and experimented with inclusive and accessible forms of communication that extend beyond the conventions of named languages and their normative aesthetics. The study illustrates how integrating translanguaging and multimodal composition encouraged students to reconnect with their linguistic heritage while rethinking traditional notions of academic language and the role of multilingualism in their learning trajectories.
