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This study examines how Egyptian learners of Hebrew as a second language realize the speech act of apology compared to native Israeli Hebrew speakers. While apologies have been extensively studied in English and Arabic, Hebrew remains underexplored in interlanguage pragmatics, particularly in Arabic–Hebrew pragmatic transfer. Data were collected from 30 Egyptian learners at the Hebrew Language Department at Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt, and 30 Israeli native speakers using a Discourse Completion Test comprising five social situations. The results reveal significant similarities between the two groups, with both preferring Illocutionary Force Indicating Devices and taking responsibility, while rarely employing concern for the hearer or promises of forbearance, demonstrating the learners’ awareness of Hebrew pragmatic norms. However, notable differences have emerged: Egyptians relied more heavily on detailed explanations and supportive moves—such as honorific address terms and religious expressions—than Israelis, reflecting a negative pragmatic transfer from Arabic norms. This study highlights the importance of addressing cross-linguistic differences in Hebrew instruction to enhance learners’ pragmatic competence and alignment with native speaker conventions.

The present paper describes a contrastive study of interlanguage refusal strategies employed by Korean and Norwegian learners of English as an additional language. The data were collected from multilingual first-year students at an American university in South Korea and in an English-medium program at a Norwegian university by means of an online open discourse completion task and analyzed using the coding categories based on Beebe, Takahashi, and Uliss-Welts (1990), and Salazar Campillo, Safont-Jordà, and Codina Espurz (2009). The data were analyzed to compare the average frequencies of refusal strategies used by the two groups, and the types of direct, indirect, and adjunct strategies that they employed. Independent samples t-tests revealed significant differences in the use of direct and indirect strategies with small effect sizes. The differences in the use of adjunct strategies were not statistically significant, and the effect sizes were negligible. Descriptive statistics of the differences in the types of direct, indirect, and adjunct strategies also revealed interesting patterns. The findings suggest that multilinguals’ pragmatic performance is a complex phenomenon that cannot be explained by the differences in cultural and pragmatic norms of their first language alone.

Purpose: The purpose of this research forum article is to provide an overview of typical and atypical development of English as a second language (L2) and to present strategies for clinical assessment with English language learners (ELLs). Method: A review of studies examining the lexical, morphological, narrative, and verbal memory abilities of ELLs is organized around 3 topics: timeframe and characteristics of typical English L2 development, comparison of the English L2 development of children with and without specific language impairment (SLI), and strategies for more effective assessment with ELLs. Results: ELLs take longer than 3 years to converge on monolingual norms and approach monolingual norms asynchronously across linguistic subdomains. Individual variation is predicted by age, first language, language learning aptitude, length of exposure to English in school, maternal education, and richness of the English environment outside school. ELLs with SLI acquire English more slowly than ELLs with typical development; their morphological and nonword repetition abilities differentiate them the most. Use of strategies such as parent questionnaires on first language development and ELL norm referencing can result in accurate discrimination of ELLs with SLI. Conclusions: Variability in the language abilities of ELLs presents challenges for clinical practice. Increased knowledge of English language learning development with and without SLI together with evidence-based alternative assessment strategies can assist in overcoming these challenges.

Transcultural Flows of English and Education in Asian Contexts examines issues concerning the potential of English learning and teaching to go beyond the classroom and affect the multicultural realities of Asian societies. Asian societies often carry long histories and traditions that influence beliefs about identities,which are changing in our globalizing world. The authors in this volume explore the synthesis that occurs when culture is shared and re-constructed in different contexts. Specifically, the authors show how English is appropriated and refashioned through language and culture exchanges both inside and outside of traditional classrooms in East Asia (i.e., Japan, South Korea, China) and Southeast Asia (e.g.., Indonesia, Thailand). Inside the classroom, transcultural flows have the potential to result in take-up, exchange, appropriation, and refashioning of language and cultural practices that can generate transcultural realities outside the classroom. Understanding transcultural flows may also require understanding circumstances outside of the classroom—for instance, transcultural exchanges that lead to friendships and professional relationships; as companies embrace English and attempt to reach a global audience; as English facilitates access to global interaction in cyberspace; and as membership to nation states, recognition, and identity often confront the politics of English as a global language. For both teachers and students of English, the impact of transcultural connections reaches far beyond the teaching and learning experience. English connects people around the globe—even after students and teachers have finished their lessons or teachers have left the country. To examine the transcultural flows that result from English learning and teaching in Asia, this book addresses the following questions: What becomes of English when it is unmoored from local, national, and regional spaces and imaginatively reconceptualized? What are new forms of global consciousness and cultural competency? How is English rediscovered and reinvented in Asian countries where there are long traditions of cultural beliefs and language practices? How are teachers and students taking up and appropriating English inside and outside classrooms? How has English learning and teaching affected social, political, and business relationships? This book will be of interest to scholars in sociolinguistics, anthropology, and education.

Through either morphological or functional approaches, previous research has examined how instructed second language (L2) learners develop control over a challenging area of French: the use of the imparfait. In order to better understand this challenge, this cross-sectional study utilized both approaches and examined how 94 university Hispanophone learners of French developed control over 5 L2 imperfective functions with 4 verb types in 2 written narratives. Each L2 learner was assigned to 1 of 6 groups depending on the number of imperfective instances in their texts. In order to identify features of learner language, L2 imperfective use was compared to the imperfective found in first language (L1) Spanish (n = 31) and L1 French (n = 47) narratives. The analyses of the 2,176 instances of L2 imperfective use revealed that this form develops in accordance with a trend whereby a decrease is found from the characterization/state combination, to habituality/telics, to progressivity/nonpunctual dynamic verbs, to inchoative characterization/states, and to frequentation/activities. In contrast to the L1 imperfective in Spanish and French, the L2 imperfective showed variability across these combinations. Moreover, in the L2 narratives, learners favored the characterization/state association at the expense of using other imperfective functions with other verb types. (Verlag).

The present study explores the development of pragmatic marker (PM) use by children and adult L2 English learners in two learning contexts: study abroad (SA) and at home (AH). The study involved a group of 35 Catalan/Spanish girls (aged 11 to 13) learning English AH (n = 16) and abroad in Ireland (n = 19), and a group of 16 adult students aged 19–31 learning English in the UK and Ireland (n = 10) and at their home university in Barcelona (n = 6). To test their pragmatic development, the use of PMs was prompted through pre-test and post-test semi-structured interviews. The results indicated an effect of both age and context on PM development. Children in the SA context increased their use of some PMs, whereas their peers who remained at home did not show any development. Regarding the adults, both SA and AH participants increased their use of specific PMs. These findings shed some light on a topic that has not received scholarly attention in the field of L2 pragmatics: the development of PM use by children. Additionally, they contribute to the very small body of longitudinal studies on the development of PM use during SA.

The role of (written) corrective feedback (CF) in the process of acquiring a second language (L2) has been an issue of considerable controversy among theorists and researchers alike. Although CF is a widely applied pedagogical tool and its use finds support in SLA theory, practical and theoretical objections to its usefulness have been raised (e.g. Truscott, 1996; 1999; 2004; 2007; 2009). In the present paper, I start by summarizing the theoretical arguments underpinning the use of CF in L2 classrooms. Subsequently, the objections raised against error correction are reviewed, and some controversies concerning different CF methodologies and error types are discussed. Next, the paper provides a critical summary of the findings produced by empirical work to date, and sketches out some of the issues that need to be attended to in future research. Based on the available empirical evidence, I conclude that, by offering learners opportunities to notice the gaps in their developing L2 systems, test interlanguage hypotheses, and engage in metalinguistic reflection, written CF has the ability to foster SLA and to lead to accuracy development.

This volume addresses the role of communicative interaction in driving various dimensions of second language development from the perspective of Vygotskian sociocultural psychology. Emphasizing the dialectical relationship between the external-social world and individual mental functioning, the chapters delve into a wide range of topics illustrating how the social and the individual are united in interaction. Themes include psychological and human mediation, joint action, negotiation for meaning, the role of first language use, embodied and nonverbal behaviors, and interactional competencies. Theoretical discussions and key concepts are reinforced and illustrated with detailed qualitative analyses of interaction in a variety of second language contexts. Each chapter also includes pedagogical recommendations. Supplemental materials (e.g., videos, transcripts, discussion questions) have been made available as \"data sessions\" on the book's companion website so that readers can engage with the themes presented in the book through sample analytic exercises.

This study investigates cross-cultural differences in the realization of complaint strategies between native speakers of American English and Vietnamese learners of English (EFL). Adopting a pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic framework, the research applies Trosborg’s (1995) taxonomy of complaints and politeness theory (Brown & Levinson, 1987) to analyze 136 complaint responses from each group, collected via Discourse Completion Tasks (DCTs). Quantitative and qualitative analyses reveal that American participants favored indirect accusations (B3) and requests for repair (A5), often employing a broader range of downgraders and upgraders to navigate face-threatening acts. In contrast, Vietnamese learners preferred indirect complaints (B4) and blaming (A6), with more limited use of internal modifiers. Social distance significantly affected strategy choice in both groups, with higher levels prompting greater use of politeness devices. The findings underscore cultural influences on complaint behavior and suggest that learners' pragmatic performance is shaped by both linguistic proficiency and socio-cultural norms. Pedagogically, the study highlights the need for explicit EFL instruction in strategic politeness, including training on modifier use and contextual appropriateness. This research contributes to intercultural pragmatics by offering insights into how complaints are negotiated across languages, cultures, and social roles.