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Despite the growing interest in incorporating textual glosses into second language (L2) reading in hypermedia and paper media, no agreements have been reached as to whether and what extent a textual gloss facilitates L2 learners’ vocabulary acquisition in hypermedia and paper media. The present study meta-analysed the overall effects of textual glosses and different glossing types (i.e. language, location, and mode) on L2 vocabulary acquisition, as well as the moderation effects on the variability of L2 vocabulary acquisition effect sizes. Based on a comprehensive search, 20 studies involving 2,291 participants that have quantitatively documented the changes of L2 vocabulary gains through a pre-and-post textual glosses design were identified and coded in order to retrieve moderator variables. The results show the following: (1) textual glossing has a medium effect on L2 vocabulary acquisition; (2) the effect of textual glosses on L2 vocabulary acquisition persists over time; (3) glossing location and glossing mode significantly impact the effect of textual glosses on L2 vocabulary acquisition but glossing language has no definite effect; and (4) outcome measure is the only moderator variable among the three influencing factors on vocabulary acquisition. These results are further discussed with reference to existing studies and theory of second language acquisition.

This study examines the effects of word frequency and typographical enhancement (i.e., words in bold) on the learning of single words in Spanish L2 reading activities in a classroom setting. Learners read a text in which target words appearing in bold occurred one, five or 10 times. A parallel text was also provided in which those same words appeared un-bolded. Students were tested three times on both spelling and meaning of the target words: before, immediately after and two weeks after the reading activity. Results show that: (1) after five or 10 encounters, both spelling and meaning recognition skills increase; (2) words appearing in bold only lead to learning gains at a form recognition level immediately after the test is taken and do not contribute to the acquisition of meaning in the post-test; and (3) there is no interaction between typographical enhancement and frequency.

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Este trabajo pretende examinar los efectos de la frecuencia y el realce tipográfico (negrita) en el aprendizaje de palabras individuales a través de la lectura en el aula de español como L2. Los aprendientes leyeron un texto con palabras meta que aparecían 1, 5 o 10 veces. Este tenía a su vez una versión paralela en la cual dichas palabras aparecían en negrita. Los estudiantes fueron examinados en el reconocimiento de la forma y del significado de las palabras meta en tres ocasiones: antes, inmediatamente después y dos semanas después de la actividad de lectura. Los resultados demostraron que (1) el reconocimiento de la forma y del significado se incrementa cuando la palabra aparece repetida 5 o 10 veces; (2) el realce únicamente favorece el reconocimiento ortográfico inmediatamente después de la realización de la prueba y no contribuye al aprendizaje del significado; y (3) no existe interacción entre frecuencia y realce.

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According to Hopp’s Lexical Bottleneck Hypothesis, difficulties in second language (L2) lexical processing may lead to non-target syntactic computations. In line with this hypothesis, cognates – which are processed faster than non-cognates, as defined by the cognate facilitation effect – can ease L2 syntactic processing. In order to investigate whether cognates additionally facilitate L2 syntax learning, we had two groups of Spanish natives learn an artificial language drawing on Basque. Each group explicitly learnt a set of either Spanish–Basque cognates or non-cognates and a word order grammatical rule. Then, two sentence–picture matching tasks tested their ability to apply the rule (1) with cognates vs. non-cognates and (2) with novel cognate words. Results showed that, in both cases, cognate learners were better at applying the rule than non-cognate learners. This finding suggests that the cognate facilitation effect and its role in the Lexical Bottleneck Hypothesis can be extended from L2 processing to L2 learning. We end by mentioning possible implications of our results for second language teaching in adulthood.

Research on pre-task planning to date has mainly focused on task performance. However, the effects of planning are contingent on what learners actually do during planning time. One important factor that may determine the quality and usefulness of planning is whether it is done in the first language (L1) or the second language (L2). This research addresses this issue by investigating the relative benefits of collaborative planning in the L1 and L2 in terms of ideas generated and transferred to an oral problem-solving task. Seventy-two Japanese university EFL learners were randomly assigned to one of two planning conditions: L1P (L1 planning, Japanese) and L2P (L2 planning, English). Dyads in each group were given 10 minutes to plan the content of a problem-solving task in the respective languages before individually performing the timed 2.5-minute oral task. Data took the form of transcribed planning discussions and transcribed task performances. All data were coded for idea units and sorted into categories of problem–solution discourse structure (situation, problem, response, evaluation). A qualitative comparison of L1 and L2 planners’ generation of idea units during planning, transfer and performance was conducted to supplement the quantitative analysis. Findings indicate the L1P condition has significant advantages over the L2P condition in terms of idea conceptualization, but this advantage had a limited impact on subsequent L2 task performance. Pedagogical implications are discussed in terms of possibilities for productively incorporating L1 planning during task implementation in foreign language contexts where learners share a common first language.

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In this article we explore the role of linguistic landscapes, which refers to language on display in public spaces, in the teaching of languages and enhancing language awareness. Signage can be useful for language learners as a pedagogical tool for language acquisition and to explore issues of multilingualism.

We focus in particular on the multilingual education context in the Basque Country in Spain, where the three languages of instruction are Basque, Spanish and English. Our analysis is based on data collected in public spaces, from students in primary schools and masters-level students at university. Our data include signage in a local covered market, and on the walls of schools as well as that collected among students who carried out learning tasks investigating the signage that surrounds them. We conclude that the languages on display in public spaces are an important resource for language learning and teaching, and they can also be used for raising language awareness.

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En este artículo exploramos el papel de los paisajes lingüísticos, que se refiere al lenguaje que se exhibe en los espacios públicos, en la enseñanza de lenguas y en la mejora de la conciencia lingüística. La señalización puede ser útil para los estudiantes de lenguas como herramienta pedagógica para la adquisición de lenguas y para explorar cuestiones relacionadas con el multilingüismo. Nos centramos en particular en el contexto de la educación multilingüe en el País Vasco en España, donde los tres idiomas de instrucción son el euskera, el español y el inglés. La base de nuestro análisis son los datos que hemos recopilado en ubicaciones en espacios públicos, dentro de las escuelas y con alumnos de primaria y estudiantes de máster en la universidad. Nuestros datos incluyen la señalización de un edificio que contiene un mercado local, paredes de escuelas, así como los datos recogidos entre los alumnos que realizaron tareas de aprendizaje investigando la señalización que los rodea. Concluimos que las lenguas que se exhiben en los espacios públicos son un recurso importante para el aprendizaje y la enseñanza de idiomas y también pueden usarse para desarrollar la conciencia lingüística.

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Glossing is a widely used and examined vocabulary learning tool, and one of the major branches of glossing research has compared the relative effects of first language (L1) and second language (L2) glosses on reading comprehension and vocabulary learning. However, the findings in this literature have not been consistent, calling for a comprehensive and systematic review. To this end, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the relative effects of L1 and L2 glossing on L2 reading comprehension and L2 vocabulary learning. Based on 78 effect sizes gathered from 26 studies representing 30 independent samples (N = 2,189), we found that L1 glossing was more effective than L2 glossing in general (Hedge’s g = .33, SE = .09, p < .001), but the effect size may vary depending on the target outcome measure. The relative effectiveness of L1 glossing was particularly supported by the results of immediate posttests of vocabulary, rather than delayed posttests of vocabulary and reading comprehension tests. Further, among a few selected moderator variables, the results of meta-regression revealed that learners’ L2 proficiency level significantly influenced the average effectiveness, such that L1 glossing is particularly effective for beginner learners compared to those with intermediate or higher L2 proficiency levels.

Translation for language learning has reemerged during recent years as an additional asset for foreign language instruction. In this time, the professional practice and training of translation has moved to a technological paradigm in which virtually all translation activities are computer mediated and this complex activity is conceptualized as human–computer interaction. Translation is therefore now inseparable from the physical computer, translation technologies, tools and resources found online and the interconnectedness provided by the Internet. This article reviews these technologies in the context of Spanish language learning. For these purposes, three main areas of interest are discussed and placed in the context of language learning. First of all, the role of machine translation (MT) both as an assistance in reading and writing tasks and from the perspective of post-editing for language learning is examined. The second area of interest is the use of translational corpora in the foreign language classroom. The article will finish with a review of the increasingly popular language-related crowdsourcing technologies that are expanding translation tasks to language learners around the world using specialized micro-task workflows.

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La traducción para el aprendizaje de idiomas ha resurgido en los últimos años como un activo adicional para el aprendizaje de idiomas. Durante estos años, la práctica profesional y la formación de la traducción han evolucionado hacia un paradigma tecnológico en el que prácticamente todas las actividades de traducción son mediadas por ordenador y esta compleja actividad es conceptualizada como interacción hombre-computadora. La traducción es por lo tanto inseparable del ordenador, las tecnologías de traducción, las herramientas y los recursos encontrados en línea y la interconexión que proporciona la WWW. Este artículo examina estas tecnologías en el contexto del aprendizaje del español. Con este objetivo se repasan tres áreas principales de interés en el contexto del aprendizaje de idiomas. En primer lugar, se examina el papel de la traducción automática como ayuda en las tareas de lectura y escritura y desde la perspectiva de su posedición para el aprendizaje del idioma. La segunda área de interés es el uso de corpus de traducciones en las clases de idiomas. El artículo finalizará con una revisión de las tecnologías de crowdsourcing lingüístico que están ganando popularidad y que extienden las tareas de traducción a estudiantes de idiomas de todo el mundo utilizando flujos de trabajo especializados basados en microtareas.