Abstract
In recent years, the field of language teaching has witnessed much interest in understanding the complex factors that shape teaching and learning processes across diverse linguistic and cultural contexts. As language classrooms become increasingly dynamic and multifaceted, researchers have turned their attention to the intricate interplay between teacher knowledge, learner engagement, and the processes underlying language skill development. This growing body of research reflects not only theoretical advancements but also a commitment to bridging empirical inquiry with classroom realities.
This issue of Language Teaching Research (LTR) contributes importantly to this evolving research landscape. In this paper, I offer a commentary on the 18 articles featured in the issue, which collectively showcase the richness and diversity of current scholarship in second and foreign language teaching. The contributions span a wide range of methodological approaches, participant groups, and educational contexts, and are organized around three broad but interconnected themes: teacher cognition and instructional design, learner engagement and development, and the acquisition of vocabulary, grammar, and reading skills. In addition to summarizing key insights from each thematic area, I will comment on the methodological approaches employed across the studies, reflecting on their contributions and implications.
The first set of articles focuses on teacher cognition, professional identity, and pedagogical practices. Teacher cognition refers to the teachers’ underlying beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, and decision-making processes about teaching and learning (see, for example, Borg, 2003; Woods, 1996). It includes how teachers interpret classroom events, approach instructional planning, and make in-the-moment choices in the classroom. Closely connected to this is professional identity, which concerns how teachers perceive themselves and their role in their institutional, cultural, and social contexts. It is a complex construct influenced not only by teachers’ expectations, training and experiences but also by how these factors interact within and beyond the classroom. Pedagogical practices, in turn, are the concrete expressions of cognition and identity, and the strategies and techniques teachers use as they implement instruction, engage learners, and manage the complexities of their teaching contexts.
These theoretical constructs are not only conceptually significant but also empirically examined in the studies in this issue that investigate how cognition, identity, and pedagogy are enacted in real classroom settings. For example, Zólyomi’s investigation into Hungarian secondary English teachers’ beliefs about differentiated instruction reveals a general willingness to address learners’ individual needs but also shows that teachers face challenges such as limited self-efficacy, inadequate training, and a narrow understanding of differentiation strategies. Li et al. explore Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The study finds that while teachers often rely on personal experience to guide their instruction, they also struggle to articulate domain-specific knowledge, especially in areas like intonation and stress, revealing the need for more structured PCK development. Gu et al. examine the identity construction of transnational native English-speaking teachers in Hong Kong. They show how these teachers actively negotiate their multilingual and multicultural backgrounds within institutional spaces that often prioritize a monolingual native-speaker ideal. Leontjev and deBoer, using a sociocultural framework, reveal how language teachers position themselves as creators of learning environments. This study highlights the importance of mediation, peer scaffolding, and formative assessment in promoting learner development. Ebadijalal and Moradkhani apply activity theory to investigate EFL teacher wellbeing, revealing how emotional and psychological wellbeing is closely tied to institutional support, social relationships, and the resolution of systemic contradictions within schools. Based on data from Iranian EFL teachers, the study identifies six key factors shaping workplace wellbeing: learners, colleagues, institutional authorities, rules and regulations, workload, and teacher status. Schaefer’s study also uses activity theory to explore how secondary school teachers respond to a mandated CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) initiative. It shows that although teachers conceptualize the approach differently (ranging from seeing it as content-based instruction to promoting bilingual learning) these variations provoke both tensions and opportunities for collaboration and reflection. Collectively, the above studies underscore the need to understand language teachers not merely as implementers of methods, but as active agents whose beliefs, identities, and contextual realities influence and are influenced by their pedagogical choices.
Methodologically, the studies discussed predominantly adopt interpretive frameworks such as sociocultural theory and activity theory. These frameworks favor qualitative data collection methods that aim to uncover how teachers construct knowledge and identity within their specific institutional contexts. Common methods include interviews (e.g., Zólyomi; Gu et al.), classroom observations (e.g., Leontjev & deBoer), document or artifact analysis such as lesson plans and reflective journals, and narrative or case study approaches (e.g., Schaefer; Gu et al.). These qualitative methods enable researchers to closely examine teacher beliefs, identity formation, and contextual influences, prioritizing contextualized understanding over broad generalizability. Consequently, these studies often involve small, purposively selected samples chosen for their relevance to the research focus, for example, secondary English teachers in Hungary, CFL (Chinese as a Foreign Language) teachers in China, or transnational teachers.
The second group of studies centers on learner engagement and development, offering insights into the affective and cognitive dimensions of language learning, the role of feedback, and the long-term impact of instructional interventions. Learner engagement refers to the degree of investment and effort that learners put into learning tasks and activities. It is commonly understood to include a number of interrelated dimensions such as behavioral (behavioral effort), cognitive (mental investment in learning strategies and problem-solving), and affective (emotions, attitudes, and motivation) (see, for example, Ellis, 2010; Fredricks et al., 2004). Engagement is not static, and it fluctuates over time and is influenced by both internal factors, such as learners’ goals, needs, and identities, and external factors, including task design, classroom interaction, and feedback. Learner development involves both immediate and long-term changes in linguistic competence and learners’ strategic and communicative ability. It is influenced by sustained engagement with meaningful input, opportunities for output, and active reflection. Instructional interventions, including feedback and collaborative activities, can play a critical role in fostering engagement and promoting deeper learning over time.
The studies focusing on the above concepts offer valuable insights into these intertwined processes. For example, Zheng et al. examine how student engagement evolves over time in project-based collaborative writing, revealing that engagement is dynamic and shaped by both individual factors, such as language proficiency and learning needs, and contextual factors like task type. Students were found to shift roles over time, from active collaborators to disengaged participants or consistently dedicated writers. Such findings highlight the complex and changing nature of engagement in collaborative writing tasks. Hamano-Bunce investigates the effects of written corrective feedback and comparator texts on learners’ writing, showing that while both improve accuracy, comparator texts also enhance lexical complexity in revisions and new compositions. Sak and Gurbuz explore the negative side-effects of directed motivational currents (DMCs) among trainee teachers. The study reveals that intense goal pursuit can lead to mental distress and setbacks due to insufficient feedback and unrealistic subgoals. Teravainen-Goff examines why motivated learners may still fail to engage in language learning. The study finds that disengagement can result from uninspiring tasks, external pressures, and classroom dynamics. Fu and Liu assess the impact of concept-based instruction (CBI) on genre awareness and writing skills, demonstrating that CBI, especially when paired with peer talk, significantly improves students’ conceptual understanding and writing performance. Finally, Yu et al. investigate the long-term effects of an L2 writing education course on teachers’ instructional practices. They show that such training can enhance pedagogical knowledge and lead to sustained changes, though implementation is shaped by contextual constraints. All together, these studies underscore the need to understand learner and teacher development as multifaceted, shaped by both instructional design and the broader emotional and social context of language learning.
The above group of studies adopt both longitudinal qualitative, as well as quantitative, or mixed-methods designs to examine learner processes. They emphasize rich, contextualized data collection, often combining interviews, observations, and learner artifacts to capture the dynamic and individual nature of engagement, motivation, feedback, and development. For instance, Zheng, et al. use a longitudinal case study with multiple data sources to trace changes in engagement during collaborative writing. Sak and Gurbuz apply interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore the emotional costs of sustained motivation. Hamano-Bunce’s quasi-experimental study tracks changes in writing complexity and accuracy using pre-, post-, and delayed post-tests, while Fu and Liu assess the effects of concept-based instruction through a controlled classroom intervention. Teravainen-Goff and Yu et al. use interviews and case study methods to explore learners’ and teachers’ perspectives on engagement and pedagogical change over time. These methodological choices reflect a shared focus on developmental trajectories, individual variation, and the influence of context, offering nuanced insights into L2 learning processes.
The third group of studies addresses language skill development, with a particular focus on vocabulary acquisition, grammar instruction, and reading comprehension, using both experimental and task-based designs to assess instructional effectiveness. Each study examines how different instructional strategies and task designs influence learning outcomes among EFL learners. For example, Uchihara et al. explore how vocabulary strategies like guessing from context and dictionary use relate to receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. They found that dictionary use, unlike guessing from context, significantly predicted receptive vocabulary knowledge and had an indirect effect on productive knowledge through receptive gains. This highlights the role of strategic dictionary use in vocabulary instruction. Aghaei Aghdam et al. showed that combining structured and unstructured output with processing instruction enhanced both automatic and non-automatic explicit grammar knowledge, suggesting that diverse output tasks can deepen grammatical learning. Zhang and Wang investigate how two writing tasks (continuation and model-as-feedback writing) contribute to vocabulary learning. They report that both tasks improve vocabulary knowledge, but the continuation task leads to greater gains in productive use, suggesting that more generative tasks promote deeper vocabulary learning. Yu, et al. compare the effects of dictation, dictogloss, and comprehension questions on the learning of multiword items. They found that dictogloss and dictation outperform comprehension tasks, especially when learners accurately retrieve expressions during text reconstruction, emphasizing the importance of active retrieval. Jung, et al. examine how textual enhancement and frequency of exposure influence incidental collocation learning during reading. Their study reveals that higher frequency and visual enhancement improve attention and recall. This supports the use of input enhancement to boost lexical development. Finally, Li, et al. assess the impact of a dual-hierarchy scaffolding board game on EFL learners’ reading comprehension, showing that the game improves reading comprehension, increases motivation, and lowers anxiety, illustrating the promise of game-based learning in language classrooms. Together, these studies demonstrate the value of targeted, task-based, and interactive approaches in developing key areas of second language proficiency.
The above group of studies share several key methodological features. Most notably, they all employ quasi-experimental or experimental designs to investigate the impact of specific instructional interventions or learning strategies on second language development. Each study includes pre- and post-tests to measure learning gains, often with both immediate and delayed testing to assess short- and long-term effects. They also use control and treatment groups (or multiple experimental conditions) to enable comparisons across different instructional approaches or task types. Another commonality is the use of standardized or carefully constructed tests to assess different aspects of language knowledge, whether vocabulary (e.g., receptive/productive tests), grammar (e.g., timed and untimed grammaticality judgment tasks), or reading comprehension (e.g., reading tests with comprehension questions or performance-based assessments). Finally, the studies often involve learners in EFL contexts, particularly in East Asia, and rely on quantitative analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional interventions.
In sum, this issue of LTR brings together a compelling array of studies that advance our understanding of language education across multiple dimensions: teacher cognition and identity, learner engagement and development, and the acquisition of core language skills. Collectively, these articles illustrate the field’s growing commitment to research that is contextually grounded, theoretically informed, and methodologically diverse. They highlight the importance of viewing language teaching and learning as complex, dynamic processes influenced by the interplay of cognitive, affective, social, and institutional factors. By highlighting both established and emerging lines of inquiry, this volume not only deepens our insights into how languages are taught and learned in diverse contexts but also points to new directions for future research, practice, and professional development in second and foreign language education.