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Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching
Department of English Studies, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts, Adam Mickiewicz University, Kalisz

SSLLT 8 (4). 2018. 719-720
http://dx.doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2018.8.4.1

http://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/ssllt

Editorial

The publication of the last 2018 issue of Studies in Second Language Learning and
Teaching marks the end of the eighth year of existence of the journal. It has been a
successful year for a number of reasons. First, we have concluded the transition to
our electronic platform, which has made the processing of submissions much more
manageable. Second, we have published two state-of-the-art special issues, one
dedicated to emotions in language learning and the other to language learning strat-
egies. Both of them carry papers by leading scholars in the two respective domains
and I am positive that they will contribute to further improvement of the standing of
the journal in the field. Third, we have commissioned special issues guest-edited by
well-known scholars for several years to come. Fourth, we have seen a major rise in
the number of submissions, and, even more importantly, an overall increase in the
quality of the manuscripts. Fifth, as can be seen from the indices included in Scopus,
the journal continues to have a considerable impact on the field and this impact is
very likely to grow in the future. At the same time, there are many problems that we
have to face, such as the delays in handling papers caused by the spike in submis-
sions, the need to strike a balance between special issues and regular issues, or the
major difficulty in finding suitable reviewers. We are sure, however, that these diffi-
culties are simply challenges that need to be overcome and we are committed to
making the journal grow and become even more influential in the field.

The issue contains four contributions, all of which report the findings of
empirical investigations, which, however, are quite different in nature, and a
book review. In the first paper, Ali Al-Hoorie provides a meta-analysis of 32 re-
search studies dealing with the L2 motivational self-system which involved 39
unique samples of participants and a total of 32,078 learners of mostly English
as an additional language. He found that although the three components of the
self-system (i.e., ideal self, ought-to self and learning experience) are predictors
of intended effort and, to a lesser extent, actual achievement, the strength of
the relationships is quite variable. Ali Al-Hoorie points to the weaknesses of the



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research conducted to date and calls for experimental studies that would allow
establishing cause-and-effect relationships so that more reliable recommenda-
tions for classroom practice can be formulated. Subsequently, Kristina Vujnović
Malivuk, Marijan Palmović, and Lovorka Zergollern-Miletić report the results of
a study which investigated the automaticity of word retrieval for three groups
of high school students in Croatia: early Croatian-German bilinguals, learners
enrolled in a German immersion program at school, and students who partici-
pated in a regular course in German as a foreign language. Using a modified
Stroop task, they showed that lexical access was the slowest in both Croatian
and German in the case of the bilinguals, which is accounted for in terms of the
activation of both languages and the need to involve more cognitive resources
to perform the task. In the next paper, Wen-Hsing Luo describes a study that
examined Taiwanese students’ experiences of using English as a lingua franca
(ELF) for intercultural communication, their attitudes in this respect and the va-
rieties of English they would like to master for that purpose. The data were col-
lected by means of a questionnaire from 140 participants in a university in Tai-
wan, 15 of whom were also invited to take part in an interview. A combination
of quantitative and qualitative analysis demonstrated that the participants man-
ifested a preference for standard varieties of English but at the same time were
aware of the value of ELF and in fact used it in many out-of-class situations. Fi-
nally, Luca A. Botturi, Daniela Kappler, and Lucio Negrini focus on the design,
implementation and outcomes of AlpConnectar, a project launched in Switzer-
land with the purpose of using digital environments to aid primary school learn-
ers in getting to know the languages spoken in different regions, reduce inhibi-
tions in foreign language communication, improve language skills, foster motiva-
tion and enhance participants’ understanding of linguistic and cultural diversity.
Analyzing the data collected from 7 teachers and 133 pupils by means of ques-
tionnaires filled out at the beginning and end of the school year, the researchers
show that while the project had a positive impact, its contribution was consider-
ably mediated by contextual variables. The issue closes with a review penned by
Dorota Werbińska which focuses on an edited collection devoted to the acquisi-
tion of additional languages by third-age learners, an important issue that has
been gaining more and more prominence. I am sure that all of these contributions
are extremely thought-provoking and will inspire further research into the facets
of second and foreign language acquisition with which they are concerned.

Mirosław Pawlak
Adam Mickiewicz University, Kalisz, Poland

State University of Applied Sciences, Konin, Poland
pawlakmi@amu.edu.pl