577 Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching Department of English Studies, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts, Adam Mickiewicz University, Kalisz SSLLT 9 (4). 2019. 577-579 http://dx.doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2019.9.4.1 http://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/ssllt Editorial This final 2019 issue of Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching brings together six original empirical studies and two book reviews. In the first paper, Marco Octavio Cancino Avila reports the results of a study that investigated the learning opportunities arising in classroom interactions, placing special empha- sis on the contribution of teachers’ and learners’ overlapped turns. Using con- versational analysis, he analyzed extracts from six classes taught by three teach- ers to adult learners of English as a foreign language in Chile. He found that teachers’ skill in appropriately handling learners’ turns that overlapped or di- rectly followed their own had a positive impact on participation and language learning as long as learners were given adequate interactional space (Sert, 2015). The second contribution by Reza Shirani also focuses upon classroom in- teraction, with the caveat that the main concern is with the effectiveness of dif- ferent types of corrective feedback (CF). The study explored the relationship be- tween the level of explicitness of input-providing (i.e., recasts) and output-pro- moting (i.e., prompts) CF moves, and the occurrence of uptake and repair in a foreign language context in Iran. Using the model of error treatment proposed by Lyster and Ranta (1997) to analyze transcripts of 36 hours of classroom inter- actions in three intact classes, the researcher found that prompts tended to be used more frequently than recasts, which stands in contrast to previous findings, but at the same time produced evidence that greater salience of CF is a crucial factor for the occurrence of self-correction, which is in line with prior research. In the third paper, Günter Faber shifts the focus to the role of individual differences by investigating how the attributions of success and failure of 119 preadolescent German learners of English were a function of their self-concept with respect to the performance of a grammar task (a cloze test). While these attributions did not prove to be predicted by gender or grade level, they were linked to self-concept as well as prior performance, with high-achievers ascrib- ing success to themselves and not being able to account for failure whereas low- 578 achievers viewing their performance as an outcome of factors beyond their con- trol. Subsequently, Paweł Sobkowiak reported the findings of an investigation into the impact of study abroad on the development of intercultural compe- tence of 12 Polish university students. Qualitative analysis of data collected by means of semi-structured interviews showed that participants were eager to take advantage of the opportunities created by a sojourn abroad, interacting with other international students, enhancing their cultural sensitivity and boost- ing their cross-cultural awareness. In the fourth paper in the current issue, Alireza Mohammadzadeh Mo- hammadabadi, Saeed Ketabi and Dariush Nejadansari adopted the ecological framework to investigate factors impacting language teacher cognition (LTC). The data were collected from 62 participants in Iran by means of class observa- tion with the help of the protocol developed by Nunan (2001) and semi-struc- tured interviews. Qualitative analysis drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s (1993) eco- logical systems theory led to the identification of an array of factors impacting LTC at the micro-, meso-, exo-, and macro levels, which indicates that what teachers believe, know and think is shaped by a dynamic constellation of both proximal and distal influences. In the final paper, Zarina Marie Krystle M. Abe- noja and Matthew DeCoursey investigate the role of drama activities in the con- text of learning French as a foreign, third language at the tertiary level in Hong Kong. The analysis of the data collected from 30 learners through lesson observa- tions, reflection journals, written assignments and interviews over the period of one semester showed that the inclusion of drama activities had a positive effect on learning the target language by helping create a relaxing atmosphere and lead- ing to more real-life interactions. Still, some students expressed preference for more explicit instruction in French and their limited command of the target lan- guage led to frequent reliance on Chinese. The issue closes with two book reviews by Paweł Scheffler and Olga Trendak, focusing on edited volumes on early in- structed second language acquisition and language learning strategy instruction, areas that are important to researchers and practitioners alike. I am confident that all the contributions to the volume will be of interest to our readers and will pro- vide an impetus for more empirical investigations in the near future. In retrospect, this has been another highly successful year for SSLLT, which is evidenced by constantly increasing citation indices in major databases, the constantly growing number of high-quality submissions and the resulting stand- ing of the journal in the field. This success would not have been possible without my co-editors, Dr. Jakub Bielak, Dr. Mariusz Kruk and Dr. Aleksandra Wach, who are sparing no effort to process the tens of papers submitted every week. It would also not have happened without our authors who believe that SSLLT is a suitable outlet for sharing the results of their research, editors of special issues 579 who succeed in bringing together top scholars in specific domains, and the hun- dreds of reviewers who feely dedicate their time to ensuring that the papers we publish represent rigorous scholarship. I could not possibly forget as well about our typesetter Piotr Bajak who has been with us from the get-go and who en- sures that each issue is impeccable in terms of its layout, often alerting us to technical issues that may have escaped our attention. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all these individuals and I am counting on their continued support in the future. The entire editorial team is committed to further enhancing the quality of SSLLT and making it an even more influential academic resource in 2020. I am fully confident that we have every chance of achieving these goals. Mirosław Pawlak Adam Mickiewicz University, Kalisz, Poland State University of Applied Sciences, Konin, Poland pawlakmi@amu.edu.pl References Bronfenbrenner, U. (1993). The ecology of cognitive development: Research models and fugitive findings. In R. H. Wozniak & K. W. Fischer (Eds.), De- velopment in context: Acting and thinking in specific environments (pp. 3- 44). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Lyster, R., & Ranta, L. (1997). Corrective feedback and learner uptake: Negotia- tion of form in communicative classrooms. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 37-66. Nunan, D. (2001). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni- versity Press. Sert, O. (2015). Social interaction and L2 classroom discourse. Edinburgh: Edin- burgh University Press.