In This Issue

This issue contains one full-length research article, an Expositions article, and four book reviews.

Articles

This issue’s main article is authored by Caleb Prichard and investigates the effect of L1 translations by Google Translate on reading outcomes among participants with different lexical coverage levels (i.e., percent of lexical items in a text of which a reader has receptive knowledge). Reading outcomes were operationalized in terms of content recall, and vocabulary form and meaning recall. Prichard found that content recall improves among learners with higher lexical coverage levels, but providing L1 translations enhanced content recall only among readers at the 96% lexical coverage level. There were no significant results at the 88, 92, or 100% lexical coverage levels for content recall. With regard to vocabulary form, the evidence suggests that translation negatively affects vocabulary form recognition across all investigated coverage levels. Finally, translations were associated with overall improved meaning recall but with a few caveats that are explained in the article. Implications for teaching include that providing text without L1 translations to learners with higher lexical coverage may be more effective than assigning more difficult texts with L1 translations. 

The Expositions article by Yuzuko Nagashima and Luke Lawrence aims to introduce the concept of intersectionality, and describe some of the ways it may be used by language teachers and researchers in applied linguistics. They trace the evolution of the concept from its origin in US legal studies through to its current use as an analytic lens applied to numerous academic disciplines. Nagashima and Lawrence then describe the ways intersectionality has been used in the fields of ELT and applied linguistics to date, and put forward their own framework for the use of the concept going forward. This framework employs intersectionality as a social theory and analytic lens for research, as well as the basis for what they call Intersectional Critical Language Pedagogy. This article provides both a useful review of intersectionality in ELT, and academia more broadly, as well as providing some clear suggestions for how teachers may adopt an intersectional, critical approach to their classroom practice.

Reviews

In this issue, we are pleased to present four excellent book reviews. The first, by Sean Toland, gives an in-depth and insightful critical review of Adrian Wallbank’s Academic Writing, Assessment, and Neurodiversity: Pedagogies for Inclusion. In his review, Toland, while highlighting areas of weakness in the volume, overall praises Wallbank’s book for “its ability to bridge the gap between research and practice.” Educators who are looking to further their knowledge about how to help neurodiverse students improve their writing will certainly find this review highly useful. Our second review, of David Allen’s Washback Research in Language Assessment: Fundamentals and Contexts, comes from Steven Chak Man Chit. Washback is a familiar topic to educators and has been much written about, but what this reviewer finds is that, “Rather than simply cataloguing existing research, the volume actively tries to move the field forward on several levels simultaneously.” He also mentions that this book is useful for all researchers, from novices to seasoned ones. Adam Littleton, our third reviewer, provides a thoughtful critique of Sam Morris’ Language Teacher Emotion Regulation. Littleton applauds the volume stating that “It is essential reading for anyone interested in the role of affect in second language acquisition, and a welcome aid to all who seek to practice emotionally aware pedagogy; an important and very timely book that bridges the gaps between psychology, cultural studies, and applied linguistics, and leaves all of them the richer for it.” The fourth review, on a related topic, by Kate Piatkowski, is of Kathryn Wentzel’s Social and Emotional Learning. Piatkowski points out that while the articles comprising the volume come from a conference held in 2019, and that much has been written about SEL since then, “the book remains valuable because it identifies research questions that are still relevant today.” She recommends this book particularly to educational leaders who are moving forward to make changes in how their institutions think about learning. As always, we hope that JALT Journal readers will enjoy reading and benefit from the variety of reviews in this issue.

From the Editors

This issue of JALT Journal features one main article, an Expositions article, and four reviews. The main article is about vocabulary and lexical coverage among English language learners and features practical implications for language teachers in Japan. Research on vocabulary and lexical coverage has a strong history among researchers based in Japan with articles on the topic appearing in an array of international journals. JALT Journal is happy to provide a venue for another meaningful contribution to this field with research conducted in Japan by Caleb Prichard, who provides implications that can be useful for teaching professionals not only in Japan but abroad as well. Prichard’s article highlights that providing difficult texts with L1 translations of vocabulary may not be as pedagogically effective as providing texts in which students have higher receptive knowledge and no L1 translations. The Expositions article by Yuzuko Nagashima and Luke Lawrence continues JALT Journal’s tradition of bringing experts from various sub-disciplines within Applied Linguistics and foreign language education to share their expertise and knowledge. Nagashima and Lawrence define and explain the concept of intersectionality and how it can be applied to the teaching contexts familiar to much of JALT Journal’s readership.

This is the second issue to feature this group of editors. Over the past year, JALT Journal has seen a substantial uptick in submissions and the editorial team and reviewers have dutifully reviewed each submission and ushered many through the review process. The editorial team would like to thank the wider network of reviewers for their professionalism and volunteering their valuable time to share their expertise with JALT Journal. The depth and quality of reviews that come back for each submission is truly impressive. As always, the editorial team hopes that readers enjoy the content of this issue and we thank you for reading JALT Journal.

— Joe Geluso, Editor

— Paul Leeming, Associate Editor

— Robert Lowe, Assistant Editor