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We assessed the roles of first language (L1) and second language (L2) proficiency in the processing of preverbal clitics in L2 Spanish by considering the predictions of four processing theories—the Input Processing Theory, the Unified Competition Model, the Amalgamation Model, and the Associative‐Cognitive CREED. We compared the performance of L1 English (typologically different from Spanish) to L1 Romanian (typologically similar to Spanish) speakers from various L2 Spanish proficiency levels on an auditory sentence‐processing task. We found main effects of proficiency, condition, and L1 and an interaction between proficiency and condition. Although we did not find an interaction between L1 and condition, the L1 Romanians showed an overall advantage that may be attributable to structure‐specific experience in the L1, raising new questions about how crosslinguistic differences influence the processing strategies learners apply to their L2.

Language plays a role in the genocide of the Rohingya people in Myanmar and continues to shape their experiences in displacement, yet their linguistic rights are rarely discussed in relation to their human rights and humanitarian concerns. International human rights standards offer important foundations for conceptualizing the “right to language” and identifying how linguistic rights can be violated both in situ and in displacement. The Rohingya case highlights how language policies are weaponized to oppress unwanted minorities; their outsider status is reinforced by the country’s language education policy and they face additional rights challenges in displacement—including obstacles to effectively accessing humanitarian aid. Moving forward, norms associated with self-determination and language rights offer a conceptual foundation for shifting attitudes and altering negative perceptions of Rohingya identity .

Students enrolled in language classes often report believing that natural talent is necessary to acquire a second language in adulthood, and this belief can reduce motivation and learning. The purpose of this research was to test if a positive experience promotes the belief that language learning is an ability that can be developed through persistence and effort (i.e., an incremental implicit theory, or growth mindset). We hypothesized that participants would endorse an incremental implicit theory more after using effective study strategies to successfully learn characters in another language. In this study, participants were taught how to read 20 Japanese characters, and their implicit theories of second language acquisition were measured at three time points: days before the learning experience, immediately after, and 2 weeks after the learning experience. Results showed that this brief episode of success in language learning increased an incremental implicit theory of second language acquisition, and this change persisted 2 weeks later.