Second Language Acquisition and Learning
Second Language Acquisition and Learning is a research topic within Developmental and Educational Psychology. Science Explorer counts 24k research works in it since 1950. 21.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers focuses on various aspects of vocabulary acquisition in second language learning, including the use of corpora and corpus linguistics, lexical diversity, incidental learning, formulaic language, reading comprehension, collocations, and the role of learner corpora in language teaching.
- Vocabulary Acquisition
- Second Language Learning
- Corpus Linguistics
- Lexical Diversity
- Incidental Learning
- Formulaic Language
- Reading Comprehension
- Collocations
- Learner Corpora
- Language Teaching
- Research works
- 24k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 5.1k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 21.0% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +30% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Second Language Acquisition and Learning research?
By volume, Indonesia and China publish the most (781 and 767 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Indonesia 781 works
- 2 China 767 works
- 3 United States 516 works
- 4 Türkiye 240 works
- 5 Japan 206 works
- 6 United Kingdom 182 works
- 7 Spain 159 works
- 8 Malaysia 146 works
- 9 Vietnam 144 works
- 10 Saudi Arabia 143 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Second Language Acquisition and Learning research?
By volume in 2022–2025, China West Normal University publishes the most Second Language Acquisition and Learning research, followed by National University of Malaysia and Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 China West Normal University China 28 works
- 2 National University of Malaysia Malaysia 27 works
- 3 Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara Indonesia 24 works
- 4 State University of Makassar Indonesia 23 works
- 5 University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 23 works
- 6 Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand 21 works
- 7 Education University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 21 works
- 8 Guangdong University of Foreign Studies China 20 works
- 9 Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong 18 works
- 10 Indonesia University of Education Indonesia 18 works
Who are the leading researchers in Second Language Acquisition and Learning?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Second Language Acquisition and Learning include Stephen Krashen, James L. McClelland and Rod Ellis.
- 1 Stephen Krashen 2.5k citations
- 2 James L. McClelland 1.9k citations
- 3 Rod Ellis 1.8k citations
- 4 Ken Hyland 1.7k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Second Language Acquisition and Learning research done?
The largest centres of Second Language Acquisition and Learning research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Medan (Indonesia) and Guangzhou (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Tai Po, Nanchong and Wellington.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
- 1 Beijing China 103 works
- 2 Shanghai China 67 works
- 3 Medan Indonesia 61 works
- 4 Guangzhou China 60 works
- 5 Tokyo Japan 60 works
- 6 Jakarta Indonesia 59 works
- 7 Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam 54 works
- 8 Hong Kong China 53 works
- 9 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 51 works
- 10 Bangkok Thailand 49 works
Where it is the local speciality
- Tai PoCN · 20.7 works25×
- NanchongCN · 29.0 works22×
- WellingtonNZ · 21.2 works11×
- ErbilIQ · 24.3 works10×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Second Language Acquisition and Learning than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Second Language Acquisition and Learning?
Among universities, judged by research, Education University of Hong Kong, University of Macau and Macao Polytechnic University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Education University of Hong Kong Hong Kong | 75.1 | 49.8% | 25.9× | 20 | +68.5% |
| 2 | University of Macau Macau | 70.4 | 38.8% | 10.4× | 18 | — |
| 3 | Macao Polytechnic University Macau | 66.1 | 67.1% | 21.2× | 10 | -29.2% |
| 4 | Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand | 62.9 | 30.6% | 19.2× | 21 | +21.6% |
| 5 | Guangdong University of Foreign Studies China | 61.3 | 22.6% | 35.5× | 20 | +111.7% |
| 6 | University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam | 60.2 | 44.6% | 27.8× | 12 | — |
| 7 | Northern Arizona University United States | 58.7 | 48.8% | 21.4× | 12 | +0.4% |
| 8 | University of Hong Kong Hong Kong | 57.7 | 35.0% | 4.9× | 23 | +52.9% |
| 9 | Kansai University Japan | 56.8 | 28.4% | 23.4× | 10 | +378.0% |
| 10 | UCLouvain Belgium | 55.6 | 27.8% | 8.7× | 12 | +119.5% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Second Language Acquisition and Learning research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 30% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Second Language Acquisition and Learning.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.