James P. Lantolf is George and Jane Greer Professor Emeritus of Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics and former director of the Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. He is currently Adjunct Professor of Applied Linguistics in the same academic unit at Xi'an Jiaotong…

This forum paper is based on a friendly and informative interview conducted with Professor Ann M. Johns. In providing answers to the interview questions, Professor Johns suggests that all good teaching is ESP, and also distinguishes between EOP and ESP in that the former entails much more "just in time" learning while the latter may be…

In this interview, JD Brown reflects on language testing/assessment. He suggests that language testing can be seen as a continuum with hard core positivist approaches at one end and post modernist interpretive perspectives at the other, and also argues that norm referencing (be it proficiency, placement, or aptitude testing) and criterion…

This paper discusses the importance of listening comprehension in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) and argues that more emphasis should be given to listening comprehension. It cites significant research findings in second language acquisition and reviews the relationship between listening comprehension and language learning. Research…

This paper describes successful strategies based on research and practical applications used in the Greater Clark School Corporation in bringing many languages and cultures together. The most reasonable and correct course of action for teachers to take is to include the students in all class activities that will be enhanced by cooperative…

As with language teaching and learning, many factors are at work disregarding of which makes teaching absolutely futile. This introspective paper shows that teaching is bound to many other factors not normally regarded within the framework many teachers apply. Practicality of teaching methods is highly dependent on the kind of learners; that is,…

This article presents the process of recent curricular revision and material development in English at the national level in India in a limited way. Teachers' needs and wants, their participation in the development of materials, the dilemmas of teachers and their implications for classroom transactions are discussed from the experiences of one of…

"TBT" means "task-based teaching". In a TBT class, students play the central role. In the class where students are provided with plenty of chances to be engaged in activities, the teacher is more like a patient listener rather than a talkative speaker. This paper mainly explores how task-based teaching is used in English reading class.

Schools in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) are required to administer standardized assessments to measure student achievement in core academic areas. The assessments are administered in English. Student scores are used to rank schools in defined categories of performance ranging from Underperforming to Exemplary. A significant…

This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of native and nonnative English teachers in Polish schools in light of the researchers' personal language teaching experience and language teacher research and training. It is argued that the NS/NNS controversy is oversimplified and ignores the complexities of teacher training, language learning,…

This article deals with modelling and specificity in K-12 teacher education to describe an approach in ESL/EFL teaching which is aimed at assisting teachers in bridging the gap between declarative and procedural knowledge while addressing the complex requirements of their learners. It is concluded that descriptions of language variation across…

Language pedagogy (LP) and second language acquisition are two poles of a continuum; one pole includes teaching and teachers, and the other is concerned with learning and learners. There has been contradicting views on SLA and LP's relationship, from no relevance to complete and positive relevance. In this paper, I am trying to tackle this…

Video provides (1) simultaneous audio/visual input, and (2) complete and contextualized conversations, and thus proves to be a rich vehicle in foreign language instruction. The video drama "Connect with English" (a.k.a. "Rebecca's Dream"), created to promote English language learning, is particularly outstanding in that it contains an captivating…