This paper offers a new perspective on exploring peer observation (PO) as an event or system, and contributes to the discussion on what happens "after" the PO cycle in terms of opportunities for dissemination. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with members of academic staff in a UK higher education institution about…

In this study, the relationship between play, language skills and social competence is explored in a sample (n = 1005) of 33-month-old toddlers in a Norwegian early childhood education setting--Barnehages--based on two observational materials ("Tras" and "Alle med"). The study has two aims: (1) to investigate whether there is a…

The aim of this study is to investigate the construct of English as a foreign language (EFL) pre-service teachers' feelings of anxiety before, while, and after experiencing teaching English within a Turkish elementary classroom setting. Specifically, this intrinsic qualitative study investigates the anxiety sources for pre-service teachers in…

Mako [ISO 639-3: wpc], a Sáliban language spoken along the Ventuari River in the Venezuelan Amazon, has been variably reported as (critically) endangered and threatened. These reports, however, are based on second-hand information and/or self-reported census data. In this article, I present a vitality assessment of Mako that relies on first-hand…

The use of home languages has previously been advocated in highly multilingual UK classrooms. However, drawing on the home languages and cultural insight of children who use English as an Additional Language (EAL) may also have important social and academic benefits in contexts where monolingualism is the norm. Conducted in a small local authority…

Contexts that promote intensive second language (L2) experiences (typically, stay abroad, immersion, etc.) are reported to facilitate language development; yet, little is known about such programs when they are addressed to school-age learners in their home country. The present study examines the experiences of learners aged 11-13 years who…

Overrepresentation of Dual Language Learners (DLLs) in special education remains a problem even after 40 years of inquiry. One factor is that the U.S. federal government has neither clearly explained the definition of Specific Learning Disability (SLD) nor operationally defined it to identify children for special education services. This lack of…

This article explores Hispanics' concepts of cultural and linguistic identity. It is based on the findings of a recent study conducted by the author in Iglesia hispana de Cristo, a Hispanic church community in Western New York. Data come from ethnographic interviews conducted with 48 participants aged 13 to 80 years and with church leaders and…

As the number of English Language Learners (ELLs) educated in general education classrooms has increased, many teacher education programs have implemented reforms intended to prepare teacher candidates to work with ELLs. This multiple-case study uses a sociocultural perspective on learning to examine whether and how four undergraduate teacher…

This comparative study investigated the experiences of starting childcare of three immigrant children in three different learning environments in New Zealand. The notion of learning environment was explored as a way of thinking about how different people, places, and approaches to learning have interacted to create a particular site for the…

In recent years, much research has shown that the first language (L1) is being used in the majority of foreign language classrooms. However, these findings have often failed to include secondary foreign language teachers and their teaching context. The current mixed-methods study explores Spanish teachers' use of and beliefs about first and target…

Following a "mixed methods" approach, this research is designed to examine whether teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in Egypt's public schools matches the communicative English language teaching (CELT) approach. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 50 classroom observations, 100 questionnaire responses from…

Purpose: This study investigated rural English teachers' perceptions of factors which influence the literacy development of young learners in rural school settings. This investigation led to a further enquiry on the dimensions of an affective literacy framework to support the English learning of rural young learners. Methodology: The study…

This article reports an investigative study on the target language use in and outside business English classrooms for non-English major undergraduates in a Chinese university context. The aims of the study are to identify the actual situation of target language use in business English teaching and to suggest ways for improvements. The study uses…

This paper deals with language practices in one Pentecostal church in Cameroon, i.e. the Full Gospel Mission Cameroon (FGMC). The data are produced by some 80 pastors, church officials, choir leaders and congregants, and the settings are some 20 churches located in two anglophone regions and two francophone regions of Cameroon. The instruments…