Within the Japanese English Language Teaching context and consistent with the dominant conversation role assigned to the native English speaker teacher, there exists a belief that the most effective manner in which to teach and promote multilingualism and intercultural understanding is through restricting students to monolingual practices and…

With speakers of over one hundred languages, the Lao PDR is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse nations in Southeast Asia. However, its education policy stipulates that Lao is the language of education at all levels of schooling. Non-ethnic Lao students are thus required to learn literacy in a language which they do not speak.…

According to Horwitz (1987) learners' belief about language learning are influenced by previous language learning experiences as well as cultural background. This study examined the English Language Learning Strategies between local and international Chinese students who share the same cultural background but have been exposed to different…

Dual language programs have been shown to be one of the most successful models for closing the achievement gap between English-speaking and English-learning students, which can be considered a strong indicator of educational equity. However, questions remains about how equity is achieved within these programs and what equity means to…

This article examines the reported language ideologies and family language policies of the parents of Cantonese-English bilinguals in the U.S. in relation to their children's achievement scores in Cantonese and English. We explore the relationships first by language of instruction. Results show children in bilingual classrooms scored higher than…

Reliability and validity evidence is provided for the Demographic Index of Cultural Exposure (DICE), consisting of six demographic proxy indicators of acculturation, within two community samples of Mexican-origin adults (N= 497 for each sample). Factor analytic procedures were used to examine the common variance shared between the six demographic…

Under the premise that vocabulary learning in a Spanish as a second language in-class environment may be affected by the instructional approach adopted by the instructors or the materials followed, this study explores the influence of rather distant teaching styles, such as implicit and explicit approaches, on the learning outcome of Spanish…

In this essay, I argue for viewing mental representation and skill as distinct components of language acquisition. My claim is that language is not a monolithic entity--not a new concept, but one that is often overlooked by instructors and some scholars. I examine language as being (minimally) composed of mental representation and skill.…

Although there exists a number of studies that have shown the benefits of applying the cognitive linguistics notion of motivation to foster comprehension and retention of conventional English metaphors, relatively little attention has been paid to EFL learners' productive use of metaphor in speech and writing. Using data gathered in a…

This paper reports the findings of a survey of 100 mothers of Chinese children aged between 6 and 36 months from middle to upper-middle socio-economic backgrounds in Penang, Malaysia. The findings include the language backgrounds of these mothers, their contextual uses of multiple languages and their language choices with their children. Through…

This paper investigates role-play activities and how they can be used within learning for English as an Additional Language (EAL) pupils in a Key Stage 2 setting in England. Through observations, results showed effective role-play activities can be beneficial to EAL pupils, allowing them to practice words and phrases in a relaxed atmosphere…

With Chinese native-speaker data as the baseline, this study investigates the use of the morphosyntactic particle DE by learners of Chinese as a second language. The general patterns are as follows: (a) DE tends to be deleted more in informal speech than in formal settings; (b) higher proficiency and longer residence in China--more interactions…

It is essential that preservice teachers and language learners understand why creativity is important and how creative thinking skills might be enhanced during language and content study. It is equally important that learners be given opportunities to express themselves creatively and that they are supported in doing so. To meet these goals,…

Applying Kachru and Nelson's model of English spread and their categorisation into Inner/Outer/Expanding Circles, this content analysis of English as a Foreign Language textbooks used in Japanese junior high schools investigates which countries were introduced and further studies how Japan's domestic diversity was constructed in those textbooks.…

This article describes the design and implementation of a business proposal module for final-year science students at a tertiary institution in Hong Kong. It is argued that in the needs analysis process, the present situation analysis (PSA), that is, personal information about the learners and factors which may affect their learning, is just as if…