This paper reports the findings of a case study investigating the taxonomy of question-types in Hong Kong EFL classrooms, their appropriate application by teachers, and the resulting effectiveness in helping students understand the correct lesson objectives. Triangulation was conducted in data collection using classroom observations, teacher…

This study investigated how immigrant parents describe and explain their family language policy concerning their child's preschool bilingual development, and also explored the factors linked to the parents' choice of bilingual or monolingual kindergarten for their child. The study design was based on a comparison of 2 groups of parents: those who…

This article seeks to explore adult second language learning beyond the classroom as a process of identity negotiation, and a struggle for participation, acceptance, and legitimacy in multiple communities to which learners belong or aspire to belong. Drawing on constructivism to conceptualize language learning and notions of identity, the study…

This study examined the effectiveness of reformulation and model text in a three-stage writing task (composing-comparison-revising) in an EFL writing class in a Beijing university. The study documented 10 university students' writing performance from the composing (Stage 1) and comparing (Stage 2, where students compare their own text to a…

Pragmatic differentiation in bilinguals is the ability to use two languages appropriately with different speakers. Although some sensitivity emerges by 2 years, the effects of context on these skills and their relation to other developing metacognitive capacities have not been examined. The current study compared the language use of 28 bilingual…

This study reports on attention to meaning among 40 NNS pre-service EFL teachers as they collaboratively constructed a wiki in a 16-week online course. Focus is placed upon the nature of individual and group behavior when attending to meaning in a long-term wiki-based collaborative activity as well as the students' collaborative autonomous…

The theme for this year's College of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa was "Engaged Language Research and Practice," with the plenary speech given by Dr. Kathryn A. Davis. Following a preface from the editors and plenary speaker highlights, contents of these proceedings include: Section I:…

Classroom mathematics in Malta is generally communicated through code-switching between the national language Maltese and the country's second language English. This is because not all mathematical words have Maltese equivalents and furthermore, mathematics textbooks are UK publications. I consider the language used for spoken communication and…

The aim of the study is to identify and interpret the exact aspects of Greek interlanguage modification which present deviations from native usage. As such, it is an investigation of Greek ESL university students' request modification and a comparison to British English native speakers. More specifically, it concentrates on the mitigating function…

This study explores medical college students' improvement on the TOEIC upon completion of English-only classes by comparing their pre- and post-TOEIC scores. The students' responses on the questionnaire were also reviewed. The subjects were the 44 first-year medical students taking the English-only classes that required active participation of…

The present study is a corpus-based analysis of a selection of polysemous lexical verbs used to express modality in student argumentative writing. Twenty-three lexical verbs were searched for in three 100,000-word corpora of argumentative essays written in English by American, Filipino and Spanish university students. Concordance lines were…

Writing in English is often a problem for EFL learners in part because students may translate literally from their L1, and also because they may organise their writing by focusing on the grammatical structure at the level of clause or sentence. However, many studies argue that language is meaningful at a unit larger than a clause or sentence…

Within the framework of our research on learners' language practices and representations, this contribution explores how their representations about language uses and language learning shape the processes of learning and communication in school settings. More precisely, we will study learners' representations regarding the existence of a…

Usage-based models claim that first language learning is based on the frequency-based analysis of memorised phrases. It is not clear though, whether adult second language learning works in the same way. It has been claimed that non-native language lacks idiomatic formulas, suggesting that learners neglect phrases, focusing instead on orthographic…

The role which English maintains as a lingua franca is currently being conceptualized in differing ways. English as an international language, Euro-English, and English as a lingua franca are analyzed from two main perspectives; first, the relevance that such descriptions of English-language usage have for variety building (for mainland Europe);…