This paper uses a bibliometric method to analyse the vocabulary research published in the journal "System" between 1976 and 2017. The bibliometric method used here is co-citation analysis, an approach which allows us to map the influences that have significantly impacted on vocabulary research. The analysis is intended to expand on an…

This article traces the 75-year history of ELT Journal, using this as a means to cast light on trends in ELT over the same period and to acknowledge various sources of thought and practice. In the first part (1946-1971), the focus is on how the journal contributed to the establishment of a methodological orthodoxy which was relatively unaffected…

In this reflection article I examine language assessment literacy initiatives and their possible impact on teachers, and I discuss the connections that exist between language assessment literacy and teachers' professional development. I explain that training for language assessment literacy may primarily foster teachers' knowledge and skills and,…

The practice of securing informed consent from research participants has a relatively low profile in second language (L2) acquisition research, despite its prominence in the biomedical and social sciences. This review article analyses the role that informed consent now typically plays in L2 research; discusses an example of an L2 study where…

This article overviews the major themes and pedagogical devethlopments that have emerged via the academic endeavors of practitioners and researchers in the last 25 years, while also touching on how my work adheres to these developments. The document starts with a brief historical background on the establishment of HOW as a resource for the…

This article examines Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). It looks at claims made by practitioners and highlights criticisms of these. The spread of this approach through its inclusion in journal articles and books is also examined. I suggest that teacher trainers, experts and journals risk giving legitimacy to, and spreading questionable beliefs…

In this essay, I review one of the conclusions in Lindseth (2016) published in "Foreign Language Annals." That conclusion suggests that explicit learning and practice (what she called form-focused instruction) somehow help the development of implicit knowledge (or might even become implicit knowledge). I argue for a different…

This article reviews a selected sample of 70 empirical studies in journal articles and doctoral dissertations on language assessment in China between 2011 and 2018. Following a brief introduction to the history and current state of language assessment in China, the article presents a critical review of language assessment research on six themes…

This essay introduces two presentations (or "Vorträge") by Ulf Abraham and Thomas Zabka that were originally published in the German journal, "Didaktik Deutsch." I reflect on the complexities of translation and intercultural communication, and ask how we might meaningfully compare the policy environment of one country with that…

Through examination of one recently manufactured term for language learners (Long-term English Learners) and review of a century of "MLJ" articles, we examine varying "socioinstitutional" conceptualizations of second/foreign/heritage language learners as shaped by educational institutions and related stakeholders over time,…

No area of language assessment research in the past 20 years has received a greater increase in attention than washback research. Beginning with the seminal work of Alderson & Wall (Alderson & Wall 1993; Wall & Alderson 1993), an evolving body of empirical washback studies has been conducted worldwide, especially in countries where…

This article presents our narration of the emergence and development of a research area about the teaching and learning of the English language in Colombia and the creation of a research group named Critical Studies of Colombian Education Policies. The narration includes a description of the bilingual education policy in Colombia and a literature…

Scholarly studies of international student mobility programs have increased during the last two decades, particularly following the Bologna Declaration. Nevertheless, a systematic review of international student mobility programs and the outcomes and benefits derived from participation in such programs has not been undertaken. This paper provides…

The present paper discusses three types of research perspective on the insider-outsider continuum: outsider research, (insider's) outsider research, and insider research. It examines the essential features of the insider-outsider distinction with reference to categories such as researcher, students, classroom context, contribution, control of…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), signed in 1965, was a pivotal civil rights law to address the dream of equitable education for all children on the mainland and in U.S. territories. The ESEA was followed by the Bilingual Education Act (BEA), signed by President Johnson in 1968. The BEA specifically addressed the necessities of…