Though e-mail has become a common interpersonal communication medium, it does not mean that this medium is used without difficulty. While people can write e-mails to peers in any manner they like, writing e-mails to authority figures requires higher pragmatic competence and critical language awareness of how discourse shapes and reflects power…

The focus of the present paper is on the relationship between national identities and foreign-language education policies and practices. The paper examines this relationship through a juxtaposition of three sociohistoric contexts in which sociopolitical events led to major changes in foreign-language education: post-World War I United States,…

This study aimed to explore teacher candidates' reflections on the methodology and practice components of a pre-service English teacher training programme in Turkey. For this purpose, a qualitative case study method was followed. The participants were 176 senior year students at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. The data were…

In a case study, I applied philosophical hermeneutic principles in an advanced level EFL writing class in Taiwan. A "fusion of horizons" occurs at the junction of two intertwined interpretations: one from our socio-historical tradition and the other from our experience of novel phenomena. I explored students' hermeneutic horizons in…

Past studies have identified the impact of situational and enduring variables on second language (L2) learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) in the L2. This qualitative study triangulates data from two classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with four students and class instructor, and personal experiences including communication…

This article makes a methodological contribution to investigating the policy-practice nexus in the English classroom. It looks beyond language to offer a multimodal case study analysis of English classrooms in three cities: Delhi, Johannesburg, and London. The article shows how policies mediated by the agencies of the state, the school, the…

A study investigated the learning strategies and perceptions of second language learning of 12 students of advanced English-as-a-Second-Language at National-Louis University (Illinois). All subjects were surveyed, and one (Sasha), an articulate and highly motivated Ukrainian student, was interviewed in depth as a case study. Subjects were…

An ethnographic study examined the experiences of Karim (a member of the Ismaili cultural community in Canada), enrolled in an urban grade two multi-lingual classroom comprised of Canadian-born children who are second generation immigrants and whose daily lives are conducted in a language other than English. A researcher participated in the…

A study investigated common discourse features in the Spanish of six novice-level Spanish second language learners, as evidenced in oral interviews by two interviewers. Features examined included use of cohesive devices, use of the first language, whispering to self, scaffolding with the interviewer to express themselves, and negotiation. Results…

The key role that language and language policy play in relation to education, culture, and multiculturalism was emphasized throughout the plenary and workshop discussions of the 43rd Session of the International Conference on Education, convened by UNESCO in September, 1992. This paper reports the roundtable discussions of this meeting. The…

A discussion of foreign language immersion instruction in elementary schools begins with a definition of immersion instruction and its goals. The history of the establishment of such programs in the United States and Canada is briefly described. A variety of program options available within the immersion approach are outlined, including early…

A case study investigated the linguistic and social contexts of an adult Indonesian learner of English as a second language (ESL) in Australia, and how these factors affected his language learning progress. The learner, raised in Indonesia, was a young adult of Chinese descent. The discrepancy between the learner's perceptions of his own language…

Two case studies of students learning to write academic discourse, particularly to maintain cohesion and relevance, are described. The two college students were part of a fourth-year biology class: one was a native English speaker, and the other spoke English as a second language. Both had a good command of spoken English grammar at the sentence…

On the basis that English as a Second Language (ESL) writers encounter cross-cultural interference when dealing with the five-paragraph essay, a study was conducted to examine the writing of three ESL writers in a basic writing class. The case study of one of the subjects, a woman from Hong Kong, focused on her comments relating to the structure…

Data collected from young adult English-as-a-second-language students' (N=20) reports, think-aloud protocols, and analyses of achievement in composition writing indicated that most learners were able to use these learning strategies to make discernable achievements in their writing proficiency. (Author/CB)