A new generation of young learners often described as digital native school children are attitudinally and technically equipped to employ social media as a social process in learning. However, few international virtual learning projects have been implemented and researched. This article examines a trial which aimed to combine viable technology…

A major reading-achievement gap exists between English language learners and English-only students. In order for ELLs to experience school success, they must achieve English language proficiency. This article presents why vocabulary acquisition plays the most vital role in ELLs' learning of the English language. Factors include the severity and…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the role that talk about text assumes for English language learners in their middle level reading classrooms. In particular, this study looked at the opportunities that English language learners have to talk about text in middle level reading classrooms and their responses to these…

The Arizona English-Language Learner Assessment (AZELLA) is the backbone of Arizona's new English-language learner (ELL) policy in that it is used to assess students' English-language proficiency in order to place them into groups for English-language instruction and to determine when they have become proficient in English. This paper evaluates a…

The current review focuses on recent event-related brain potential (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in L2 syntactic processing data. To this end, critical factors influencing both the dynamics of neural mechanisms (ERPs) and critical functional brain correlates (fMRI) are discussed. These entail the critical period…

Despite a proliferation of research into academic writing and the availability of a number of guides to writing, little attention has been given to the means of supporting students striving to reach the level of proficiency in English expected from graduates in their respective fields. Our study aims to explore the prevalent problems in writing in…

This study identifies a unique context for exploring lay understandings of language testing and, by extension, for characterizing the nature of language assessment literacy among non-practitioners, stemming from data in an inquiry into the registration processes and support for overseas trained doctors by the Australian House of Representatives…

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the language status of 120 young, Latino dual language learners living in poverty in the United States. Maternal language input and home language and literacy environments were examined with regard to language development at 24 and 36 months. Results suggested that even when combining English and Spanish…

In this inquiry, I examine the cross educational experiences of ten Arab undergraduate students in two English-language universities in Montreal. Participants were from Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco and have been in Canada for three to seven years. Classic qualitative methodological tools of in-depth interviews, participant observation and…

A Mandarin/English two-way immersion elementary program is described from its inception and implementation through the fifth grade, the culminating year of the program. All students in all grades were assessed on their oral/listening, reading, and writing performance in Mandarin using program-created assessment measures. Fifth-grade students also…

Teachers' subject knowledge is recognized as an essential component of effective teaching. In the foreign language context, teachers' subject knowledge includes language proficiency. In New Zealand high schools, foreign languages (e.g. Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish) have recently been offered to learners earlier in their schooling,…

The number of international students, especially Asian international students, studying at colleges and universities in the United States has increased dramatically during the past 50 years. As the fastest growing population on campus, Asian international students are also attracting more attention than ever before in higher education. However,…

There has been a sharp rise in study abroad participation over the last few decades (Institute for International Education, 2011), which can largely be explained by the rise of short-term study abroad programs. While there is much to be gained from participation in such programs, mid-length and year programs may offer the greatest benefits for…

This regional dossier aims to provide concise, descriptive information and basic educational statistics about minority language education in a specific region of Europe--Malta. Aspects that are addressed include features of the education system, recent educational policies, main actors, legal arrangements, and support structures, as well as…

The developing discourse which moves assessment away from a measurement model towards one of learner empowerment and the development of assessment for lifelong learning sets the context for this article. The aim was to investigate the effect of self-assessment on foreign language learners' oral performance ability. Twenty EFL students of foreign…