This dissertation addressed the question of how the virtual world of Second Life used in combination with a distance learning course platform contributed to improving the oral communication skills of adult learners in an English as a second language context. Over recent years, research in the field has attempted to explore the different classroom…

One's ability to listen and comprehend spoken language of multiple utterances (i.e., listening comprehension) is one of the necessary component skills in reading and writing development. In this chapter, we review theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence of listening comprehension development and improvement, and propose a direct and mediated…

The current study investigates the effect of using voice thread on developing EFL pre-service teachers' speaking skills. A total of 30 EFL fourth year students in the Faculty of Education, Menoufia University participated in the study which involved one group experimental design. A pre-post test was administered to assess the participants'…

This article examines the relationship between oral- and textual-literacy systems that existed during the antebellum period of United States history. I argue that African-American intellectual processes are more accurately understood as existing on a literacy continuum that reflects equality between oral literacy and textual literacy. A literacy…

The descriptive focus of conversation analysis (CA) has not been considered optimal for second language (L2) acquisition research. Recently, however, some CA researchers have addressed the developmental agenda by examining longitudinal data (e.g., Brouwer, C., 2004; Ishida, M., 2009; Markee, N., 2008; Pekarek-Doehler, S., 2010). The present…

Across languages, children do not comprehend 3SG/3PL subject-verb agreement before age five, despite early mastery in spontaneous speech. This study investigates subject-verb agreement in a language hitherto not studied in this respect, namely Dutch. The authors examine if (1) Dutch two- and three-year-olds comprehend subject-verb agreement and…

This study focuses on morphophonology and frequency in past tense production. It was assessed whether Dutch five- and seven-year-old typically developing (TD) children and eight-year-old children with specific language impairment (SLI) produce the correct allomorph in regular, irregular, and novel past tense formation. Type frequency of the…

This paper reports on a mixed-methods approach to evaluate rater performance on a local oral English proficiency test. Three types of reliability estimates were reported to examine rater performance from different perspectives. Quantitative results were also triangulated with qualitative rater comments to arrive at a more representative picture of…

Tanzania's post-independence language policy has promoted Swahili as a means of achieving national and linguistic unity. This policy has affected the Ngoni language in south-western Tanzania. Today, Swahili has permeated communication all over Tanzania, even in rural and remote areas. This paper discusses lexical borrowing and especially borrowing…

This study examined potential differences in vocabulary found in picture books and adult's speech to children and to other adults. Using a small sample of various sources of speech and print, Hayes observed that print had a more extensive vocabulary than speech. The current analyses of two different spoken language databases and an assembled…

Beliefs about language learning are considered key for success in language learning. These beliefs can be shaped by contextual factors (Amuzie & Winke, 2009; Dole & Sinatra, 1994; Negueruela-Azarola, 2011). This paper explores the beliefs about language learning of Thai secondary school students in two educational contexts: in the…

A multiple baseline design across participants was used to examine the effects of a portable video modeling intervention delivered in the natural environment on the verbal compliments and compliment gestures demonstrated by five children with autism. Participants were observed playing kickball with peers and adults. In baseline, participants…

The present article investigates the use of first year university students' formulaic sequences in written and oral texts in an English as a foreign language context. The corpus of the study consists of eight descriptive texts--four written and four oral--which were composed of four students of English Pedagogy at a university in Santiago, Chile.…

Adopting a bimodal bilingual language acquisition model, this qualitative case study is the first in Germany to investigate the spoken and sign language development of hearing children of deaf adults (codas). The spoken language competence of six codas within the age range of 3;10 to 6;4 is assessed by a series of standardised tests (SETK 3-5,…

Irony comprehension in seven- and eight-year-old children with typically developing language skills was explored under the framework of the graded salience hypothesis. Target ironic remarks, either conventional or novel/situation-specific, were presented following brief story contexts. Children's responses to comprehension questions were used to…