Researchers exploring the use of language use in radiotelephony communication have tended to focus on the limitations of the non-native English user and the threats which their limited control of English may pose for aviation safety (e.g. Atsushi, 2003, 2004). Hence the recent International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) policy places the onus…

The factors affecting the mastery of the host country's language by the children of immigrants are important in the study of immigration-related issues. This exploratory study analyses the possible link between parental socio-linguistic background factors (parent-child language choice, parental proficiency in L2, educational level, socio-economic…

Speaking tasks involving peer-to-peer candidate interaction are increasingly being incorporated into language proficiency assessments, in both large-scale international testing contexts, and in smaller-scale, for example course-related, ones. This growth in the popularity and use of paired and group orals has stimulated research, particularly into…

This paper concerns the teaching of English to learners who are studying, or will soon study, engineering and who are expected to do at least part of their studying through textbooks written in English. Such students, especially in universities in developing countries, often find themselves very poorly equipped by their secondary education for…

This mixed-method study examines the proficiency in and perceptions of French language learning of Grade 8 students who were exposed to an instructional approach called the Accelerative Integrated Method (AIM). Six AIM classes (n = 125) and six non-AIM classes (n = 135) were observed and their students tested using a four-skills French as a second…

Acquiring an adequate vocabulary is a cognitive challenge for foreign language learners. Varied exposures to newly acquired words as they occur in meaningful contexts may facilitate the process of vocabulary learning. In this study we investigated the effects of such a multiple-strategy-based vocabulary teaching approach. We conducted an…

Second language acquisition (SLA) researchers strive to understand the language and exchanges that learners generate in synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). Doughty and Long (2003) advocate replacing open-ended SCMC with task-based language teaching (TBLT) design principles. Since most task-based SCMC (TB-SCMC) research addresses an…

Quality Counts 2009 is the 13th edition of "Education Week's" series of annual report cards tracking state education policies and outcomes. Drawing heavily on data from the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center's annual state policy survey, the report once again offers a comprehensive state-by-state analysis of key indicators…

The National Education Act of 1999 in Thailand mandated a transition from teacher- to learner-centred instruction for all subjects including English. This shift was associated with the development of communicative ability in English to meet the needs of globalization. The current study investigated the policy behind and implementation of the…

Extensive reading means reading in quantity to gain a general understanding of the material read. The purpose of extensive reading is to train students to read directly and fluently in English as a foreign language (EFL) for pleasure without the help of their teacher. It aims to develop good reading habits, expand the students' knowledge of…

A review of Foreign Language Learning: A Psycholinguistic Analysis of the Issues by Leon A. Jacobovits. (DS)

Presents a preliminary case for the dispositionalist interpretation of grammatical knowledge by accomplishing two complementary tasks: first rejecting a prominent argument against the dispositionalist interpretation; second, advancing an original argument against the anti-dispositionalist interpretation. (Author/VWL)

Licensure testing programs in the United States (e.g., nursing) face an increasing challenge of measuring the competency of internationally trained candidates, both in relation to their clinical competence and their English language competence. To assist with the latter, professional licensing bodies often adopt well-established and widely…

The present article reports on research conducted during late 2004 on the language abilities of Australia's parliamentarians and a parliamentary debate in 2005 on languages in Australia. A small questionnaire was administered to all members of the nine legislative structures of Australia comprising six states, two territories and the one Federal…

This paper focuses on the use of Basque as the language of instruction. In the first part of the article the situation of Basque in the Basque Country is briefly described and the different possibilities regarding the language(s) of instruction are explained: model A with Spanish as the language of instruction and Basque as a subject; model B with…