Many adolescents struggle to comprehend text, a fact which has led educational researchers to speculate that these reading struggles might be linked with students' levels of familiarity with the vocabulary and language found in these texts. However, few studies have identified the school-relevant language skills beyond vocabulary that contribute…

In foreign language classrooms we often find that, in addition to their mother tongue (L1), learners already speak--or are learning--at least one other language. As a result, they already have an array of linguistic and cognitive skills that may prove very useful if they are adequately exploited during the language learning process. However, in…

Within these years, there has been a significant increase in the number of Chinese Mainland sojourners studying in Hong Kong. Due to the huge differences in various aspects like language, culture, cultural value, it would be considerably difficult for the Chinese Mainland students to adapt to the Hong Kong environment. This article investigates…

This study considers, both transversally and longitudinally, advanced second language (L2) learners' profile portraits, how these correlate with their sociolinguistic and linguistic performance, and how changes in these portraits over time connect to changes in sociolinguistic performance. The results show a strong correlation between high degrees…

In any society, the role of language has always been a very vital and incontrovertible one. The bible made us to understand that at the beginning, there was word and the word was with God and God was the word. The world and all that we have therein were created through word. This makes one to wonder about the power in language today. At all levels…

The present study explored the developmental trend of orthographic awareness in Chinese-speaking preschoolers. A total of 184 children between 3 and 5 years of age participated in the study. Two developmental patterns of orthographic awareness were obtained. One pattern was dependent on a traditional Chinese orthographic hierarchy, with a sequence…

The population of English language learners (ELLs) in general education classrooms has been increasing over the last few decades. However, ELLs are still underrepresented in gifted programs, and teachers struggle to provide these students with adequate educational experiences. What do teachers need to know about high-potential ELLs? What…

Multilingual education (MLE) is increasingly recognized as a means to ensure equitable access to education for children with a nondominant first language and to retain endangered languages. UNESCO has championed MLE and identified 10 essential components in planning implementation of MLE implementation. This article examines these 10 components in…

This study measures the extent to which Arabic-speaking EFL learners are aware of polysemy in English. It also investigates whether the English proficiency level of Arabic-speaking EFL learners plays a role in their ability to distinguish between the various meanings of English polysemous words, and whether they face problems when they encounter…

Most of the world's English language teachers speak English as a second or third language rather than as their first language. For many, their level of proficiency in English may not reach benchmarks established by their employers, raising the issue that is the focus of this article, namely, what kind of proficiency in English is necessary to be…

This article provides a review and analysis of current research examining the connection between teacher language proficiency and their self-reported beliefs about their pedagogical abilities. Generally speaking, (English) language teachers require an advanced level of proficiency in order to be successful language teachers, but pedagogical skills…

This study attempts to ascertain if the WebCAPE placement exam can be used to measure improvement in an upper division grammar course. The WebCAPE online placement exam is a widely used instrument designed to help university language programs place students into the basic language course best corresponding to their proficiency level. This is done…

This study aimed to advance research on first and second language future-time expression in Spanish and to demonstrate the strengths of combining functionalist, concept-oriented approaches (e.g., Andersen, 1984; Bardovi-Harlig, 2000; Shirai, 1995; von Stutterheim & Klein, 1987) with variationist approaches. The study targeted 140 participants…

This study sought to determine the difference in text-based negotiated interaction between non-native speakers of English (NNS-NNS) and between non-native and natives (NNS-NS) in terms of the frequency of negotiated instances, successfully resolved instances, and interactional strategy use when the dyads collaborated on Facebook. It involved 10…

Malaysians have long realised the importance of being competent in English as one of the success factors in attaining their future goals. However, English is taught as a second language in Malaysia, and it is not easy to teach under such a foreign context, because authentic input may not exist beyond the classroom, especially in Chinese private…