Open and distance learning is experiencing rapid growth throughout the world. China in particular is undergoing a massive expansion of its distance EFL programmes. This global phenomenon challenges all those involved in delivering distance learning materials to examine current practice and the assumptions and expectations that underlie it, with…

There appears to be little literature available -- either descriptive or research-related -- on language testing in the military. This form of specific purposes assessment affects both military personnel and civilians working within the military structure in terms of posting, promotion and remuneration, and it could be argued that it has serious…

Research into learners' attributions for their successes and failures has received considerable attention. However, very little research has been carried out in the area of learning foreign languages. This study is timely in view of the current interest by the government in promoting foreign languages. The aims of the study were (1) to investigate…

In this article, an ESL instructor reflects on her preconceptions of power and control in the classroom. In the community-based program described, learners determined not only when and where classes would take place, but also the aims, curriculum, and content of the program. The challenges of this setting required the instructor to redefine her…

This cross-cultural study examined the generic structure of English and Arabic job application letters written by native Arabic speakers and English native speakers to find out the discourse genre text similarities and differences between them. A corpus of 60 job application letters written by 60 job applicants was subjected to the form of move…

The objective of this paper is to make a case for the claim that exclusive focus on the rational has only helped isolate linguists and prevented them from having a say on important political issues relating to language. One important feature of the ordinary person's view of and involvement with language is that emotions play an important role in…

Conventional wisdom in the study abroad field has held that more is better; that is, the longer students study abroad the more significant the academic, cultural development and personal growth benefits that accrue. The standard assumption is that meaningful advancement in language learning and other academic disciplines using a culture-specific…

In the bilingual contexts of two regions of Spain, Asturias (Asturian/Spanish) and Eastern Aragon (Catalan/Spanish), and given the relationship between language attitudes and linguistic proficiency, our study has two objectives. Firstly, the attitudes to the two contact languages are described. Secondly, the variables that can explain such…

In recent decades, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers have sought a new way of life in large numbers, often leaving their countries of origin behind in search of places that offer a better way of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate how elementary and middle school students in state schools in Reading, England (primarily…

Chinese learners are often stereotyped as high achievers and overlooked in literacy research. This year-long, qualitative study in a combined Grade 4/5 classroom presents the cases of two struggling Chinese-Canadian learners. The study offers a new perspective on struggling learners by revealing a complex, multilayered understanding of these…

Over the last 15 years, the rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has facilitated a revolution in how we use language. Online environments have facilitated creative and variable spelling using code hybridization and stylistic use of mechanical conventions such as punctuation and capitalization, lexical coinages, new…

At Pima Community College's Downtown Campus, the ESL lead faculty, library intern and librarian collaborated to create a comprehensive, progressive information literacy curriculum, based upon principles and best practices in both Second Language Acquisition Theory and the Information Literacy Competency Standards for a suite of ESL courses. The…

International Grammar School was founded twenty years ago on the belief in the benefits of immersion language learning for children. It offers immersion second language learning in German, Italian, French, and Japanese which continues through kindergarten into the high school years. With language as the medium and not the object of learning,…

This article discusses a framework for the development of tasks in a synchronous online environment used for language learning and teaching. It shows how a theoretical approach based on second language acquisition (SLA) principles, sociocultural and constructivist theories, and concepts taken from research on multimodality and new literacies, can…

This paper reports the redevelopment and subsequent evaluation of a unit in dialectology within a foreign language curriculum (German). In doing so it is a case study which serves to offer insight into the student experience of studying linguistics within a foreign language curriculum, the potential of online/electronic pedagogies for the teaching…