This paper focuses on English teachers in Asia in the context of globalization, the global spread of English and the emergence of English as an "Asian language." It highlights the dilemmas facing these teachers in meeting the growing social demands of English proficiency in a technology-influenced, managerial and neoliberal education…

The article summarizes results from two experimental studies (N = 23, N = 21) investigating the extent to which working memory capacity (WMC) intervenes in "ab initio" language development under two pedagogical conditions [± grammar lesson + input-based practice + explicit feedback]. The linguistic target is the use of morphosyntax to…

Knowledge of English vocabulary contributes to the learner's proficiency of English as a foreign language, but how the learner's lexical knowledge behaves in the contribution. Researchers in mainland China have conducted studies of various kinds in order to find out how the learner's lexical knowledge correlates with his proficiency. This article…

Literature provides consistent evidence that there is a strong relationship between language proficiency and math achievement. However, research results show conflicts supporting either an increasing or a decreasing longitudinal relationship between the two. This study explored a longitudinal data and adopted quantile regression analyses to…

Many children struggle to communicate explicitly about the relationships between variables and concepts that are central to science content. In order for students to talk and write like scientists, they need to acquire ways of using language common in science discourse. For example, in the writing above, the student uses the word "play"…

This article summarizes some of the technical issues that add to the complexity of language testing. It focuses in particular on the criterion-referenced nature of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines-Speaking; and it proposes a criterion-referenced interpretation of the ACTFL guidelines for reading and listening. It then demonstrates how using…

This 4-year case study used a photo-elicitation approach to language learning history research in an individual case study of an Indonesian student's experiences of communities of practice while studying abroad in Japan. The study showed how the student's opportunities for interaction in Japanese were at first limited by his peripheral…

This paper is the first in a series from Educational Testing Service (ETS) concerning English language proficiency (ELP) assessments for K-12 English learners (ELs). The goal of this paper, and the series, is to present research-based ideas, principles, and recommendations for consideration by those who are conceptualizing, developing, and…

Speakers of a second language (L2), regardless of profciency level, communicate for specifc purposes. For example, an L2 speaker of English may wish to build rapport with a co-worker by chatting about the weather. The speaker will draw on various resources to accomplish her communicative purposes. For instance, the speaker may say "falling…

Placement testing is a crucial issue in Japanese universities. In the majority of language programs, classes are streamed by proficiency levels based on students' placement test score for efficient instruction because university students' proficiency levels vary greatly even in the same program. The Visualizing English Language Competency Test®…

The purpose of this explorative qualitative methods study was to examine students' motivations and proficiency of a foreign language in a top tier higher education environment. The study investigated the factors and motivations that affect students' proficiency in a foreign language. The qualitative methods included open-ended questionnaires,…

The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) proposes Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) as an important strategy to develop the learners' linguistic competences along with their communicative skills. Since it is learner-centred and relies mostly on engaging learners in meaningful communicative interchanges in a foreign language, it allows…

In this study, the cloze-elide test was developed and administered under time constraints. This research is aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the speeded cloze-elide test and investigate its relationship with reading comprehension, C-Test, and multiple-choice cloze test. Processing speed is a vital indicator to distinguish high to…

Much is known about immigrants' majority language proficiency in the first (immigrant) generation. Less is understood of differences in linguistic shift compared with heritage language retention in subsequent generations. Focusing on Sydney, Australia's largest "EthniCity," we build on Clyne and Kipp's (1999. "Pluricentric Languages…

The Irish language is a minority language undergoing the attenuation and accelerated change commonly seen as threatened languages come under increasing pressure from the dominant language. The decline of the numbers of traditional speakers and growing numbers of L2 speakers of Irish has given rise to some contested spaces regarding authenticity,…