Since the University Grants Committee (UGC) selected the academic module of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) as the common English proficiency assessment for graduating undergraduate degree students in 2002, almost all the tertiary institutions in Hong Kong have offered IELTS preparation courses that aim at providing…

The General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) was developed in 1999, commissioned by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. The purpose of the test is to provide individuals with a gauge of their English language proficiency and assist employers and educational institutions in selection and placement. Also, it aims to encourage the study of English…

Response to Intervention (RTI) has been heralded by many as the long-awaited alternative to using a discrepancy formula for special education eligibility decisions. RTI focuses on intervening early through a multi-tiered approach where each tier provides interventions of increasing intensity. RTI has the potential to affect change for English…

Differential academic language proficiency is an issue of major educational concern, bearing on problems varying from pupil performance, to social prospects, and citizenship. In this paper we develop a conception of the language-acquiring subject, and we discuss the consequences for understanding differential language proficiency in schools.…

Existing research indicates that instructed learners' L2 proficiency and their metalinguistic knowledge are moderately correlated. However, the operationalization of the construct of metalinguistic knowledge has varied somewhat across studies. Metalinguistic knowledge has typically been operationalized as learners' ability to correct, describe,…

All teachers face challenges in helping English language learners (ELLs) reach proficiency in content areas while learning English. ESL teachers are essential in helping ELLs to face the twin challenges of achieving in content areas and developing academic English proficiency. This article discusses how ESL teachers can continue to help students…

The authors examine dimensions of the home literacy environment relative to oral language outcomes for high-risk Hispanic children. They also illustrate the use of commonality analysis for understanding the contribution of home literacy to oral language outcomes. Forty-eight children and their families participated in the study. Commonality…

In spite of the fact that Nigerian Pidgin (NP) is probably the language with the highest population of users in Nigeria, it does not enjoy official recognition and is excluded from the education system. It lacks prestige because it is seen by many Nigerians as a "bad" form of English and associated with a socially deprived set of people.…

ICT influences various phases of language studies and education. Its application for applied linguistics has been mainly attempted in the field of corpus linguistics, which describes how native speakers (NS) use the language and how its use by non-native speakers (NNS) deviates from the NS norm. In the current study, we focused on the English…

In this accessible introduction to Vygotskyian sociocultural theory, narratives illuminate key concepts of the theory. These key concepts, addressed across seven chapters, include mediation; Zone of Proximal Development; collaborative dialogue; private speech; everyday and scientific concepts; the interrelatedness of cognition and emotion,…

This brief reviews previous research related to the development of science knowledge and academic language in English language learners as well as the role of English language proficiency, learning in a second language, and first language knowledge in science learning. It also describes two successful CREATE interventions that build academic and…

This study compared the use of English past tense in a group of Spanish-English bilingual children with language impairment (BLI) to younger groups of bilinguals with typical and atypical language development reported in an earlier study. Ten children with BLI enrolled in 3rd-6th grade participated. Children supplied 12 regular, 12 irregular, and…

Approaching peer review from a process and contextualized perspective, this exploratory case study investigates two Chinese EFL learners' decision-making patterns while evaluating peers' texts in an online peer review and factors influencing these patterns. Detailed qualitative case study data were collected through think-aloud protocols,…

In this study, I investigate how French immersion students in two junior high schools in Alberta see themselves in Canadian society. The data come from three years of ethnographic research that included classroom observations and 94 interviews with students, teachers, administrators, and parents. This study shows how French immersion students do…

This qualitative study examines three non-limited English proficiency (LEP)/English as a second language (ESL)-labeled Chinese American students' English language and literacy performance in mainstream classrooms. Multiple methods were adopted for data collection, including interviewing the focal students' teachers and their parents, observing and…