Writing assessment essentially juxtaposes two elements: how "good writing" is to be defined, and how "good measurement" of that writing is to be carried out. The timed test is often used in large-scale L2 writing assessments because it is considered to provide reliable measurement. It is, however, highly inauthentic. One way of enhancing…

o complementary experiments analyzed the acquisition of text content linearization in writing, in French-speaking participants from third to ninth grades. In both experiments, a scrambled text paradigm was used: eleven ideas presented in random order had to be rearranged coherently so as to compose a text. Linearization was analyzed on the basis…

The influence of syllabic structure, lexical class and stress patterns of known words on the acquisition of the English stress system was investigated in ten native Thai speakers. All participants were adult learners of English with an average length of residence in the US of 1.4 years. They were asked to produce and give perceptual judgments on…

This article describes a small-scale research project in two schools using content and language integrated learning (CLIL), one English and one Austrian, where in both cases there had been considerable misgivings about appropriate forms of assessment to match the different kinds of language skill developed in the CLIL process. Teachers were…

Tandem learning is the collaborative learning partnership of two language learners with complementary language combinations, for example an Irish student learning German and a German student learning English. One of the major principles in tandem learning, apart from reciprocity and learner autonomy, is balanced bilingualism. While learners may…

Structured reflection on practical teaching experiences may help pre-service teachers to integrate their learning and analyze their actions to become more effective learners and teachers. This study reports on 12 pre-service English as a second language (ESL) teachers' individual tutoring of learners of English language writing. The data of the…

The admirable ideal of "total" immersion in a foreign culture privileges students who plan early on for foreign study, establish early language fluency and elect majors and activities that make it easier to leave campus. Other students often find that they lack the language skills to qualify for many foreign programs or are unable to reconcile…

In this article, the authors argue that despite the variable of language proficiency of young, immigrant children and educational programs designed for their language development (for example, ESL, Transitional Bilingual, Dual Language Bilingual, Sheltered Content Instruction), the strategy of historical thinking can help immigrant children…

Increasingly, mainstream U.S. classrooms include children who are English-language learners (ELLs). As a result, teachers need to become more aware of ways to assess the literacy progress of their ELL students. The first type of assessment that teachers need to make is to determine ELLs' literacy backgrounds. Teachers can use predictability logs…

The intention of this paper is to explore the issue of the availability and suitability of language learning materials for third level Irish language degree programs. A general outline of resources currently available is given and some tentative ideas are put forward on how the resource gap may begin to be bridged using CALL. Two trialled methods…

The author suggests that English-only classrooms are not only the implicit goal of much language policy in the United States, but also assumed to be already the case, an ironic situation in light of composition's historical role as "containing" language differences in U.S. higher education. He suggests that the myth of linguistic…

What C-tests actually measure has been an issue of debate for many years. In the present research, the authors examined the hypothesis that C-tests measure general language proficiency. A total of 843 participants from four independent samples took a German C-test along with the TestDaF (Test of German as a Foreign Language). Rasch measurement…

A model of language and speciality-area content teaching and learning in Japan is built on a concern to develop dialogically engaged language communal communication (DELCC) in class to be extended outside in the wider society. This model is applicable to other university contexts insofar as the FAO language is conceptualised and practised for life…

Using a case-study approach, this inquiry examines the perceptions of 10 immigrant students regarding the ESL program provided at the high school they attended for three years. Their achievement outcomes and the ESL program design at this school have been the topics of previous publications; hence the quest for explanatory insights from the…

Six intermediate/advanced learners of English, studying in the United Kingdom, identified messages that they wanted to convey in specific future conversations and memorized native-like versions of them. Their ability to use them in practice and in the real conversation was analyzed. Propensity to attempt using memorized material correlated with…