This study investigates the effects of Acoustic Spectrographic Instruction on the production of the English phonological contrast /i/ and / I /. Acoustic Spectrographic Instruction is based on the assumption that physical representations of speech sounds and spectrography allow learners to objectively see and modify those non-accurate features in…

The study investigated how transactional strategies could improve undergraduate students' reading and writing abilities. A quasi-experimental study was performed with two groups of students. Students in the control group were taught by the traditional method, while students in the experimental group were taught by transactional strategies. The…

Nowadays, scientific writers are required not only a thorough knowledge of their subject field, but also a sound command of English as a lingua franca. In this paper, the lexical errors produced in scientific texts written in English by non-native researchers are identified to propose a classification of the categories they contain. This study…

Language policy is generally seen as a national-level decision regarding which languages the state will support, and in which public domains. However, the reality is that language policy plays out at regional and local levels as well. In fact, it could be argued that the most important instantiations of language policy are those which directly…

Indigenous cultural and language negotiations ongoing in the contexts of South Africa and Canada are documented in two studies, one sharing narratives from Black parents in South Africa and the other sharing narratives of Métis Elders in Canada. Black parents' perspectives on Indigenous language and cultures and the role of education in…

Phonological awareness has been repeatedly reported as important for learning to read in different orthographies. It is important to understand what specific levels of phonological awareness are involved in Chinese and English for Chinese children who learn English-as-a-second-language (ESL). Measures of phonological awareness, word reading,…

School readiness has captured our attention. Across the country, policymakers, politicians, advocates, educators, and community members are forging alliances to increase children's access to the kinds of early childhood experiences that will best prepare them for success in school. At the same time, census figures indicate that the child…

Purpose: Earlier research on "Hole-in-the-Wall (HiWEL)" conclusively indicated groups of children pick up computer literacy on their own and are adept at performing basic functions such as cut, copy, paste, surf the internet to answer high-end questions. Research also indicates that children self-organize themselves to figure out things…

Developing speaking skills constitutes the key stage for language learners. Considering the remarkable differences between ESL and EFL students, the likelihood for language learners in many EFL settings to face the barbed wires placed on the road to speaking proficiency is far greater compared with ESL learners. The primary reason behind this…

Although researchers have investigated teachers' perceptions of their preparedness to instruct English language learners (ELLs) and value student culture in the classroom, there has been a lack of studies at an elementary school level. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of elementary teachers about their use…

This paper presents another stage in a series of research efforts by the authors to develop an experience-connected mobile language learning environment, bridging formal and informal learning. Building on a study in which the authors tried to connect classroom learning (of German in Japan) with learners' real life experiences abroad by having…

English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' language use in 3-D virtual environments is a vibrant avenue that still deserves more research attention in the field of CALL. To contribute research and pedagogical implications to the current Second Life (SL) literature, this study aims to examine EFL adult learners' use of communication strategies…

Intercultural simulations, such as Barnga (Thiagarajan & Steinwachs, 1990), along with the use of critical incidents (Gibson, 2002; Gropper, 1996), have long been a mainstay of intercultural communication courses and have found their way into English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms (Apedaile &…

This professional paper builds on the work of TESOL's issue briefs, "Implementing the Common Core State Standards for English Learners: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher" (February 2013) and Overview of the Common Core State Standards Initiatives for ELLs (March, 2013). It discusses the shifting landscape surrounding the new Common…

Teachers' online discussion forums play an important role in ESL teachers' professional development. They provide opportunities for in-depth peer-to peer interaction, self-directed learning, exchange of knowledge and expertise, and greater involvement in teaching-learning and student-teacher issues. Forum members can share resources such as tests,…