A British study stressed the need for multiple language skills in a globalized world and concluded that national capacity is currently inadequate: 90% of children stop second language learning at age 16. There is a disparity between the number of adults stating they want to learn languages and the number actually engaged in it. (SK)

Addresses the norms of native and native-like circumlocution, an important skill for compensating for gaps in lexical knowledge. Participants in the study, both native and native-like speakers, were found to employ similar strategies while circumlocuting, including the use of synonyms, analogies, and descriptions. (Author/VWL)

Observed the mechanisms by which strategies of revision take shape and develop the interpsychological space created when two learners are working in their respective zones of proximal development (ZPDs). A microgenetic approach was adopted to analyze the interaction produced by two intermediate English-as-a-Second-Language college students as they…

Reviews research on language learning and age, and presents a summary of the conclusions on second language acquisition and mature age learners from key writers in the field. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the phenomenon of communicative language testing as it emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a reaction against tests constructed of multiple choice items and the perceived overemphasis of reliability. Traces the legacy of the communicative movement from its first formulation, through present conundrums, to tomorrow's research…

Explores developments in the philosophy and epistemology of language testing with particular reference to the notion of "responsibility." Argues that as the millennium changes, language testing is at a point of change, as well. (Author/VWL)

Questions Kouritzin's discussion of researcher subjectivity in life history research and argues that life history research should have a transformative agenda. (Author/VWL)

Replies to a review of a previous article titled, "Bringing Life to Research: Life History Research and ESL." Addresses concerns made by the reviewer and draws distinctions between the type of research both author and reviewer are in a position to conduct. (Author/VWL)

Responds to an earlier article titled "The Phonology of English as an International Language." Ten questions are provided that have resulted from observations of reaction to the ideas posed in the article. (Author/VWL)

Studied bilingual knowledge maps (BiK-maps) as tools for learning German-English word pairs. Results for 72 undergraduates indicate that BiK-map learners outperformed list learners on all dependent measures. Semantic emphasis negatively affected performance over time. (SLD)

Examines a group of English-as-a-Second-Language learners' listening strategies and the tactics that operationalized these strategies. Also conducted an exploratory analysis of two ways these tactics interacted in the processing sequences of two learners. Data were collected and analyzed using a retrospective verbalization procedure based on the…

Reacts to a response by Simard and Wong (2001) to Tomlin and Villa's (1994) discussion of a model that postulates a fine-grained analysis of attention for second language acquisition and the prediction that awareness at the level of detection is not crucial for further processing of second or foreign language data. (Author/VWL)

This discussion consists of insights from a number of individuals on the use of students' first language in foreign language classrooms or learning environments. The contributions first appeared as posts on the TESL-EJ email list for English-as-a-Second-Language/English-as-a-Foreign-Language (ESL/EFL) classroom pedagogy between May 2000 and June…

Discusses what the main task of foreign language teachers is and emphasizes the importance of remembering philology. Suggests that remembering languages in all their specificity and differences is the most effective way to expose students to a world in which shifts in politics, economics, and culture are producing radical new effects, while also…

Provides revisions of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) writing guidelines. The proficiency guidelines are presented in a top-down fashion, rather than in a bottom-up order, thereby allowing for more positive descriptive statements for each level and sublevel, stressing what language users can do with the language…