This book innovatively connects the two fields of oracy and practice-oriented empirical research in English language education. It creates synergies and proposes innovative approaches to the study of oracy in the context of learning and teaching English as a second, additional or foreign language. The book also develops a contemporary and holistic…

This study aimed to identify teacher perceptions of the causes of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) through feedback, and what feedback strategies teachers use to reduce FLCA. Feedback can be both a cause of FLCA and help to reduce FLCA. It is therefore important for teachers to understand how their feedback can affect FLCA. In the present…

This book highlights the roles of several individual difference (ID) variables on the language learning process, exploring them from both the students' and the teachers' perspectives. It presents the results of a large-scale, mixed-methods investigation which was conducted with secondary school pupils and their teachers in Hungary. The…

Standardized tests have been selected as a key assessment factor in expanding the academic achievement of the national student population. However, these tests position immigrant students at the risk of academic failure, leading education experts to search for new strategies and teaching models. The "Handbook of Research on Assessment…

This book provides an accessible introduction to some of the methods and theoretical approaches for investigating foreign language (FL) interaction and exchange in online environments. Research approaches which can be applied to Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) are outlined, followed by discussion of the way in which tools and techniques for…

Around the world, school districts and institutions are exploring ways to provide quality education to their students. With this, there is a deeper need for multiculturalism in classrooms, as many students are from varying cultures and speak different languages. "Early Childhood Education from an Intercultural and Bilingual Perspective"…

This journal is an international review for researchers and teachers of modern Celtic languages. This volume contains seven articles. There are three research articles: "Issues in the Design of Irish Credited Courses" (Thomas W. Ihde); "Learning Irish for Participation in the Irish Language Speech Community outside the…

Articles in this volume of the journal on English as a Second Language and applied linguistics include: "The 'ng' Challenge: Five Simple Rules for Pronunciation Prediction" (Carol A. Buss); "The Effect of Markedness on Epenthesis in Spanish/English Interlanguage" (Robert S. Carlisle); "Proficiency-Based Instruction:…

Seven essays address aspects of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction for children, seen from a variety of perspectives: research, teaching, and ethnography. They include: "Introduction: Children and ESL" (D. Scott Enright, Pat Rigg); "ESL Teachers as Language Advocates for Children" (Courtney Cazden); "ESL Children's Writing: What We've…

A comparison of language skill development by college students enrolled in a content course taught in French and in a French language course found that content-course students excelled in oral skills and language attitudes and that language-course students excelled in writing skills, challenging conventional assumptions about language-learning…

The importance of training second language learners in the patterns of occurrence of certain phonemes is discussed, focusing on the use of spelling as a primary predictor of pronunciation. Four different pronunciations of "ng" in English (as in "engaging, singer, changing, dangle") are used to illustrate this principle. A review of pronunciation…

A discussion of computer-based language instruction examines the quality of materials currently in use and looks at developments in the field. It is found that language courseware is generally weak in the areas of error analysis and feedback, communicative realism, and convenience of lesson authoring. A review of research under way to improve…

Total Physical Response is a strategy for learning second languages developed by James J. Asher. The Tomatis program, developed in France by Alfred Tomatis, is a method for treating dyslexia and communication problems and is also used for teaching basic elements of foreign languages. Suggestology is a psychotherapeutic system based on yogic…

This qualitative study in an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) elementary classroom examined teacher and student functional uses of language, particularly code-switching and code-mixing use. Results found that, of the instances of code-switching and code-mixing observed, none were grammatically inappropriate for either English, Spanish, or the…

To uncover possible barriers to effective communication and learning, this study explored how college-level Japanese English language learners in English-as-a-second-language (ESL) and English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) contexts viewed their English teachers and classroom activities. Analysis of 100 questionnaires incorporating quantitative and…