This volume presents research on oracy development in early language learning, with a particular focus on the pedagogical implications for growingly plurilingual classrooms. The chapters offer empirical results from diverse international contexts which reveal common and differing experiences of teaching methodologies and assessment practices,…

This book discusses how to approach critical literacy in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. It responds to the concerns of educators who get enthusiastic about teaching critical literacy, but become perplexed when they start reading about its theories. This causes some to avoid it altogether and leads others to argue for practicing it…

This book is relevant for language testers, listening researchers, and oral proficiency teachers, in that it explores four broad themes related to the assessment of L2 listening ability: the use of authentic, real-world spoken texts; the effects of different speech varieties of listening inputs; the use of audio-visual texts; and assessing…

This book brings together current thinking on informal language learning and the findings of over 30 years of research on captions (same language subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) to present a new model of language learning from captioned viewing and a future roadmap for research and practice in this field. Language learners may have…

There has been a growing interest in and concern for the teaching of listening in the last 40 years. Looking back over the years, we can see how the emphases on teaching listening and the focus of listening instruction have changed. Although instructional practices were initially heavily influenced by models of the written language and a…

Numerous studies related to listening comprehension strategies have been published in the past two decades. The present study seeks to build upon two previous reviews of listening comprehension strategies research. Of particular interest in this review are studies dealing with the types of cues used by listeners, the sequence of listening,…

Adopting a literacy perspective towards student interactions with digital media can extend and develop views of second language (L2) listening comprehension. In this case study, variations in "play" are grounded in a media literacy perspective as a way to frame student work with authentic videotext. Twenty-two Australian students of…

The Secondary Level English Proficiency (SLEP) test is a measure of ability in understanding spoken and written English. It is designed for use with students entering grades 7 through 12 whose native language is other than English. Previously offered on a limited basis at test centers established by the Educational Testing Service, the SLEP is now…