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,…

"Learner Feedback for Language Growth: A Guidebook for Evaluating Learner Work Through Performance Domains and Indicators" gives you concrete examples of the type of feedback that empowers your learners, making them eager to learn more and continue their growth in the language. Going far beyond simply training teachers to rate language…

Since its inception in the 1960s, the field of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) has enjoyed a period of almost continual expansion and growth and now represents a multi-million dollar industry worldwide. This book provides readers with a critical and comprehensive overview of EAP's birth, its historical development and its ongoing trajectory,…

The all-encompassing term "Medical Spanish" references the Spanish used by healthcare professionals. Medical Spanish courses have gained traction as the Spanish-speaking population in the U.S. continues to grow. Consequently, demand for courses in Medical Spanish and other areas of Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP), a subfield of…

Motivating students towards language learning includes embedding meaningful themes, communicative tasks, and authentic assessments. When voice and choice are held as essential qualities of the task, students invest in the resources to make meaning and express their own thoughts, thus moving us away from traditional assessments that emphasize…

This book is a comprehensive introduction to the topic of assessing students who use two or more languages in their daily life. The book provides foundational information for assessing multilingual learners (MLs) in schools, with an emphasis on school language and content. Major assessment ideas are viewed through a framework called PUMI (Purpose,…

Vocabulary learning is an incremental process. Vocabulary knowledge, especially for second-language learners, may develop across a lifetime. Teachers with experience in providing feedback on their students' vocabulary use in writing or speech might have noticed that it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint one aspect of word knowledge. The reason is…

This volume is an important output of the ASSESSnet, an EU-funded project that aimed at investigating assessment practices in Virtual Exchange (VE) projects in Foreign Language (FL) courses at tertiary level. It starts with the discussion of selected aspects of VE and assessment design, and a summary of ASSESSnet project results. The following…

Many research studies show that the use of technology inside and outside classrooms makes teaching and learning more engaging and motivating. Technology can provide learners with endless opportunities and can improve the learning experience, simplify access to educational resources, enhance autonomous learning, meet individual learning needs, and…

In this reflection article I examine language assessment literacy initiatives and their possible impact on teachers, and I discuss the connections that exist between language assessment literacy and teachers' professional development. I explain that training for language assessment literacy may primarily foster teachers' knowledge and skills and,…

Many standard reading assessment approaches fail to capture the strengths and needs of students from diverse sociocultural, linguistic, and academic backgrounds. From expert authors, this book guides educators in planning and conducting meaningful, equitable assessments that empower K-5 teachers and students, inform responsive instruction, and…

This volume presents state-of-the-art research in early foreign language (L2) education in instructed contexts with a special focus on primary school (ages 5-12). Over the past two decades, early language teaching has become an important factor in both academic inquiry and education policy. Studies have attested to the value of early L2 learning…

How can today's teachers, whose classrooms are more culturally and linguistically diverse than ever before, ensure that their students achieve at high levels? How can they design units and lessons that support English learners in language development and content learning--simultaneously? Authors Amy Heineke and Jay McTighe provide the answers by…

Educators frequently report feeling constrained by the competing and often conflicting demands of their curriculum, students, assessment requirements, supervisors, and parents. They fear, with all the mandates and pressures, they are unable to be the kind of personalized learning leader they want to be. The goal of this guide is to encourage…

Over the last few years, I have seen a significant impact on student learning from improving and adapting my instruction in three main areas: backward designing instruction for target proficiency levels, transitioning to standards-based grading, and implementing performance-based assessments that focus on proficiency. These strategies have not…