Since Joseph Nye introduced the concept of "Soft power" in his 1991 book, "Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power", analysts have discussed states' efforts to exercise their influence by attracting and co-opting rather than coercing or using force. This paper will examine enrolments trends in Indonesian language…

Sinclair (1991) found that lexical analysis can be overcomplicated, yet Johns (1994) called for investigation into whether corpus analysis can motivate beginners and near-beginners. The findings of this research suggest that young EFL learners can enjoy using corpus analysis tools (wordlists and concordances) to identify, classify, and generalize…

Immigrant youth who are designated as English language learners in American schools--whom we refer to as "emergent bilinguals"--are increasingly framed by numerical calculations. Utilizing the notion of assemblage from actor-network theory (ANT), we trace how emergent bilinguals are discursively constructed by officials, administrators,…

This article describes the National Center Test for University Admissions, a unified national test in Japan, which is taken by 500,000 students every year. It states that implementation of the Center Test began in 1990, with the English component consisting only of the written section until 2005, when the listening section was first implemented…

Teachers often use peer evaluation as a way to increase opportunities for constructive feedback. However, few studies have investigated student attitudes toward such evaluation. This study examined preferences among Japanese university students (N = 86) in an intensive English-language program (intermediate proficiency) toward peer evaluation for…

This paper investigates whether the rhythmic properties of varieties of English found in each of the concentric circles of Kachru's model can, in any way, be elucidated by the "Three Circles" model. A measurement and comparison of the rhythm of three varieties of English: British English (from the Inner Circle), Singapore English (from…

This article explores early bilingual script writing as an act of identity. Using multiple theoretical perspectives related to social semiotics and social constructivist perspectives on identity and writing, the research presented in this article is based on a case study of an early biliterate learner of Japanese and English from the ages of 3-7.…

This longitudinal case study tracks an adult second-language (L2) learner's quality and quantity of encounters with 20 vocabulary items in an English for Academic Purposes course over 3 months. The learner completed pretest and posttest vocabulary knowledge interviews, submitted course materials and notes for analysis, and was observed during…

This paper seeks to examine the ways in which school segregation plays out in a pure catchment area system and to what extent residential composition is directly mirrored in schools. The research examines the data for the districts in Berlin and, more specifically at the school level, for the district of Tempelhof-Schoneberg. The research is based…

Reports the results of a study into the effect of language study in high school on college entrance examination scores. Tentative conclusions indicate language study is beneficial in proportion to the number of years studied, especially for English scores. (AM)

Details the design of a hypertext decision-making activity located on the Internet for business English students wishing to review exponents and vocabulary associated with conducting business meetings. Discusses statistical data from students who contacted the activity worldwide and offers recommendations for future development of Internet…

This outline of the current status of foreign language education in Indiana was presented to a panel from the President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies. Foreign language instruction at all levels is discussed with the support of statistics, and recommendations are made for mitigating deficiencies in existing programs.…

Investigated the relationship between Chinese character recognition and production by second-language learners. Subjects were 47 first-year Chinese language students in the United States. (15 references) (Author/CK)

Examines the demand for German in the East, the ways in which Germany is trying to meet it and the resulting controversy. Also examines the work of major language and cultural organizations in furthering the study of German in Eastern Europe and notes ramifications for German study in the United States. (37 references) (Author/CK)

The perception of bicultural stress, stress due to discrimination/prejudice, immigration, and acculturation, was investigated in relation to mental well-being in a sample of urban Latino (n = 304), European American (n = 215), and Asian American (n = 131) 8th grade students. Bicultural stress was reported by all ethnic groups and was significantly…