Dr. Charles W. Stansfield is widely recognized as one of the most important figures in contemporary language testing. He is respected and relied upon by leading language professionals in education, government agencies, academia, and the private sector. During his 40 years of working with languages, he has been a secondary school teacher of…

The author looks at how today's technology affects basic communication skills. She examines technology versus communication skills, the continuing need for communication skills, who should teach communications, and teaching communication skills effectively (including basic language skills, writing skills, composing the message, dictation skills,…

Working with a word processor changes writers' behavior. They compose more easily, less anxiously, and more prolifically. The word processor makes them want to sit down and write and makes them feel good about their writing. It does this by encouraging prewriting and invention, by providing a sense of control and mastery over the actual writing…

Prior to submitting a paper to a science journal, many European scientists employ language professionals to check that the English is acceptable. What influences these language professionals' criteria of acceptability? How do they interact with the authors for whom they work? And how do journals' criteria of acceptability affect their work? In…