James P. Lantolf is George and Jane Greer Professor Emeritus of Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics and former director of the Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. He is currently Adjunct Professor of Applied Linguistics in the same academic unit at Xi'an Jiaotong…

Wiljan van den Akker is a university professor, a respected academic administrator, and a published poet and writer. From a base at the Utrecht University, in the Netherlands, his three-decade long career spans three continents and includes one-on-one associations with Berkeley, UCLA and Oxford. Currently, he is the Vice-Rector for Research at…

Language tests in immigration contexts typically perform a gate-keeping role in decisions about whether an applicant should be granted residence or citizenship in a new country. In refugee contexts, so-called language tests or language analyses also play a gate-keeping role, but a more ambitious one; namely that of providing answers to questions…

Comparative research in multilingual urban primary schools indicates that the pedagogical and political goals of schooling may operate at cross-purposes. Classroom observations and teacher interview-discussions were conducted in classes for immigrant children in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the language of instruction is French, and in classes…

Psycholinguistics, discourse patterns, and English as a second language were addressed in creating a theoretical framework for examining language in relationships. The Language Relationship Questionnaire was designed to provide an inventory language and its roles in relationships. (Contains 1 figure.)

In this article, the author interviews Minfong Ho, an award-winning Thai writer of children's and young adult novels. Ho was born in Burma to Chinese parents in 1951, raised in Singapore and Thailand, educated in Bangkok, Taiwan, and at Cornell University in New York. Ho's first novel, "Sing to the Dawn," won first prize from the Council of…

This paper describes the Niuean community and the evolving roles of Niuean language and identity in New Zealand, where the majority of Niueans now reside. As part of the Pasifika Languages of Manukau Project (PLMP), 30 New Zealand Niueans participated in detailed interviews on issues relating to language main-tenance. This paper considers their…

The importance of talk in the drama classroom is described. Students view talk as either development of vocal skills or preexperience for various kinds of social situations. Teacher talk was dominant, however, and emerged in the form of verbal control through closed questions and instructions to students. (JN)

One of the powerful ideologies that govern English language learning and teaching in the Sultanate of Oman is the "colonialist/culturalist" ideology and the various paradigms embodied within it. This ideology is present in the various statements made by the different agents involved in ELT in Oman, in particular "The Philosophy and…

An interview with Guy Roy, adjunct minister of education and professional education in Manitoba (Canada), explores the role of French, French language instruction, and French-language education outside Quebec Province, and specifically in Manitoba. Issues discussed include language and cultural maintenance, immersion education, language attitudes,…

This paper applies the findings of doctoral research undertaken in the Northern Territory. It draws on extended interviews with nine Indigenous students studying at university to produce four findings for classroom learning and teaching, one of which highlights the need to recognise Aboriginal English as a focal point of the curriculum for both…

A student assignment designed for a business French course is described. The assignment, a student research paper, is intended to promote both active learning and integration of skills. It is short and completed early in the course. Students are assigned topics and must research, organize, and summarize in French. It is expected that each student…