Senses, specifically sight and hearing, are the mechanisms through which we access and navigate our everyday lives, and use of language is the cornerstone of how we connect. For students who are deaf or hard of hearing, barriers to access and inability to effectively use language within an environment can have significant impacts. Accessibility…

Developing advanced proficiency in a second language benefits both learners and the societies to which they belong. Educators, employers, and learners can define advanced level proficiency in a language as being able to use language for academic and professional purposes beyond daily life. But being able to use the language at work is not the only…

Both educators and students in the United States feel the continuous pressure to improve achievement scores as a form of validation for their work and success. However, emerging bilingual (EBs) learners encounter barriers within assessments that break the assumptions of validity, reliability, and fairness and prevent them from demonstrating their…

Achieving higher levels of proficiency in a foreign language depends on more than an extensive knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. Evidence is mounting that true proficiency depends on cultural awareness about how and when language is used. This suggests that teachers in foreign language classrooms must incorporate explicit cultural lessons into…

Multi-componential models of translation competence are widely used in translator training as a yardstick for curricular and syllabus design. These models must be adapted to reflect professional trends, such as the impact of artificial intelligence, and machine translation in particular, on working methods. This paper describes the process of…

Although many teachers recognize that they must adapt their instruction for the diverse and growing student population of multilingual learners across public schools in the United States, many report that they are unprepared to do this appropriately and productively (Banilower et al. 2013). This article aims to shed light on this issue.…

The "TOEFL® Essentials"™ test is a new English language proficiency test in the "TOEFL"® family of assessments. It measures foundational language skills and communication abilities in academic and general (daily life) contexts. The test covers the four language skills of reading, listening, writing, and speaking and is intended…

National emergency language competence (NELC) can be understood as the capacity to use language to cope with domestic and international public emergencies. NELC constitutes the foundation of and guidance for the provision of emergency language services. Based on a review of emergency language services and language competence development, this…

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) ensures educational equity for multilingual learners through supporting school districts and charter schools to develop, implement and evaluate research-based language instruction educational programs (LIEPs) so that multilingual learners, including students with English learner (EL) status, attain…

Singapore is an ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse nation-state that has always practiced deliberate language policy and planning. The bilingual education policy, introduced shortly after the young nation's independence has led to the emergence of English-knowing bilinguals who are proficient in both English and their ethnically…

As research into online informal language learning (OILL) develops as a field, the impact on such practices for a wide variety of contexts can be considered. In the case of this publication, the study abroad (SA) context is of particular interest. Indeed the study abroad student may interact with a range of online learning resources in formal,…

Uganda's "early exit" language policy positions African languages ambiguously in public education provision. Runyoro-Rutooro and Runyankore-Rukiga are spoken in Western Uganda in public spaces where translanguaging happens as a matter of course. These languages are heard at pre-primary and lower primary levels but are superseded by…

It is said that children are amazing at acquiring their first language (L1); by the time they reach school age, they are using complex grammar and demonstrating a wide vocabulary. Even more impressive, these young learners might show up at school with two languages in their toolbox or add a second language (L2) with far less effort than older…

In Hong Kong, Chinese and English are considered separate mediums of instruction. English immersion is expected for schools that teach with English as the medium of instruction, and direct instruction in Chinese is often used to teach English in Chinese medium schools. Evidently, a great divide persists in the Hong Kong government curriculum. In…

Every year, there are between 150,000 and 200,000 immigrant students in California who have been in U.S. schools for less than 3 years. These newcomers generally require specialized academic instruction and social services to succeed in school. Despite great efforts, many districts are struggling to create these conditions for success. Many…