The notion of validity encapsulates the echo of the physical within the technical. The technical force of a language course, test or plan needs to be evaluated for its effects. On the norm side, this yields a design principle that asks whether the design is adequate, and can be validated. That kind of technical validation is perhaps most prominent…

In this polylog to the special issue on "The rise of Chinese language education policies in the oil-rich Arabian Gulf: New players, discourses and linguistic markets," three researchers with different personal and professional connections to the three languages 'at play' in the region -- English, Chinese, and Arabic -- offer their…

Less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) have traditionally lagged behind in terms of the availability of learning/teaching materials and of appropriate pedagogical models. For many languages, online tools, courses, and digital archives have been developed in recent years that offer opportunities for both formal instruction and self-study. Now the…

Avatars play a significant role in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered education, supported by various human-computer interactions and second language acquisition theories. AI avatars have become increasingly anthropomorphic and realistic with advancements in speech synthesis, speech-driven lip-syncing, and speech-to-facial animation. D-ID Studio…

Self-assessment (SA), as an activity for reflecting on one's own performance and abilities (Black & Wiliam, 1998), has been a topic of interest to educators over the years. Among second language (L2) educators, SA began growing in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, when L2 educators' focus shifted from analyzing linguistic systems to examining…

Statistical significance and averages are two pieces of statistical information that are often presented as evidence in support of researchers' conclusions and teaching recommendations. In this article, I consider interpretation of this information as research evidence for ELT. In simple terms that will be accessible even to readers without any…

In an examination of the social anticipations within the technical, the idea of accessibility is prominent. It is itself a disclosure of the idea of technical interaction, that of technical subjects with technical objects. Accessibility opens the idea of interaction to one of freer access. Technical accessibility implies, on the factual side,…

Foreign language education research has consistently acknowledged that students not only possess an array of "identities" beyond their role as mere learners, but also exercise "agency" making them active initiators and selectors of their learning actions. However, this conceptual understanding appears insufficiently reflected…

A process of abstraction initiates the development of a theory of applied linguistics, beginning with the distinction between technical norm and technical fact. Each applied linguistic intervention has a normative dimension and a factual interface with its users. The second step is to abstract the qualifying technical modality of these artefacts,…

This brief is part of a series that highlights key features of high-quality instruction for English learners and the role formative assessment plays in their success. Formative assessment supports teachers to enact these features by providing them with tools to gauge and react to student learning in real-time. These practices also support students…

All elementary, secondary, and special education teachers in Massachusetts seeking initial licensure are required to earn a sheltered English immersion (SEI) endorsement. This endorsement is intended to prepare educators to support designated English learners (ELs) in the content areas. However, the course does not reflect current theories of…

In this chapter, I explore how the study of grammatical gender has been a prime example of the impact that boundary crossing can have on the understanding of a phenomenon by creating nuance through the incorporation and juxtaposition of multiple perspectives. In the first section, I start with a description of grammatical gender and its different…

The World-Readiness Standards (The National Standards Collaborative Board, 2015) and the Can-Do Statements (ACTFL, 2017) promote intercultural competence and understanding through relating cultural products to perspectives and practices. In response, numerous world languages curriculum proposals have convincingly demonstrated these entanglements.…

Motivation is repeatedly found to be a determining factor for achievement in language acquisition at school. Decades of Self-determination theory (SDT) research has shown that students exhibit higher levels of engagement and positive learning behaviours when their basic psychological needs of competence, autonomy and relatedness are satisfied,…

The English language is the most widely-spoken language in the world. This fact deserves serious consideration for educators at all levels of the education system, but more so for those who are tasked with the teaching of English to learners whose Mother Tongue is not English. Globalisation, the internationalisation of education and migratory…