The present study investigated the effects of text-based and audio-based dynamic glosses on L2 vocabulary learning within a sociocultural approach. Dynamic glosses were operationalised as a set of incrementally ordered prompts, provided during text-based and audio-based interactions that guided the participants to identify the meaning of unknown…

The progression from receptive vocabulary knowledge to productive word use in language learning to date is unclear. Vocabulary size has been the primary focus of receptive and productive vocabulary research. The present study looks at the internal structure of vocabulary knowledge along the receptive and productive continuum within a multi-aspect…

In the high-stakes accountability English educational system, decisions made by government and agencies about curriculum, pedagogy and assessment drive school planning and actions. This paper analyses the drivers for the recent change to French German and Spanish GCSEs and highlights particular areas of the new specification which may damage the…

This study examined the effect of the combination of task repetition and post-task transcribing (TRPT) on the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of L2 oral performance and their subsequent development. Taiwanese university students (N = 39) were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: TRPT, task repetition (TR), and control group, and…

This article discusses issues related to oral assessment of school knowledge of L2-educated students. In particular, it examines benefits and disadvantages of students being tested in their L1 (their dominant language) and in their L2 (their language of instruction). The study draws on the data from 37 high school students studying in a content…

This article explores ways in which learners' achievements can be assessed and reflected in both the domains of linguistic performance and subject-content learning. The content and language integrated learning (CLIL) approach adopted by the authors is one in which language learning and content learning are truly integrated and where neither…

This article reports on an action research case study conducted at a university in Japan, which explored how student identity-development can be made visible in potentially assessable ways through materials design in intercultural communicative competence (ICC)-oriented foreign language education. It suggests that identity-development can be…

Among the transitions during a pupil's school career, the transfer from primary to secondary school arguably has the most impact. Far from being linear, this transition is a kind of "pupil pilgrim's progress"; a journey with orientations, stops and reorientations, checking and refining skills that the pupils bring with them from primary…

Modern foreign languages (MFL) currently appear to be close to demise, as the number of pupils opting for the subject at Key Stage 4 continues to fall. This paper addresses the issue of the key role of parental support in relation to attitudes of pupils towards MFL. It reports on a study conducted at two secondary schools which made use of teacher…

Self-access centers are a popular type of language support offered by an increasing number of schools and universities around the world. Assessment of the learning that takes place in such centers is seen as both crucial and problematic. Many barriers to successful assessment appear to exist, but these have not been comprehensively documented,…

The teaching of primary languages has been increasing steadily, in response to the future entitlement for all Key Stage 2 (KS2) pupils aged 7-11 to learn a foreign language by 2010. However, there remain concerns about progression both within KS2 and through to secondary school and about how learners' progress is assessed. This paper presents…

Older students (aged 65+) in the language classroom may be presenting hearing deficits not experienced by their traditional university classmates (aged 18-24). L2 teachers need to be aware of the main processes involved in hearing, as well as such important factors as the temporary threshold effect and masking effects, in order to encourage…

The present study sets out to examine the strategies used by Chinese learners in a predominantly naturalistic environment and how such learner strategy use relates to their proficiency in the second language. Data were collected from four Chinese research students in the UK using semi-structured interviews. Their proficiency in English was…

Studied the marking characteristics of experienced markers of GCSE role-play to ascertain the extent of variation between the marks they award and to determine whether more intermarker consistency could be obtained with a small increase in time for thought before a particular mark is awarded. Results underlie the importance of reducing the…

A credit-rated tandem course unit has been running at the University of Manchester for the past six years and an element of peer assessment has always been present in the assessment procedure. Unfortunately, the course leaders found that this element was not entirely satisfactory. Although there were clear criteria in the course documentation for…