This study addresses the issue of automatic pronunciation assessment (APA) and its contribution to the teaching of second language (L2) pronunciation. Several attempts have been made at designing such systems, and some have proven operationally successful. However, the automatic assessment of the pronunciation of short words in segmental…

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, particularly chatbots with speech-recognition, are gaining attention as tools for ELT. However, this frontline development in contemporary ELT seems to stand in stark contrast to the multilingual effort, another innovative trend, as chatbots' speech recognition capabilities are primarily attuned to native…

There has been much debate in assessment research about the inclusion of Global English accents in high-stakes listening tests. This study explored test-takers' attitudes toward the inclusion of different English accents in the Duolingo English Test (DET) 2021 test version and their associations with listening test scores. One hundred sixty…

In the realm of language proficiency assessments, the domain description inference and the extrapolation inference are key components of a validity argument. Biber et al.'s description of the lexicogrammatical features of the spoken and written registers in the T2K-SWAL corpus has served as support for the TOEFL iBT test's domain description and…

As online education expands in the wake of recent global events, concerns over the privileging of dominant languages, cultures and epistemologies gain prominence. Despite the explicit biases and assumptions found within hegemonic learning contexts, however, inquiry within the domain of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) typically manifests…

Objectives: Two sets of intercultural learning resources incorporating Global Englishes learning content were developed for self-access use in the higher education context. The resources were investigated in terms of student learning experiences across two contexts in Japan: an English language major program and a nonlanguage major program. The…

Recent CALL technology reviews cover a plethora of technologies available to language learners to improve a variety of skills, including speaking. However, few technology-enhanced self-access tools are available for pragmatic development, especially in oral modality. Recognizing the benefits of structured practice for second language development,…

This article reports on an investigation of the role raters' language background plays in raters' assessment of test takers' speaking ability. Specifically, this article examines differences between American and Indian raters in their scores and scoring processes when rating Indian test takers' responses to the Test of English as a Foreign…

This article contributes to research on critical perspectives in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and on evaluative frameworks for English language learning (ELL) Web sites. The research addressed the following questions: (a) To what extent do ELL Web sites depict diverse representations of gender, race, socioeconomic…

This article discusses the language and identity challenges I faced as a critical border ethnographer from Spain doing fieldwork in Southern California. I focus on the multiple positionings that I negotiated doing fieldwork in La Clase Magica (The Magic Class), a computer-based, after-school bilingual program for Mexican/Mexican American/Chicano-a…

Data-driven learning (DDL), or corpus-based language learning, involves the learner in an exploratory task to discover appropriate expressions or collocates regarding his writing. However, the problematic units of meaning in each learner's writing are so diverse that conventional corpora often prove futile. The search engine Google with the…

This paper reports on a paper to develop two computer text corpora, called Hong Kong Texts on Hong Kong," at the University of Hong Kong English Centre. These corpora are intended to serve as a resource for teachers and researchers who need information on English usage in published text in Hong Kong. The aim of the report is to disseminate…

This issue of the workpapers includes the following reports and papers: "The ESL Service Courses at UCLA: A Progress Report," by Kathleen M. Bailey; "A Comparison of Item Analysis Programs," by Earl Rand; "Stereotypes in Media - or - How to Avoid Functional Fixedness," by James Heaton; "The Search for a Second Language Acquisition Index of…

Papers from a British conference on applied linguistics address various aspects of evaluation and language. Articles include: "Grammar and Language Impairment: Clinical Linguistics as Applied Linguistics" (Paul Fletcher); "Putting Our Practice Into Theory" (Deborah Cameron); "Applied Linguistics as Evaluation of Theory and…

The two issues of the journal for teachers of English as a second language in Japan include these articles: "What Do JTEs Really Want?" (Wendy F. Scholefield); "Do EFL Learners Make Instrumental Inferences When Reading? Some Evidence from Implicit Memory Tests" (Suzanne Collins, Hidetsugu Tajika); "Function and Structure…