The Betawi language is one of the endangered languages that must be saved uniquely and comprehensively. The Betawi language speakers occupy a regional position in the heart of the Indonesian state capital, Jakarta and its surroundings. The challenge of pressure, intimidation, interference, influence, and the shadow of other regional languages or…

Despite the fact that Indian Sign Language (ISL) has a significant influence on the native signers in northeastern India, no studies of ISL have yet taken into account the nature of the sign languages in use in this region. This article examines the emergence of both Shillong Sign Language and the Deaf community of Shillong and discusses the…

Currently, a growing number of teaching approaches focus on aspects of variation in language (e.g. English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), World Englishes, English for Specific Purposes (ESP), genre theories, etc.); however, each of these approaches tends to focus on particular (specific) aspects of language variation and do not fully account for the…

The Impact of using Supplementary books alongside the national academic text book has received great attention of the curriculum and material developers. Since the beginning of language studies, Second & Foreign Language Acquisition (SLA & FLA) researchers have been searching for effective ways of improving learners' language skills. This…

This paper outlines a procedure for language textbook analysis from the perspective of second language acquisition (SLA) principles as a preliminary procedure to evaluation for selection. The aim is to provide a tool that allows comparison of the potential of textbooks for supporting students' language learning. To this end, ten general principles…

Intended for writers of instructional materials for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), the list describes word lists and language corpora that may be of use in creating, simplifying, and refining vocabulary content in ESL materials. The sources are dated from 1944 to the present, and include a freeware computer program. Some limited…

Chronicles Ethiopia's history of language policy, and describes the first three years of the country's initiative to provide native language instruction to all its people, focusing on the materials development process and program effectiveness. Teachers are working to develop content-area instructional materials in eight of over fifty languages.…

The Centre for Applied Language Studies (CALS) at Ottawa's Carleton University was established in 1982 as a multifunctional unit for applied linguistics research to include six functions: research and development, consulting, the development of learning options, providing a writing tutorial service, teacher training, and teacher support. Its…

A partnership between Cold Lake First Nations and the University of Alberta, the Daghida Project, aims to revitalize Dene Suline--the local dialect of the Dene language--and the culture that depends upon it. Residential schools had a devastating effect on the Dene language and way of life, disrupting normal linguistic and cultural transmission…

The history, development, and content of the notional-functional "threshold-level" (T-level) syllabus and the application of its principles in the preparation of new second language instructional materials are outlined. The context for development of the syllabus by the Council of Europe was based on the need for a uniform, sequenced program of…

Four papers relating to literacy education for Australian Aboriginal peoples are presented. "Testing Epenthetic Vowels in Anindilyakwa" by Velma J. Leeding reports on a study of Aboriginal perceptions of a short transitional vowel. In "Diagnostic Testing of the Anindilyakwa Orthography for Both Reading and Writing," Velma J.…

Essays on second-language (L2) listening comprehension include: "On Second Language Comprehension and Acquisition: Interactional and Psycholinguistic Perspectives" (Teresa Cadierno), a general theoretical overview of these processes; "Listening to Lectures" (Anne Jensen), a discussion of some characteristics of lectures and description of a study…

To investigate the use, or otherwise, of conversational adjustments (CAs), in a normal instructional setting, the quality of speech generated during meaning negotiation, and learner perception of the task under study, a quantitative and a qualitative analysis was carried out of language produced in a dyadic set-up in a one-way information task, a…

A profile of the state of English and English instruction in Turkey covers the following topics: a description of the role and status of English language use in industry and commerce, government, and education; the role of English at all levels of the educational system; the availability, characteristics, and training of teachers of English; the…

The report describes an Ontario (Canada) project to establish standards for the written and oral languages of its natives, including two language families and 13 languages still present in the province. The project has two streams: (1) a series of language conferences intended to establish consensus within an entire community regarding standard…