This interview with one of the founders of conversation analysis focuses on issues regarding the use of conversation analysis to study nonnative discourse. (Author/VWL)

An interview with the founder of the Second Language Research Forum covers personal experiences, a researcher's view of applied linguistics, and educating future researchers. (LB)

Includes an interview with a noted figure in the field of language assessment. Focuses on a range of test development projects, including several related to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale. (Author/VWL)

Includes an interview with a noted figure in the field of language assessment. Discusses his work on washback theory as well as his experiences with and views on the challenges and advantages of computer-based and Web-based testing. (Author/VWL)

Presents an interview discussing the theory of territory of information, which involves many aspects of human communication, such as evidentiality, politeness, and modality. Argues that this theory can apply to the dimensions of linguistic choice and the broader concepts of cultural attitudes within the Japanese psyche. (11 references) (CK)

Presents an interview with Noriko Akatsuka concerning her studies of the relationship between a speaker's state of mind and modality. Notes that the interviewee has concentrated on conditionals using data chiefly from Japanese, Korean, and English, with the primary goal of using conditional construction as a tool to investigate questions…

Presents an interview of Sandra Thompson on various topics relating to the Chinese language. The interview touches on conversational data on Chinese, the lack of morphological complexity in Mandarin Chinese, and the development of Chinese functionalism. (12 references) (CK)

Explores the question of the acquisition of tense and aspect and sheds new light on this question through fresh analytic categories. Examines the role of broader situation types in second language learners' development of tense-aspect morphology. (Author/VWL)

Addresses matters of ethics, standards, and professionalism in language testing. Terminology is defined, and current standards and codes relevant to language testing are reviewed. Personal experiences illustrating the ethical choices faced by professional language testers are provided. (11 references) (Author/CK)

Discusses the claim that male/female speech style differences in Japanese have the function of indexing the social role of the speaker and that identifying oneself as belonging to the male or female gender has no implication of a higher or lower status in society. The interview's findings imply that students need to be informed of the…

Discusses an interview focusing on important topics relevant to sociolinguistics and language minorities. Points out that one topic, ethnicity, is among many of the urban phenomena central to the study of linguistics as well as ethnic minorities and that a discussion of sociolinguistics and language minorities entails discussion of racism,…

Discusses an interview in which Marcyliena Morgan elaborates on the necessity to analyze both microlinguistic issues of grammar and phonology as well as larger issues of discourse pragmatics and language ideology. The interview touches on African American poetry, the convergence of African American and standard English, and oases and indirectness.…

Describes cooperative, long-term work with speech and language pathologists aimed at achieving linguistically-illuminated understanding of discourse-level considerations in speech and language assessment. Highlights the importance of identifying the different assumptions of the applied linguist and her client about project goals and the nature of…

Presents a validation study on the Hausa Speaking Test (HAST), a simulated oral proficiency interview. Addressed validity of the HaST through examination of the ratability on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale of elicited speech sample and an investigation of the nature of probes on the HaST through speaking…

Discusses the issue of literacy as a gate keeper and how the interviewee's own experiences as a bilingual Latina and writing teacher aroused her interest in sociocultural understandings of literacy and language learning. She emphasizes the importance of discourse-based analysis and discusses the issue of high urban mobility as well as her other…