Professor of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) Robert DeKeyser is from the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Maryland. His research builds bridges between the theory of second language acquisition with major concerns in cognitive aspects such as implicit and explicit learning mechanism, age differences, and…

With the largest number of English learners in the world, the influence of the English language teaching (ELT) reform in China cannot be underestimated. This article explores the implications of the actual use of English in China's workplace for ELT reform in the context of English as a lingua franca (ELF). On the basis of cross-validated data…

It is two decades since Master (1997) published a framework for second language (L2) article pedagogy, based on several years of research into the acquisition of the English article system. Among his recommendations were a focus on intermediate level learners and a simplification of the rules presented to language learners. Since then, substantial…

This article aims to discuss ten beliefs that teachers hold about second language (L2) learning and to relate these to relevant theories and approaches in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). It is especially written for L2 teachers who would like to know more about theoretical approaches that seek to explain L2 learning. Preliminary…

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…

In the field of applied linguistics the activities involved in developing instructional materials and those working in second language research and the more theoretical areas of applied linguistics are often seen to have little connection. This paper is an exploration of some of the kinds of interaction that are possible between research, theory…