Martha's Vineyard Sign Language (MVSL) is an extinct village sign language hypothesized to be a sister of British Sign Language (BSL) and a significant contributor to early American Sign Language (ASL) (Groce 1985). After the last deaf MVSL signer died, signs were elicited from five hearing signers. This study analyzes that data through a series…

One of the most intriguing questions in the investigation of second-language acquisition concerns the role of learners' first language (L1). Comparing learners of different backgrounds (L1 German vs. L1 Romance languages), we aim to explore the acquisition of tense and aspect features in Spanish as a second language (L2). Findings show that the L1…

Japanese college students' akogare (meaning "longing") for an idealized West has conventionally been researched and discussed under the assumption that the West is synonymous with Anglophone countries and that an encounter with the West is categorically an international experience. The present study provides new insights by exploring…

French colonies were created for the benefit not of the indigenous conquered peoples but of the home country. Their borders were set for political convenience and produced a jumble of ethnicities, languages, and cultures. Exploitation came first, and there was generally no attempt to find a workable educational solution to the local diversity.…

The present study examines the multilingual benefit in relation to language learning and mathematical learning. The objective is to assess whether speakers of three or more languages, depending on language profile and personal histories, show significant advantages in language learning and/or mathematical learning, and whether mother tongue…

The aim of this paper is to discuss intercultural competence (IC) from a languacognitive perspective, whose main assumption is the interface between language, cognition and culture manifested in meaning construction. The article first emphasizes the centrality of language in the process of meaning construction. As a result, in the following…

The present study explored data from a survey of students' performance in English at the end of compulsory school in 6 European countries. The aim was to gain deeper knowledge of the internal structure of the test and to discuss similarities and differences between the different settings regarding patterns in language proficiency. The analyses,…

The Grammar Gang blog has now passed its fourth anniversary as a borderless, non-proprietary language and learning online classroom. It gives wing to the aspirations of academic staff from four universities to explore language and learning across hemispheres. The Blog's recent birthday provides a timely opportunity to explore how this…

The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme supports the learning of languages and cultures, but the role of the additional language within this programme is often unclear. There remains a great variability in schools regarding the frequency of lessons and the way that the additional language is taught within the Primary Years…

French political leaders have voiced objections to prospective Turkish membership of the European Union (EU), citing material reasons as well as cultural objections involving the uncertain role of a predominantly Islamic society within a European political and economic bloc. Given the importance of the French language as a component of France's…

The adoption of English as a corporate language in an increasingly large number of French companies has provoked various reactions ranging from enthusiastic embrace to strong rejection based on anxiety and cultural protectionism. This paper is an attempt to understand these reactions based on a stratified study of the extent to which English has…

In the discussion of English language spread policies, scholars have taken various viewpoints. One approach concerns the "diffusion-of-English" and "language ecology" paradigms, which distinguish externally dominant English spread and resistance to this hegemony. Others have questioned this approach, and proposed that English…

Discusses transformation of the French language policy in Europe that in which the overt promotion of French as the European lingua franca was replaced with new policy promoting multilingualism. Examines the new policy in terms of its intentions and it effectiveness as an identity strategy. Suggests that not only does the policy exclude regional…

Demonstrates how differences in the French and British cultures have directly impacted the ways in which financial liabilities can be recognized, measured, and reported, and discusses the necessity of cross-cultural training for international businesspeople even for a field as objective and numerically oriented as accounting. (Auth/JL)