Pragmatic markers perform important communicative functions, but they can be difficult to learn in a second language because of their multifunctionality and lack of salience during communicative events. This study has two goals: (1) to describe the communicative functions of the pragmatic marker "I mean" in academic discourse; and (2) to…

Saudi students are required to take the General Aptitude Test (GAT), achieving a certain competency, in order to gain acceptance in matriculation programs, or to study abroad. GAT is surrounded with a great deal of controversy regarding it as a reliable admission factor for measuring a student's aptitude for success in higher education. The…

Although several studies have explored the effects of task sequencing on second language (L2) production, there is no established set of criteria to sequence tasks for learners in L2 writing classrooms. This study examined the effect of simple ?complex task sequencing manipulated along both resource-directing (± number of elements) and…

In this study I examined the dimensionality of the latent ability underlying language use that is needed to fulfill the demands young learners face in English-medium instructional environments, where English is used as the means of instruction for teaching subject matters. Previous research on English language use by school-age children provided…

This paper discusses the relationship between language proficiency and intelligence. In particular, the paper is concerned with the elements of intelligence testing which creep into tests designed to determine language proficiency, and the proliferation of testing of all types and the kinds of interpretations made of these tests. Particular…