This study aimed to answer an ongoing validity question related to the use of nonstandard English accents in international tests of English proficiency and associated issues of test fairness. More specifically, we examined (1) the extent to which different or shared English accents had an impact on listeners' performances on the Duolingo listening…

This controlled experimental study investigated the interaction of variables associated with rating the pronunciation component of high-stakes English-language-speaking tests such as IELTS and TOEFL iBT. One hundred experienced raters who were all either familiar or unfamiliar with Brazilian-accented English or Papua New Guinean Tok Pisin-accented…

The shift to online instruction brought about by the novel coronavirus exacerbated language teaching and learning constraints already highlighted by foreign language (FL) research. However, it is important that FL courses keep preparing learners for global careers and interactions with native speakers--whether courses take place in-person,…

The aims of this study were 1) to examine the effectiveness of the World Englishes instructional model in enabling students to improve their listening comprehension towards varieties of English, and 2) to investigate students' attitudes towards the use of the World Englishes instructional model. The methodology of this study followed a…

By means of a large-scale web-based investigation, we established the degree of mutual intelligibility of 16 closely related spoken languages within the Germanic, Slavic and Romance language families in Europe. We first present the results of a selection of 1833 listeners representing the mutual intelligibility between young, educated Europeans…

The Vanuatu government has recently implemented a policy of vernacular literacy. Children are now to receive the first three years of schooling in a vernacular language. Needless to say, in a country with less than 300,000 people [Vanuatu National Statistics Office 2016 Accessed January 4, 2016. http://vnso.gov.vu/] and more than 100 indigenous…

The rise of medical tourism and the increasing number of international patients from Asian countries have led Thai healthcare professionals to serve a lot of Asian patients and to encounter a complexity of language use in their workplace. There is a necessity for these professionals to strive for an understanding of Asian accents spoken by the…

Describes a project that aimed to find a more contextualized method of testing the comprehensibility of spoken language and then to use this method to test the comprehensibility of five native and nonnative varieties of South African English with as international an audience as time and resources would allow. (Author/VWL)

A preface by Andre Martinet and a brief discussion of the author's approach to research introduce this descriptive study of bilingualism. Various aspects of interference--lexical, grammatical, and phonic are examined. Major emphasis is focused on the role and influence of socio-cultural setting and psychological factors inherent in bilingualism.…