The present study examines the acquisition of double object constructions (DOCs) ("Susan gave Peter an apple") by 90 Basque/Spanish learners of English as a third language (L3). The aim of this study was to explore whether (i) learners established a distinction when accepting DOCs vs. prepositional phrase constructions (PPCs)…

In this essay, the author argues that English language learners (ELLs) can meet and exceed the Common Core State Standards, and that more complex materials are in fact precisely what they need. Lack of access to such materials is what prevents ELLs from attaining full proficiency in English.

This paper explores the ideologies of English in China through a meta-discursive analysis of Chinese netizens' comments on the performance of English by Huang Xiaoming, a famous Chinese actor. By applying Park and Wee's framework for analysing ideological evaluations of appropriation (i.e. ideologies of allegiance, competence, and authenticity) to…

This article discusses a three-course sequence which has been designed to aid students' attainment of Advanced Low proficiency according to ACTFL guidelines. A cycle of iterative tasks (with increasing learner autonomy) within and between the courses in the sequence are highlighted and their implementation discussed. Additionally,…

This article reports on a questionnaire-based investigation of writing strategies used by Singapore primary school pupils. A sample of 1,618 pupils from two local primary schools participated in the study. A number of one-way ANOVA analyses were run to measure the relationship between the participants' use of writing strategies and their English…

Pragmatic competence is as an essential aspect of communicative competence. Does environment have an effect on developing pragmatic competence? Do levels of pragmatic competence differ between English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) students? Most studies have shown greater pragmatic awareness among ESL students…

Blended design of teaching/learning foreign languages, in this case English grammar, has become widely spread within the higher education. The main objective of the article is to discover whether blended approach enhances the process of acquiring new knowledge in the field. The research was conducted at two institutions: faculty of informatics and…

French immersion programs in Saskatchewan have traditionally served to further the goals of additive bilingualism between Canada's two official languages, French and English. Whereas these programs have historically consisted of predominantly Anglophone populations, recent trends in immigration have contributed to the increasingly diverse…

Models of monolingual literacy propose that reading acquisition builds upon children's semantic, phonological, and orthographic knowledge. The relationships between these components vary cross-linguistically, yet it is generally unknown how these differences impact bilingual children's literacy. A comparison between Spanish-English bilingual and…

We describe research results and lessons learned from a laboratory/ classroom collaboration with a school system offering both traditional English-only education and a dual-language track (Spanish/English). Through this collaboration, we addressed basic research questions informing malleable factors that impact cognitive development. In a…

The population of Spanish-speaking preschoolers in the United States continues to increase and there is a significant need to develop psychometrically sound early language and literacy screening measures to accurately capture children's ability in Spanish. In this paper, we describe the innovative design and calibration process of the new…

Reading and singing song lyrics utilizing karaoke-style performances provides ESL teachers with an effective English language acquisition teaching tool. Singing the lyrics of popular songs provides ESL students with multiple exposures to essential foundational oral and written English vocabulary and grammatical structures. This practice develops…

The purpose of this study was to enhance the meaning of the scores of an English-language test by developing performance levels and descriptors for reporting overall test performance. The levels and descriptors were intended to accompany the total scale scores of TOEFL Junior® Standard, an international test of English as a second/foreign…

The impact of globalisation in the last 20 years has led to an overwhelming increase in the use of English as the medium through which many business people get their work done. As a result, the linguistic landscape within which we now operate as researchers and teachers has changed both rapidly and beyond all recognition. In the discussion below,…

Emotion is "the primary human motive" (MacIntyre, 2002, p. 61). The human brain is an emotional brain, creating relationships among thought, emotion, and motivation in a complex dynamic system (Dörnyei, 2009). Emotion "functions as an amplifier, providing the intensity, urgency, and energy to propel our behavior" in…