Symbolic competence (Kramsch, 2009, 2011) has been proposed as a crucial addition to world language learning, as it enables a language learner to negotiate the complex symbolism of words, expressions, and discursive events from the target culture in order to reference them effectively and in the appropriate contexts. However, fostering symbolic…

Using a conversation-analytic approach along with the notions of frame and footing (Goffman 1981), this study examines what strategies teachers use to build rapport with their students in Korean as a foreign language classrooms. It also discusses what kinds of interactional resources they employ in tandem with these strategies. Analysis of…

Despite widespread acknowledgement of the contribution of nonnative English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) to teaching English as an international language, the privileging of native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and native-speaker competency, and concomitant marginalization of NNESTs, continues in many countries. To investigate and problematize…

Lexical bundles such as "on the other hand" and "as a result of" are extremely common and important in academic discourse. The appropriate use of lexical bundles typical of a specific academic discipline is important for writers and the absence of such bundles may not sound fluent and native-like. Recent studies (e.g. Adel…

This article explores a less formal learning context: interactions between parents and children using English as a second language (L2). In this study, L2-speaking parents were invited to conduct informal interviews at home with their own children about the children's experiences in local schools. The data indicated that the hybrid role of acting…

Incidental grammar acquisition involves learners "picking up" a grammatical feature while their primary focus is on some other aspect of language--either message content or another language feature that is taught directly. This article reports a study of children's incidental grammar acquisition of two grammatical features--plural…

This study focuses on the syntactic properties of codeswitching within sentences uttered by bilingual speakers of Spanish and English in the USA or the so-called "Spanglish," by analysing data based on examples cited in the existing literature. To that end, I will examine the definitions of this cultural and linguistic phenomenon, make a…

This forum paper is based on a friendly and informative interview conducted with Professor Ann M. Johns. In providing answers to the interview questions, Professor Johns suggests that all good teaching is ESP, and also distinguishes between EOP and ESP in that the former entails much more "just in time" learning while the latter may be…

This article analyzes how emergent bilinguals discursively support one another during literacy activities in a cross-aged peer-tutoring program in their elementary school. Drawing from Vygotskian sociocultural theory, we frame peer supports as developing a zone of relevance that fosters and sustains peer engagement in literacy discussions.…

This study examines Malaysian learners' reflections on the discourses of the Asia-Pacific War in Malaysia and Japan after engaging in "Memories of War" project. The project, which was implemented in an advanced Japanese-as-a-Foreign-Language (JFL) class at a Malaysian university, aimed to improve learners' ability to grasp power…

This study explored college students' use of a popular smartphone social networking application, WeChat, in a tandem language learning project. The research questions included (1) How do Chinese-English dyads utilize the WeChat app for weekly language learning?, and (2) What are the perceptions of the Chinese-English dyads on the use of the WeChat…

Drawing upon Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory (SCT), this study aimed at investigating the effect of two writing modes, namely, peer-mediated/collaborative vs. individual writing on measures of fluency, accuracy, and complexity of female EFL learners' writing. Based on an in-house placement test and the First Certificate in English writing paper, a…

In this descriptive study the efforts of a faculty to prepare a cohort of pre-service bilingual education teachers to pass a newly adopted state certification test of academic Spanish are presented. The faculty's efforts were aimed at offsetting a low pass rate on this test, but unfortunately efforts fell short. To unpack this outcome, the authors…

Drawing on recent conversation-analytic and socio-interactionist research on students' participation in L1 and L2 classroom interaction in teacher-fronted activities, this paper makes a step further by presenting an exploratory study of students' displays of willingness to participate (WTP) in classroom interaction and pedagogical activities…

The aim of this study is to identify cohesion in the research project abstracts of Thai EFL engineering undergraduate students and to determine the writing patterns of their abstracts. Thirty-nine abstracts (200-300 words in length) from the faculty of Engineering in three different disciplines of the International Program were compiled and…