Suresh Canagarajah is Edwin Erle Sparks Professor and Director of the Migration Studies Project, Departments of Applied Linguistics and English, Pennsylvania State University, USA. Having a BA with a major in English from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, and a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin, USA, Professor…

Language-in-education research can contribute to transformative progress toward educational equity and excellence. Although this assertion is likely uncontroversial within the field of language in education, agreeing on which types of research lead to which transformative progress is much less straightforward. The thought-provoking commentaries on…

Within the spirit of conspiration, this article brings together contributions from participants of the PhD-led UCL Reading and React Group 'Colonialism(s), Neoliberalism(s) and Language Teaching and Learning', which ran in 2019/20. Weaving together various perspectives, the article centres on the dialogic nature of the decolonial enterprise and…

In this personal reflection, Sonia Nieto recounts the lessons she learned about language and literacy from learning to speak Spanish and then English; to reading and writing; and the impact of these lessons on her identity, teaching, research, and life; and, more broadly, on the fields of education and literacy.

While learning and teaching English as an additional language are lifelong learning processes for both learners and teachers, these two sectors are largely dominated by West-centric linguistic and cultural imperialism, epistemic hegemony, racism, and neoliberalism, which are tied to colonialism and imperialism. In light of this issue, I argue that…

The worldwide spread of English has recently received much interest. Issues relating to the multifaceted roles of English around the world have been highlighted and purist positions about English challenged. In particular (a) the assumption that British English is the only valid standard of English; and (b) the notion that the "native speaker" is…

Owing to analyses of large spoken corpora the linguistic knowledge of conversation has grown in recent years exponentially. Up until now little of this knowledge has trickled down to the EFL classroom. One of the reasons, this paper argues, is the failure in the relevant literature to spell out clearly how teaching conversational grammar affects…

Examines methods of teaching the stylistics of language usage, emphasizing revision in the composing process. (RL)

This article deals with modelling and specificity in K-12 teacher education to describe an approach in ESL/EFL teaching which is aimed at assisting teachers in bridging the gap between declarative and procedural knowledge while addressing the complex requirements of their learners. It is concluded that descriptions of language variation across…

This article suggests that linguistic prescriptivism be used in the classroom as a means of eliminating discrimination. Since American society is predominantly monolingual, students must learn to use standard American English to gain access to social, political, and economic life in society. (DF)

Poetry presents serious difficulties to students. Many poems students are asked to study were written during eras with social mores, modes of thought and expression that are now unfamiliar. Often the sentiments expressed in poetry are discomforting or unfamiliar to students, though the greatest poets express universal ideas and emotions with which…

Discusses the Kingsman Report (Department of Education and Science, London) on teaching English in Britain, and considers its relevance for teaching English in other countries. The many kinds of English, the labels given to them, and the centrality of the standard language are briefly reviewed. (JL)

Serious basic research leading to adequate descriptions of English and other languages of wider communication around the world in their sociolinguistic contexts is needed. This must be accompanied by applied research in second language acquisition and innovative research in teaching methodology and curriculum and materials development. With the…

Addresses the help that heritage speakers and other native Spanish speaking students can provide in a Spanish phonetics class. These students can improve the pronunciation of Spanish learners while enhancing their own self esteem, and can also make learners aware of different dialects of Spanish. (Author/VWL)

Language arts educators who teach Latino English language learners know that part of their job is to help students learn to distinguish between the vernacular varieties of Spanish (or Mandarin, or Portuguese, or Swahili), English they use at home, and the school varieties of language expected in the classroom and in other professional and…