Celpe-Bras, is the exam for the certification of proficiency in Portuguese as a foreign language. It, is the only Portuguese proficiency test recognized by the Brazilian government (Ministério da Educação, 2013). Given the recent growth of interest and also its unique design as a large-scale proficiency test, this article provides a general…

The Discontinuity Model (DM) described in this article proposes that adults can learn part of L2 morphosyntax twice, in two different ways. The same item can be learned as the product of generation by a rule or as a modification of a template already stored in memory. These learning modalities, which are often seen as opposed in language theory,…

This paper focuses on educational policy and language learning in compulsory education in the European context, and suggests how multilingualism can be addressed more effectively. The wider policy landscape has influenced language education in Europe over the past 25 years, in particular through the policies of the Council of Europe and the…

Internationally, universities and policy-makers are calling for stronger integration of research into teaching. However, it is unclear how to implement this in practice in different disciplinary areas and contexts. This study contributes to this understanding with a focus on language teaching in the Chinese context. We surveyed 152 university…

Hong Kong, along with other Asian societies with universities with top world rankings, has in recent years attracted an increasing number of international students, mainly from Asia. Previous research in English-speaking Western countries has indicated the importance of resources, including language proficiency, positive intergroup relations, and…

Taking the Norwegian construction industry as its site of study, this article discusses under which conditions migrant workers in the Norwegian construction industry obtain the status as new speakers in the workplace. These conditions are determined by language proficiency requirements and speaker hierarchies that are constructed through language…

Current study investigated applicability of the 9th Grade EFL Program with regard to proficiency descriptors and educational principles of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Qualitative inquiry was followed by adopting a phenomenological approach to conduct the study. The data were collected through document analyses,…

There is much discussion about and many policies to address achievement gaps in education among groups of students. The focus here is on a different gap and it is argued that it also should be of concern. Speed gaps are differences in how quickly different groups of students answer the questions on academic assessments. To investigate some speed…

Task-based vocabulary learning has recently attracted lots of attention in the field of second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition. This article compares the effects of input and output tasks on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' acquisition of vocabulary knowledge. Four intact classes of EFL learners were randomly assigned to one of…

Task-based language teaching comprises both a novel language teaching approach and a burgeoning area of study in the field of second-language acquisition. This study investigated the effects of task type and planning conditions on the accuracy of learners' oral performance during pre-task planning. Eighty intermediate EFL learners were assigned to…

Gifted children are described as very talented children who achieve more than their age mates in one or more domains (Steiner and Carr in Educ Psychol Rev 15(3):215-246, 2003). These children potentially share a cognitive advantage enabling them to excel in language, but also in other domains. In the present study we explored whether gifted…

Prior studies of sex-based differences in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have yielded mixed findings. This study examined ASD symptom severity and functional correlates in a sample of 34 high-functioning females with ASD (HFASD; M age = 8.93; M IQ = 104.64) compared to 34 matched males (M age = 8.96; M IQ = 104.44) using the Social Responsiveness…

This paper focuses on the design and evaluation of a theory-based computer-assisted summary writing learning environment called Summary Writing-PAL (SW-PAL). The SW-PAL was developed based on four aspects: summarizing strategies, learning theories, prior knowledge, and cognitive load. A quasi-experiment that involved 58 undergraduates majoring in…

The use of peer assessment has been investigated for decades. However, the results of different studies are mixed. In this study, the implementation of peer assessment was attempted to assess students' reading aloud and oral presentation in two higher diploma/associate degree English language courses in Hong Kong. Students' opinions towards the…

In an effort to create enriched language learning environments, language teachers, program and course developers, and publishing companies have long sought novel ideas and alternatives. Thus, a wide range of information and communications technologies, which have manifested themselves in the form of virtual learning environments, web-based…