This article presents the results from a preliminary investigation into the use of fingerspelling in Australian Sign Language (Auslan), drawing on data collected as part of the Sociolinguistic Variation in Australian Sign Language project (Schembri and Johnston 2004; Schembri, Johnston, and Goswell in press). This major project is a replication in…

In this article, the author shares his experience growing up speaking African American Vernacular English in school and his observations about nonstandard American plantation English. The author's amateur linguistic observations about nonstandard American plantation English gave rise to immediate dialect comparisons between African American…

Maryellen G. Paquette reveals the excitement and learning that can occur when high school students are presented with multiple opportunities to play. Activities that employ playful language and the whole body allow students to embody, name, and identify with complicated emotions and situations in Shakespeare's plays. In addition, play can be…

The age at which one begins learning a second language (L2) has been shown to influence the rate of acquisition and ultimate proficiency in various aspects of that language. Less is understood about L2 acquisition for adolescents, particularly immigrants, and ways in which age on arrival (AoA) influences the circumstances in which they learn their…

The present study focuses on young EFL learners' use of the L2 to convey various linguistic functions (ask for information, talk about personal things, etc.). Based on the functional categories identified by Halliday (1975) and Painter (1999) in the development of the L1, and after having observed the use of these functions in a full-immersion EFL…

In this study enrolment numbers and levels, as well as language-in-education, were viewed from a linear, comparative perspective. In the era prior to 1994, black and white learners not only attended separate schools but the segregated schools had different policies regarding medium of instruction. Resistance to the language policy regarding black…

This study investigated how the context of a Primary 3 (P3) teacher of Luganda in Uganda influenced the teacher's literacy instructional decision-making, beliefs, pedagogy, and practices before and after she was provided with supplies and literacy instructional procedures that helped produce reading materials for her students. The contextual…

This study is about how one middle school principal in Arizona uses Spanish throughout her day with students and their immigrant parents. Ordinarily, the use of Spanish to communicate with Spanish speaking students and their parents might not seem noteworthy, yet, in the State of Arizona several policies and laws have been enacted in recent years…

"American Languages: Indians, Ethnology, and the Empire for Liberty" is a study of knowledge and power, as it relates to Indian affairs, in the early republic. It details the interactions, exchanges, and networks through which linguistic and racial ideas were produced and it examines the effect of those ideas on Indian administration. First…

This case study investigates a professional development initiative in which a first-grade bilingual teacher engages in learning and teaching Cognitively Guided Instruction, a framework for understanding student thinking through context-rich word-problem lessons. The study explores (a) the impact of classroom-based professional development on a…

This study examined Korean English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' ability to establish textual cohesion in English through appropriate selection of reference forms and reference management strategies in their written narrative discourse. It employed both quantitative and qualitative analysis to explore how the language-specific reference…

In this study, the problem of non-proficiency in language learning and use among Nigerian students is investigated. Using empirical data and information from available literature on the subject as evidence, it was observed that the language deficiencies of the students could be attributed to the lack of fit between the formulation of the national…

This article focuses on the development of vocabulary among English language learners. The author first defines what a "word" means, then discusses five aspects of vocabulary knowledge. Drawing on Swain (1993), the author identifies three main goals of vocabulary learning. The rest of the article is devoted to the description of six…

This research report investigates how government departments and agencies communicate with post-16 education and training organisations, and how those working in it perceive the communications. Specifically, this report details the findings from an online survey distributed to a cross-section of people working in post-16 education and training.…

This paper attempts to extend and contribute to the domestic diversity literature by presenting a comprehensive model that takes into consideration the Indian work set up. It proposes to examine the effects of the composition of information systems development teams in Indian firms. Besides the conventional demographics which were studied…