High-stakes tests have been employed widely to engineer curriculum innovation, or achieve intended washback in education. But our understanding of the role of high-stakes tests as an agent for change is limited due to the small number of empirical studies available on this issue. This paper reports on a washback study which focuses on the writing…

The phenomenon of overused adjectives by non-native speaking learners (NNS) has been pinpointed by recent research. This study designed five online units for increasing students' awareness of underused specific adjectives for EFL college writing. Five units were developed for five identified overused adjectives: "important", "beautiful", "hard",…

Eight gifted and eight general-education students engaged in discussions regarding their observations of, experiences in, and recommendations for education. Six categories emerged through qualitative analysis of their conversations. These categories include: problem solving, task commitment, self-perceptions, education, communication, and…

This is a construct validation study of a second language speaking assessment that reported a language profile based on analytic rating scales and a composite score. The study addressed three key issues: score dependability, convergent/discriminant validity of analytic rating scales and the weighting of analytic ratings in the composite score.…

In this article, we take up the call for more multilayered and ethnographic approaches to language policy and planning (LPP) research by sharing two examples of how ethnography can illuminate local interpretation and implementation. We offer ethnographic data collected in two very different institutions--the School District of Philadelphia and the…

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe training levels related to careers, employment, and influences of "new economy" in small and mid-sized firms. The organizational side of career development behaviors was also a focus of this study. Interviews related to company policies and practices were conducted with 26 employers…

We previously defined the "by-products" of academic writing instruction as "affective and social changes perceived by students, "along with" changes in their writing, reflected in interpersonal and intrapersonal behaviors carried over into other spheres of their lives" [Katznelson, Perpignan, & Rubin, 2001. What…

The belief that students can make valuable contributions to course design through continuous feedback leads to the consideration of alternative methods of learning that involve students in this process and inspire the development of a new relationship: student-teacher partnership in course evaluation and revision. In this partnership, students…

The globalisation of English and a growing demand for good English-speaking skills in the job market in particular have been placing a greater emphasis on the teaching of English speaking skills in Bangladesh. The private universities emphasise developing English skills. It seems that students of public and private universities have the same level…

Guided by the theoretical and empirical research on self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs, and the "Culturally Responsive Teaching Competencies" [Siwatu, K.O. (2006a). "The development of the culturally responsive teaching competencies: Implications for teacher education." Manuscript under review], two measures--the…

The student population in United States early childhood education programs is becoming more diverse every year. As schools and communities become more diverse, it becomes increasingly important for teachers to be well prepared for teaching and learning in cross-racial, cross-ethnic, and cross-cultural situations. Based on the premise that teachers…

Acquisition of academic literacy is often a difficult process for students, and in South Africa this is compounded by the fact that education for most secondary school pupils takes place in a second language at under-resourced schools. This article describes the scaffolding of an academic literacy course designed for South African students from…

One goal of this longitudinal study was to examine whether the predictors of reading skills in Grade 3 would differ between English as a second language (ESL) students and native English-speaking (L1) students. Phonological processing, syntactic awareness, memory, spelling, word reading, and lexical access skills were assessed in kindergarten and…

For decades bilingual education in the United States has faced political adversity to varying degrees. Having survived several waves of English-only activism since the late 1970s, these programs seem unlikely to disappear anytime soon. Research has increasingly demonstrated their superiority to all-English approaches for educating English-language…

Business communication courses often include a mix of students who are native speakers of the language of instruction and those who are not. When native speakers form a majority, it is hard to meet the special needs of the nonnative speakers. If a course's purpose is to cover strategic aspects of communication, it seems inappropriate to spend…