The paper deals with the experience of a group of Chinese teachers of English studying on ELT/Applied Linguistics-related MA courses at a London university. Drawing mainly on data from questionnaires, it shows how the early part of their stay was marked by surprise, disappointment and disorientation at the diversity and perceived poor quality of…

In an important theoretical contribution to our understanding of language contact, Toribio elaborates on the familiar generalization, best known from the work of Silva-Corvalan, that contact varieties resemble monolingual lects of the same language in overall grammar, but differ with regard to (a) the selection of structures and (b) the…

The study sought to establish the attitudes of Kenyan speakers (n = 210) towards three varieties of English: (1) ethnically marked Kenyan English, (2) standard Kenyan English and (3) native speaker English (British, American, Australian, etc). Of the three varieties, the most preferred by both rural and urban respondents for use in the media and…

A growing body of research recognizes the pervasive difficulties involved in accommodating multilingual practices in the English language classroom and acknowledges that one aspect of this conundrum is the role that languages play in the constitution of student identities. Such studies point to how students use off-stage spaces to covertly engage…

Global English is under contestation. Although some consider lingua franca English (LFE) as a neutral medium or code that does not belong to any specific culture or nationality, others see the deceptive nature of this linguistic globalization. Along with Spring (2007/this issue), they see global English as embodying partisan interests and values.…

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…

The power and status of America in the world today are undeniable. This paper presents some empirical data about the attitudes and perceptions Danish learners of EFL have about British and American English. Ninety-six EFL learners participated in a verbal-guise experiment that involved rating different accents of English: American, Australian,…

Based on data collected during a three-year ethnographic study, this article explores the inextricably-linked notions of language and identity for White girls living in a high-poverty neighborhood in the US. Class-specific primary discourses are analyzed through an informal discussion, a literature-based discussion, and a conflict within a…

The materials presented here contain information about Cajun history, demography, language, music, and song. They include: a list of significant dates and events in Cajun history, from 1604 to 1990; maps indicating Cajun parishes in Louisiana and settlement areas in 1790 and 1981; notes on Cajun French, including distinctions between it and…

An examination of pattern in certain languages spoken primarily by Blacks has both a narrow and a broad focus. The former is on structure and development of the creole spoken by Jamaicans in England and to a lesser extent, a Black country English. The broader focus is on the relationship between the Kwa languages of West Africa and the…

The dictionary for Central and E-Saan varieties of Thai is designed as a reference for use by Peace Corps volunteers assigned to northeastern Thailand. An introductory section gives an overview of the dictionary's content and design. Most of the words included are functional vocabulary, and the usage is illustrated in sample sentences written in…

The dictionary for Central to Southern varieties of Thai is designed as a reference for use by Peace Corps volunteers assigned to southern Thailand. An introductory section gives an overview of the dictionary's content and design and some notes on tone patterns and spelling variation in the Central and Southern varieties. Most of the words…

Attitudes toward usage, accent, and dialect in spoken English are examined, drawing on literature in the field and data from a British study of year 9 students' (pupils aged 13-14) language awareness. The dilemma inherent in teaching standard spoken usage while encouraging maintenance of ethnic and regional identity is examined, with attention…

This study examined the speech act of agreement and disagreement in the ordinary conversation of English-speakers in India. Data were collected in natural speech elicited from educated, bilingual speakers in cross-sex and same-sex conversations in a range of formal and informal settings. Subjects' ages ranged from 19 to about 60. Five agreement…

A study of middle verb constructions in Canadian French and Madrid Spanish suggests that two alleged defining characteristics of these constructions are not really defining characteristics. These are: (1) that the constructions only appear in generic sentences, and (2) that they disallow "by"-phrases of the type found in passive…