Washoe, the chimpanzee pioneer who learned aspects of American Sign Language, died in October 2007. In reviewing her life and accomplishments, this article focuses on Washoe's status as an ape and a person, and on the role of emotion in language learning and language use. It argues that Washoe's legacy stems not from the number of ASL signs she…

This paper presents an alternative analysis of the two Japanese existential verbs: aru and iru. By appealing to the notion of conceptualisation that pervades the cognitive linguistic literature, I demonstrate that the two verbs pattern as motion verbs, and not simply as verbs of existence and/or location. Throughout the paper, I demonstrate that…

Participants (aged 5-6 yrs, 9-10 yrs and adults) rated (using a five-point scale) grammatical (intransitive) and overgeneralized (transitive causative) uses of a high frequency, low frequency and novel intransitive verb from each of three semantic classes [Pinker, S. (1989a). "Learnability and cognition: the acquisition of argument structure."…

This article outlines an emergentist account whereby the limited end-state typical of adult second language learners results from dynamic cycles of language use, language change, language perception, and language learning in the interactions of members of language communities. In summary, the major processes are: 1. "Usage leads to change": High…

This study was a cross-sectional investigation into the request strategies used by Iranian learners of English as a Foreign Language and Australian native speakers of English. The sample involved 96 BA and MA Persian students and 10 native speakers of English. A Discourse Completion Test (DCT) was used to generate data related to the request…

According to the preface, "in light of the growing multicultural population in the United States, twenty-first-century library services will require culturally competent librarians." For years AASL has been addressing cultural issues in its official journal, "Knowledge Quest". This collection brings together articles that touch…

In times of financial distress, the communication strategies of leaders of institutions of higher education are often flawed. This is because the best approaches to helping a campus deal with financial woes are counter-intuitive and require an understanding of money as a language. But bankruptcy law, financial counseling, psychology, and…

This study aimed to obtain perceptions of teachers employed in state and private schools in Eskisehir, Turkey, about the language use of principals toward teachers as a means of motivation and control. The data for the study were collected from 170 teachers working in 13 schools. To analyze the data, frequency and percentage analysis techniques…

This paper examines three key education policy documents from Scotland, England and Wales in the eight years after devolution. A close textual analysis of the language of each document is undertaken, which is supported by the authors' insider knowledge of these countries. Findings are presented from analysis of a group of selected words, as well…

This detailed phenomenological study of three immigrant children's individual networks of linguistic contact (INLC) (interpersonal contact, educational support and contact through media) challenges the myth that heritage language maintenance is solely the responsibility of Chinese immigrant families and communities. Through examining children's…

To ascertain whether what ESL/EFL grammars say is informed by what scholars discuss in the literature and supported by what corpus findings actually show, this paper first presents a brief overview of the literature on the English definite article and then compares popular ESL/EFL grammars' coverage of "the" and corpus findings on definite article…

In recent years, there has been a great deal of research and pedagogical experimentation relating to the uses of technology in second (L2) and foreign language education. The majority of this research has usefully described and examined the efficacy of in-class and directly classroom-related uses of technology. This article broadens the scope of…

Rwanda has experienced major changes during the last decade due to the genocide in 1994. After the civil war, in addition to establishing political and economical stability, peace and reconciliation, the government was faced with the return of refugees from neighbouring, mostly English-speaking, countries. The new socio-demographic conditions…

Current approaches to troubled children focus on external control and superficial compliance. This article explores the significance of Fritz Redl's concept of building controls from within to effective practice in the 21st Century. The author provides a brief overview of Fritz Redl's concept and hopes that this overview and the material to follow…

Using data from a longitudinal study, this article traces how in- and out-of-school processes placed youth at the center of a community language tip into English in Piniq, a Yup'ik village in Alaska. During an early phase of language tip, youth underscored bilingual connections to community and place through storytelling with peers. Yet youth were…