This article seeks to explore adult second language learning beyond the classroom as a process of identity negotiation, and a struggle for participation, acceptance, and legitimacy in multiple communities to which learners belong or aspire to belong. Drawing on constructivism to conceptualize language learning and notions of identity, the study…

This study examined the effectiveness of reformulation and model text in a three-stage writing task (composing-comparison-revising) in an EFL writing class in a Beijing university. The study documented 10 university students' writing performance from the composing (Stage 1) and comparing (Stage 2, where students compare their own text to a…

The purpose of the current study was to examine the roles of acculturation, economic value of education, and gender in the academic achievement of Latino adolescents. Participants (N = 143) were 12th-grade students at an urban public high school. Analyses revealed that a higher economic value of education was related to higher academic…

Pragmatic differentiation in bilinguals is the ability to use two languages appropriately with different speakers. Although some sensitivity emerges by 2 years, the effects of context on these skills and their relation to other developing metacognitive capacities have not been examined. The current study compared the language use of 28 bilingual…

This study reports on attention to meaning among 40 NNS pre-service EFL teachers as they collaboratively constructed a wiki in a 16-week online course. Focus is placed upon the nature of individual and group behavior when attending to meaning in a long-term wiki-based collaborative activity as well as the students' collaborative autonomous…

The "International Society for the Social Studies (ISSS) Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. The following papers are included in the 2015 proceedings: (1) Local History and Local Culture at the Core of Elementary Social Studies Curriculum (C.…

Political doubletalk is considered the second language of Washington, D.C. Empty words and meaningless phrases swirl around as if they have substance, but the only outcome is a beleaguered and bewildered listener. Some educational leaders might feel as though they are caught in the same kind of terminology tornado when it comes to technology. To…

The theme for this year's College of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa was "Engaged Language Research and Practice," with the plenary speech given by Dr. Kathryn A. Davis. Following a preface from the editors and plenary speaker highlights, contents of these proceedings include: Section I:…

This article underscores the importance of keeping up to date with vocabulary which is currently employed in English-speaking countries. It argues that textbooks, dictionaries and even corpora are not the most reliable sources to do this, and puts forward a pedagogical proposal--grounded in the Lexical Approach and three pedagogical innovation…

Student underachievement on standardized math achievement tests is a major concern in American public schools. One of the speculated reasons for student underachievement is the inability to solve math word problems. Word problems are the most challenging problems in math because word problem solving requires the use of skills in language,…

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the communication behaviors of online leaders, or those who influence other members of online communities in terms of triggering replies, sparking conversations and diffusing language. It also examines the influence of group attributes on leadership such as size and connectedness. It relies on roughly…

Classroom mathematics in Malta is generally communicated through code-switching between the national language Maltese and the country's second language English. This is because not all mathematical words have Maltese equivalents and furthermore, mathematics textbooks are UK publications. I consider the language used for spoken communication and…

The purpose of this article is to provide suggestions for using public speaking tasks in English language teaching (ELT) and to highlight some of their many advantages. For the purpose of this article, the author will focus on two types of these tasks: student presentations and debates. Student presentations may consist of either individual or…

The aim of the study is to identify and interpret the exact aspects of Greek interlanguage modification which present deviations from native usage. As such, it is an investigation of Greek ESL university students' request modification and a comparison to British English native speakers. More specifically, it concentrates on the mitigating function…

This study explores medical college students' improvement on the TOEIC upon completion of English-only classes by comparing their pre- and post-TOEIC scores. The students' responses on the questionnaire were also reviewed. The subjects were the 44 first-year medical students taking the English-only classes that required active participation of…