Language teacher's composition rating process has become an issue of growing concern in writing research over the past three decades. It is evident that a substantial number of composition rating research have employed concurrent think-aloud protocol analysis (TAPA) as a major method of qualitative data collection and data analysis. For the…

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page PDF sheets, by topic, with graphics, plus key contacts. The topics for this report on languages spoken by English learners (ELs) are: (1) Twenty most common EL languages, as reported in states' top five lists: SY 2013-14; (2) States,…

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page PDF sheets, by topic, with graphics, plus key contacts. The topics for this report on Asian/Pacific Islander languages spoken by English Learners (ELs) include: (1) Top 10 Most Common Asian/Pacific Islander Languages Spoken Among ELs:…

To assist second language learners in becoming effective, aware, and reflective participants in higher education, support can be provided by integrating structured awareness raising approaches in the language curriculum. Drawing on self-regulation principles, such a structured awareness raising curriculum is most notably sustained by reflective…

Culture, as the fifth language skill, enables learners to develop into multilingually and multiculturally aware global citizens. The traditional Chinese architecture is as old as Chinese civilization. The wisdom, stories, and cultural elements behind traditional Chinese construction is a valued aspect of Chinese culture. This article introduces a…

As an officially trilingual special administrative region of China and an economic powerhouse in Asia, Hong Kong has invested heavily in dual language schools that emphasize learning English alongside of Cantonese or Mandarin at all levels of education. Little research has explored how learning and language use takes shape within these schools,…

This article investigates how pupils and teachers in two Chinese community schools in the UK understand Chinese culture as regards the classroom teaching and other activities offered by the schools such as the celebration of festivals. Working from a social constructionist perspective and building on the work of Adrian Holliday, the study explores…

This study investigated the construct validity of a local speaking test for international teaching assistants (ITAs) from a fairness perspective, by employing a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the impact of task type and examinee first language (L1) background on the internal structure of the test. The test consists of…

Many explanations have been offered for the widely attested problems second language (L2) learners experience with the English article system. One influential proposal from formal linguistics is the Article Choice Parameter and associated Fluctuation Hypothesis, which states that learners of English fluctuate between correct and incorrect usage by…

Written from the perspective of a Grade 5/6 French Immersion teacher, this paper examines the role of music, poetry, and the visual arts in enhancing learner identity, in the context of the elementary school classroom. It begins with a focus on artistic metaphors that represent cultural and linguistic hyphenation. It then addresses practical…

Bilingualism is associated with lifelong cognitive benefits that correlate with facilitated achievements in subsequent language learning. Second language (L2) instruction as well can promote the development of cognitive abilities involved in language learning, and among these, L2 input processing. Crucial to L2 acquisition, input processing is the…

One of the fundamental usages of language is to address each other. As a socialized product, language is bound to transfer its users' intention, the examination of which will have to be based on the absence of either the addressor or the addressee, or even the both. In the process of social development, there exists discrimination between…

The present study explored the development of second language (L2) Chinese learners' ability to negotiate requests in interactions. It investigated the effect of proficiency on learners' use of request strategies and internal modifications and on their sequential realization of requests in L2 Chinese. Twenty-four American English learners of L2…

Based on the Simple View of Reading model, this study examines the relationships among Chinese reading comprehension and its two componential processes, Chinese character reading and listening comprehension, in young learners of Chinese as a second language (CSL) using a longitudinal design. Using relevant measures, a sample of 142 senior primary…

This article explores the relationship between the writing proficiency of heritage speakers of Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Spanish and their context of acquisition, educational experiences, and language practices. Biographical data and proficiency ratings obtained with the ACTFL Writing Proficiency Test were collected for 187 adult heritage…