The use of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) has been hailed as a solution to the problem of access to native speakers for language learners. This project was devised to investigate whether regular and structured use of email, here via a bulletin board, might enhance learners' study of French, with regard to developing learner autonomy and…

This article examines a student poem about a common gendered experience in Guanajuato, Mexico, which was written by a student in a creative writing group the author led during a one-semester study abroad program she directs for CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange). The article posits Guanajuato as a contact zone where Mexican…

This article considers the question of the authorship of digital texts and their use by learners and teachers in higher education. It draws on the work of Foucault, in particular how his concept of the "author function" is applied by Poster to the authorships of the digital age. From this theoretical basis, the article goes on to…

This paper explores the assimilation gap, the gap between the acquisition of a technology and its deployment, in higher education teaching. The relevant literature covers three themes: technology diffusion, the technology acceptance model and task-technology fit. To explore the significance of these models to a teaching environment case study…

This article proposes a model for a critical social-constructivist (CS-C) approach to the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in language/culture education. CS-C theories emphasize a critical approach to social interactions, interpersonal relations, communication, and the influence that these activities have on learning. I will use the…

The "learning turn" that has occurred in discussions of education and training is here subject to critique. The change of discourse signifies more than mere change of linguistic style, with claims being made to a new paradigm by proponents of what may be termed "learnerism". The claims made by the advocates of learnerism for…

In the light of many changes taking place in higher education, it is often problematic to align the theoretical pronouncements with their application on the ground. This article is based on a study that tracked steps taken by educators to introduce portfolio assessment in an institution of higher learning. A phenomenographic research method was…

This paper is concerned with the impact that public and political discourses on the issues of language and ethnicity in Germany have on integration. It suggests that a combined effect of factors such as the traditional concept of "Germanness", peculiarities of Russian Germans' "cultural identity" and certain aspects of German…

The purpose of the present study is to investigate, within the textual framework of "academic journalese", what happens to Danish and Finnish writers' English texts when edited by native English-speaking editors for publication on the World Wide Web. We use the term academic journalese to describe texts written by researchers or…

This study analyses specific written discourse production in which NNSs' usage of English tenses and voice appears to be dramatically different from that of NSs. The data for the study narrowly focuses on a small number of verb phrase features, such as tenses, aspects and the passive voice, examining how they are presented in writing instruction…

This article describes the types of discourse 10 Australian grade 4-6 teachers used after they had been trained to embed cooperative learning in their curriculum and to use communication skills to promote students' thinking and to scaffold their learning. One audiotaped classroom social science lesson involving cooperative learning was analyzed…

This paper is based on a qualitative case study on the perceptions of Malaysian Chinese parents towards literacy practices of their two children specifically in relation to the socialization practices they privilege at home. It looks at these literacy practices as choices made by parents for their teenage children at the intersection of home,…

This article analyzes CEE's and NCTE's current positions related to political action and highlights the increasing need for public intellectual and political activism as an integral part of organizational policy. Using Lakoff's (2005) concept of cognitive/linguistic framing in political discourse along with Kuchapski's (2002) characterizations of…

This study investigated the effects of "signals" in text (headings, previews, and logical connectives) on the reading comprehension of learners of English as a Second Language. Subjects were 232 female Hong Kong secondary school students, all less-skilled readers of English. The subjects read a relatively difficult passage in English on…

The use of text classification as a strategy in the training of translators is discussed. Frequently, translator trainees are required to complete a text profile classifying the text on dimensions such as purpose, formality, difficulty, and emotional tone. It is argued that the empirical basis for such classification is very shaky, but could be…