Vygotsky's (1993) "Fundamentals of Defectology" is a radical's handbook of deaf and disability studies. Vygotsky's overall research program views disabilities, including deafness, from an integrated biosocial and critical theory standpoint. In two movements, I introduce an "American Annals of the Deaf Special Issue" on…

In its 40th year, "Language Testing" journal has served as the flagship journal for scholars, researchers, and practitioners in the field of language testing and assessment. This viewpoint piece, written from the perspective of an emerging scholar, discusses two possible future trends based on evidence going back to the very first issue…

Background: Although conventional writing procedures are still the dominant instructional procedures in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts, instructors are still struggling with time limitations to improve EFL students writing skills properly. Additionally, EFL students are not engaged in the writing process since they lack the required…

This paper looks at the role of English in Brunei and the sociocultural structure of Bahasa/language in Brunei Darussalam. The aim of this research is to critically analyse sociocultural theory from Vygotsky's "peak psychology" approach and understand depth-knowledge of sociocultural theory from other scholars' perspectives. The…

Purpose: Understanding what is known about the language profiles of children with hearing loss (CHL) is vital so that researchers and teachers can identify the specific complex syntactic structures that CHL may struggle to master. An understanding of which aspects of complex syntax pose difficulties for CHL is necessary to inform the kind of…

This study investigated students' perceptions of speaking English in front of the class versus speaking English via self-recorded videos posted on a private Facebook group. In Thailand, most Thai students are shy and have less confidence in speaking English. Providing them with a new type of practicing English might encourage them to have more…

This study investigated the role of competition in academic settings by conceptualizing competitive engagement and examining how competition self-efficacy defined as confidence in one's ability to outperform others could mediate learner engagement and self-determination to learn English as a foreign language (EFL). Within the context of a…

This paper presents a detailed analysis of how Welsh language training in the public sector workplace in north Wales is planned and delivered. Specific attention is given to the effectiveness of strategic management on both the macro level (Welsh Government, Welsh Language Board/Welsh Language Commissioner) and the micro level (individual public…

Purpose: Despite numerous studies reporting beneficial effects of metacognition for improving learning or developing self-regulated learners, the evidence from tertiary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings is still unclear as synthesis studies in this field remain rare. To address the gap, this study sought to identify, examine and…

Public speaking, especially in a foreign language, is associated with increased anxiety. Research has shown the potential of virtual reality (VR) for simulating real-life experiences, allowing for public speaking practice in an ecological and safe environment. This between-subjects study investigated the effect of VR on foreign language anxiety…

Research Methodology (RM) is the backbone of any TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) MA programme. Although a burgeoning body of research has investigated students' attitude towards research and RM course in various disciplines, students' attitudes towards research and research methods courses in TEFL research has remained a relatively…

There is a call for exploring the narrative transportation and reading performance among multimodality readings, i.e., single modality (text), dual modality (text + picture), and tri-modality (text + picture + audio). Altogether 42 junior high-school participants native in Chinese from an urban city in P.R. China were invited to the 90-minute…

In this paper, we investigate the pressures placed upon English teaching by neo-nationalist politics, particularly as it overlays existing neoliberal constraints. We focus on the experiences and perspectives of Brazilian teachers who are committed to critical language education even as it carries increasing risks to themselves. Interviews with…

Children with delays in expressive language (late talkers) have heterogeneous developmental trajectories. Some are late bloomers who eventually "catch-up," but others have persisting delays or are later diagnosed with developmental language disorder (DLD). Early in development it is unclear which children will belong to which group. We…

In this article, I argue for expanding what "counts" as evidence of content learning in the assessment of English learners (ELs) and their peers in the content areas. ELs bring expansive meaning-making resources to content classrooms that are valuable assets for meeting the ambitious learning goals of the latest K-12 education reform.…