This article looks at the effects of a teaching sequence of song-based activities on the L2 vocabulary acquisition of a group of five-year-old Spanish child EFL learners. Twenty-five preschool children received three 30-minute lessons organized around the presentation and practice of a well-known children's song. Vocabulary picture tests were…

Our research project focuses on learning strategies and motivation among academic procrastinators in computer assisted language learning (CALL) settings. In this study, we aim to compare them according to students' levels of English proficiency. One hundred and fourteen university students participated in this research project. Sixty-four students…

This is the 2013-2014 annual report on the academic progress of English language learners in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The purpose of the report is to: (1) Describe the demographic characteristics of students classified as English Language Learners (ELL) in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS); (2) Provide data regarding ELL students'…

In formal assessments of second-language speakers' fluency, the criteria used frequently fail to differentiate between real disfluency and interactionally effective practices, while superficially disfluent, that help with communication and are used by first language speakers. In this study, we focused on pausing, silences and self-repairs in the…

Cut-scores were set by expert judges on assessments of reading and listening comprehension of English as a foreign language (EFL), using the bookmark standard-setting method to differentiate proficiency levels defined by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Assessments contained stratified item samples drawn from extensive item…

In the field of applied linguistics, the English article is the acknowledged teaching and learning difficulty and receives lots of attention in second language acquisition (SLA). This paper, based on the Syntactic Misanalysis Account (SMA) advocated by Trenkic in which L2 articles are analyzed as adjectives by L2ers, proposes the English article…

This article peers through the lens of one district's journey of World Languages program refinement, and identifies a blueprint for success by aligning targets. The author begins by proposing the following questions: (1) Is your program where you want it to be? (2) Is it producing desired results? and (3) Are students yielding the greatest results…

This study examines the effect of recognition-based retrieval practice on vocabulary learning in a university Chinese class. Students (N=26) were given practice retrieving new vocabulary (single or two-character words) in a series of simple form recognition tests administered over four weeks. The test sets consisted of target vocabulary that…

Cognitive learning styles are relatively fixed procedures using which individuals receive, process and organize information. This paper aims to examine academic achievement in English for both field dependence and field independence learning styles using educational multimedia. The sample of the study consisted of 40 second-grade female students…

This study examined transfer facilitation effect of first language morphological awareness on second language lexical inference ability among Grade 6 Chinese-speaking English as a foreign language learners in China. A set of paper and pencil tests was administered to measure children's morphological awareness and lexical inference ability in both…

A standard of language proficiency recommended for world language preservice teachers has been set at advanced low as defined by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) requires that foreign language teacher candidates in specific languages (e.g., French, German, Spanish) achieve…

The topic of this "Perspectives" column is "Requiring a Proficiency Level as a Requirement for U.S. K-12 Teacher Licensure." In 1998, the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) began to work with the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), which accredits teacher education programs…

Strategies play an important role in learning a second or foreign language (L2). The aim of the current study was to develop and evaluate a co-sharing-based strategy learning system for L2 vocabulary learning known as "Mywordtools." Mywordtools is designed specifically for lexical learning, enabling learners to use the currently…

This research investigated the developing inter-relationships between language, graphic symbolism and symbolic play both concurrently and longitudinally from the fourth to the fifth year of childhood. Sixty children ("n"?=?60) aged between 3 and 4?years completed multiple assessments of language and assessments of graphic symbolism,…

The Houston Independent School District offers two different English as a Second Language (ESL) programs for students whose native language is not English and who need to develop and enhance their English language skills (English Language Learners, or ELLs). The Content-Based ESL model (CB-ESL) consists of an intensive program of English…