The issue of multi-level classrooms and of the increasingly differentiated nature of students' learning experiences continues to be a major challenge for language teachers. It's safe to say that wherever two or more language teachers are gathered together, the "problem" of multi-level classrooms will figure somewhere in the conversation.…

This paper provides an introduction to teacher language awareness (TLA) and a personal reconceptualisation of the relationship between TLA and other dimensions of teacher knowledge, revisiting issues discussed in Andrews (2001). In the first part of the paper, knowledge of subject matter is identified as the core of TLA. Given the increased…

The purpose of the present study was to determine what features associated with the macrolevel of lexical competence vary as a function of an increase in second language (L2) proficiency. The macrolevel of participants' word knowledge was described with respect to six variables that are commonly associated with three proposed macrolevel…

The discussion on the role of corrective feedback is part of a larger discussion on the role of "focusing on form" in foreign language teaching ("Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition," Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998). Studies conducted in communicative and content-based foreign language teaching…

The aim of this study is to reveal the differences in the process of learning reading strategies by EFL learners whose English proficiency levels differ. For this purpose, portfolios made by 10 Japanese female college students learning English (five in the higher proficiency group and the other five in the lower) were analyzed. The results found…

As the number of non-native speakers of English studying at universities in the United Kingdom (UK) has grown, so has the need to provide pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses. One of the challenges facing the organisers of such courses is deciding how to determine whether students have completed them successfully and whether…

Until recently, research in applied linguistics has tended to treat learners in relative isolation from their context, and to study primarily classroom and other educational contexts. This paper in contrast focuses on the contexts which frame learning, and in particular the resources which these contexts provide. A model is outlined which includes…

With the revamping of the Canada Immigration Act in 1985, the demographic profile of new arrivals to Canada took a marked shift to place a priority on better educated, business-class immigrants. Most of these immigrants are from the Pacific Rim, and they have high expectations for the academic achievement of their children in the Canadian school.…

One of the most common uses of the World Wide Web for foreign language learning is as a resource for students to find information when researching essay topics. When language instructors ask students to perform searches for information about a given issue it is assumed that students know how to perform those searches and appreciate the usefulness…

Australia's language-in-education policy documents have consistently included references to the place of "culture" in language teaching. This paper seeks to examine how the major national policies conceptualise culture and interculturality in relationship to languages education. For each policy, this study will analyse the language…

This paper explores the policy turn of the "learning society", and how the academic world is responding to new social and political demands. It highlights some of the criticisms levelled at the learning society, as well as the voices of support. The paper also showcases the European Language Portfolio and the Transferable Skills project…

Europe can become "united in diversity" only by helping its citizens internalise experientially their composite cultural identity as Europeans. Merely conceptual "understanding" of the other cultures is insufficient to promote genuine mutual respect and real opportunities for synergy across frontiers. An example is given of how…

This paper analyses Malaysia's English language policies, especially since the mid 1990s, in the light of more recent claims for a united Malaysian nation (under the banner of "bangsa Malaysia") and in the context of English language and its potential for Malaysia to forge more of an externalised identity. It examines the impact of…

In Claire Kramsch's (2004) response to work by Mary Louise Pratt (2002) on multilingualism, identity and language in the U.S., she proposed that the four points made by Pratt be extended to the following: (1) Monolingualism is a handicap, but so is the assumption that one language = one culture = adherence to one cultural community; (2) Heritage…

This paper proposes a range of improvements to international science communication. It pictures the contemporary language situation in international scientific communication as well as its recent history with the rise of English as its most notable feature and offers explanations for this development. It discusses in which sciences languages other…