Communicative approaches to language teaching that emphasize the importance of speaking (e.g., task-based language teaching) require innovative and evidence-based means of assessing oral language. Nonetheless, research has yet to produce an adequate assessment model for oral language (Chun 2006; Downey et al. 2008). Limited by automatic speech…

Many "African English" researchers (see Kachru, B. B. (1983). "The Indianization of English." "The English language in India." Singapore: Singapore University Press.) have argued that when English is used in non-native environments, many aspects of its lexicon, grammar and pronunciation are modified and…

This author presents variable and stimulating activities using songs to encourage students to connect with language. Seven dynamic activities include Song Pictures, Re-order It, Matching Meanings, Changing the Text, Song Strip Connections, Song Cards, and Pair Watching. All are outlined to facilitate their use, and many have added extensions and…

This article has an overall aim as follows: to develop an alternative understanding to a narrow view of education, and in particular teacher training--preparatory and continuing--in terms of economy, as well as the competencies needed for the teaching profession. It takes the view that such an alternative is or could be found in the ideas put…

This qualitative study investigated the visions and metaphors for teaching held by teacher candidates enrolled in an urban-based alternative certification program. While late-entry teacher recruits are considered to have high motivations for urban school teaching, few studies explore the nature of these motivations. Findings from this study…

This study investigates subject pronominal expression in second language Chinese and compares learner usage with patterns found in their first language. The results show that (a) overt pronouns are used more for singular, +animate subjects than plural, -animate ones; (b) switch in subject surface form favors overt pronouns; (c) English and Russian…

This study focuses on three main goals: First, 3-year-olds' spatial assembly skills are probed using interlocking block constructions (N = 102). A detailed scoring scheme provides insight into early spatial processing and offers information beyond a basic accuracy score. Second, the relation of spatial assembly to early mathematical skills…

Generics ("'Dogs' bark") convey important information about categories and facilitate children's learning. Two studies with parents and their 2- or 4-year-old children (N = 104 dyads) examined whether individual differences in generic language use are as follows: (a) stable over time, contexts, and domains, and (b) linked…

This case study of a science lesson, on the topic thermal expansion, examines the language demands on students from an integrated science and language perspective. The data were generated during a sequence of 9 lessons on the topic of "States of Matter" in a Grade 7 classroom (12-13 years old students). We identify the language demands…

Key "generic" assessment task words such as "discuss" and "critically evaluate" are integral to higher education assessment. Although sources such as study skills guides give generic decontextualised glossaries of these words, much research rightly argues for greater dialogue between students (particularly…

Education reform in England is increasingly portrayed as a quest to create "world class" schools through the transfer of features of "high performing" school systems. The demand for evidence to support policy borrowing has been serviced by an influential intermediary network, which uses international data banks to compare…

The articles in this special issue provide a complex picture of acquisition in bilinguals in which the factors that contribute to patterns of performance in bilingual children's two languages are myriad and diverse. The processes and contours of development in bilingual children are influenced, not only by the quantity, quality, and contexts…

Pitch is often described metaphorically: for example, Farsi and Turkish speakers use a "thickness" metaphor (low sounds are "thick" and high sounds are "thin"), while German and English speakers use a height metaphor ("low", "high"). This study examines how child and adult speakers of Farsi,…

The paper provides a cross-national analysis of the term 'vocational education and training' in relation to the progressivist economic, social and political approaches to its definition. A wide spectrum of opinions brightly illustrates existing disparity in its understanding within international scientific community. Special attention is given to…

The aim of the study is to identify students' misuse of language in the frame of information and communication technologies with their self-evaluation and determine the recommendations to find out ways to overcome misuse of the Turkish language. In the study, among the qualitative research methods the case study was used. University students were…