This article describes the author's efforts to engage teachers in language study in a graduate course involving graduate students in Literacy Studies and TESOL programs. In the course "Language, Culture, and Identity: Issues for Teachers and Children," teachers study language like linguists: looking closely at language in use through in-class…

This study investigates the effect of background knowledge in languages for specific academic purposes (LSAP) tests. Following the observation of previous studies that the effect of background knowledge varies according to the level of language proficiency, the study applied the theory of linguistic thresholds to LSAP reading tests. The research…

This study examined the multiple true-false (MTF) test format in second language testing by comparing multiple-choice (MCQ) and multiple true-false (MTF) test formats in two language areas of general English: vocabulary and reading. Two counter-balanced experimental designs--one for each language area--were examined in terms of the number of MCQ…

This article addresses the question of how second language (L2) learners understand idiomatic expressions in their second/foreign language and advances the proposition that literal meanings of idiom constituents enjoy processing priority over their figurative interpretations. This suggestion forms the core of the literal-salience resonant model of…

This study examined effects of word writing on second language vocabulary learning. In two experiments, English-speaking learners of Spanish attempted to learn 24 Spanish nouns while viewing word-picture pairs. The participants copied 12 target words and wrote nothing for the other 12 target words being studied. Productive vocabulary learning on…

Rhyming tests have historically been used in the education system to assess reading readiness. English language learners (ELLs) have consistently scored poorly on these assessment tools. The current article examines a possible reason for this poor performance by ELLs. Specifically, the authors examined the relationship between semantic…

The content of instructional materials significantly affects students' attitudes and dispositions towards themselves, other people and society. This is particularly so with students of English as a Second Language (ESL) whose success in a new environment is conditioned not only by their mastery of the new language, but also, and especially, by…

Investigates associations of form and meaning in the developing tense and aspect systems of adult learners of English as a Second Language. Learners at six levels of proficiency were studied using a cloze passage and compositions on the same topic. Interlanguage tense and aspect systems showed high formal accuracy but lower appropriate use. (43…

Although reattribution training has been shown to be very useful in improving learning, researchers disagree on what mediates the effects. As to the possible mediating factors, the prominent theories suggest factors such as expectations, notions of intelligence, self-efficacy or anxiety. However, this article proposes an alternative mediating…

"Research in the Teaching of English" (RTE) is the flagship research journal of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) in the United States. It is a broad-based, multidisciplinary journal composed of original research articles and short scholarly essays on a wide range of topics significant to those concerned with the…

The idea of literature circles is not new; however, it is hardly adapted in a second language classroom. In Taiwan, using literature circles to teach a second/foreign language is even less seen. The two college teachers-researchers reported their experiences of trying out literature circles in a JFL (Japanese as a Foreign Language) and an EFL…

In spring 2006 California released its first ever school-level Academic Performance Index (API) scores for English Learners (ELs). These EL-API scores were based on California Standards Tests taken in the spring of 2005, and make it possible to identify how well schools were doing with this student population. It is not unexpected that elementary…

The conflicting pressures of supply and demand often raise significant challenges for providers of languages for adults. Numbers of learners are inconveniently patchy, trends in take-up often short lived and provision vulnerable due to funding pressures. This makes institution-based curriculum planning very precarious. The answer, it seems more…

English Language Development (ELD) and Academic English Development (AED) curricula in most public schools lack a communicative method and consist mostly of dry, meaningless grammar lessons devoid of relevance and authentic context. The purpose of this project is to develop guidelines to teach English language to elementary school children…

This brief by the Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse addresses issues related to literacy coaching in classrooms where there are English Language Learners (ELLs). Briefly defined, an English Language Learner is a child whose native language is other than English and who is learning English as a second language. Moreover, ELLs are defined as students…