Drawing on Lave and Wenger's (1991) and Wenger's (1998) "communities of practice" (CoP) framework, this study explores the shared repertoire of humor practices in the creation of community within the context of a culturally diverse and multilevel adult Arabic language classroom consisting of two native speakers, five heritage language learners…

Since 1958, the Modern Language Association (MLA), with the continuous support of the United States Department of Education, has gathered and analyzed data on undergraduate and graduate course enrollments in languages other than English in United States colleges and universities. The previous survey examined language enrollments in fall 2006; here…

This article addresses the question of whether the existing approach to EAP delivery implemented at the University of Northumbria is supporting the learning needs of the international student body. In addressing this the article documents the background, research and preliminary findings relating to provision of an in-sessional English for…

This study reports on how a heterogeneous mixed-ability large class (63 students) turned into a cohesive and functioning class. To promote learner autonomy, students were made responsible to identify their own needs and objectives. The participants of this study consisted of undergraduate chemistry students who had taken the English for General…

This article aims to share with teacher-educators a pedagogical proposal which we have applied in the past year. This investigation analyzes issues linked to critical pedagogy using movies connected to educational themes and readings based on critical pedagogy. We have used this study to generate class discussions in order to analyze educational…

This study was conducted in the English Language Teaching Department of a state university in Turkey. The aim of the study was to examine the differences in attitudes of teacher candidates before and after their short-term teaching experience with very young learners (VYL) of English. The study was performed during the first term of the…

This article examines available literature on college English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. The literature available on college ESL programs falls into three categories: (1) research reports and articles, (2) recent theoretical discussions on ESL teaching, and (3) thought pieces discussing college ESL curriculum development and assessment…

Despite the efforts that have been made to develop the information skills of undergraduate students, there are still limitations that one shot sessions of face-to-face library instruction or online tutorials present when they are the only options used to develop specific information skills in students. The purpose of this study was to investigate…

This article reports on the results of a project which used a social network site to support students on a year abroad and foster informal learning, particularly in the area of intercultural communication. The project employed a peer-mentoring structure to solve the problem of role conflict, in which users of these sites may feel some tension as…

When Loren Siebert struggled to learn vocabulary for his introductory Arabic class three years ago, he figured he would buy tapes or a software package. Those kinds of aids had helped him learn French in high school and, more recently, conversational Indonesian. What he was disappointed to discover was a scarcity in offerings for Arabic, despite…

Recent accounts of college-level English language teaching in China describe environments that, although constrained by the College English Test (CET), are undergoing changes in a number of curriculum areas, including recognition of the need to incorporate communicative approaches and the assessment of practical language abilities. In such times,…

The interest in the integration of language learning with knowledge/content construction is growing around the world leading to Content-Based Instruction (CBI) which emphasizes the connection between the skills and information provided in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course and the technical material taught in their discipline.…

This quasi-experimental study tested the effect of the 3-2-1 strategy on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' reading comprehension. A sample of Saudi EFL college-level students were randomly selected and divided into two groups: an experimental group (42 students) and a control group (43 students). Students of both groups took a reading…

The major European testing agencies have calibrated their exams to the levels of language proficiency described in the Common European Framework (CEFR). In Italy, where the Framework has been enthusiastically embraced, external exams are now frequently used within the state education system as they are believed to provide reliable, widely…

This article reports that, nearly one year after its release, the report on foreign language and higher education issued by an ad hoc committee of the Modern Language Association (MLA) is still provoking discussion about reforms in the teaching of foreign languages and the role of the association in any revamp. The debate continued at a panel held…