The effect of high-stakes language tests on teaching and learning a language is usually known as washback. The true nature of test washback can be understood only by taking account of the educational, cultural, political and social contexts in which the test operates. Nevertheless, little research has explored the factors that affect the nature of…

This paper investigates the relationship between multilingualism, code-switching, target language contact and pragmatic and grammatical awareness in learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Participants (N = 144) were university students enrolled in English language courses at a German university. The study employed a cross-sectional…

While fluency in second language speaking can be a challenging construct to measure, it is important to identify the discourse features that contribute to it. This small-scale classroom research project examined the effect of formulaic language sequences on fluency as measured by computer-based speaking tasks of young English learners. Thirty-six…

This paper describes the personal and professional journey taken by one secondary Spanish teacher to implement the Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL) for English Learners (ELs) in a rural Florida school district. The teacher's goal was to promote bilingual pride among her ELs and to validate and build their bilingual abilities, which had been frequently…

Integrating Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and learning technologies can be the potential framework in designing language instruction to enhance learners' listening comprehension and speaking performance. However, not many past studies have explored how technology enhanced TBLT can enhance both listening comprehension and speaking performance…

This paper analyzes Nepal's language education policy from a decolonial perspective, examining how rights-based (neo)liberal ideologies and policies do not necessarily contribute to creating space, either ideological or implementational (Hornberger, 2005), for Indigenous languages in education. Drawing on the theory of "decoloniality"…

The Interface Hypothesis (Sorace, 2000) developed in line with the Minimalist theory of grammar (Chomsky, 1995 et seq.) supports the view of L2 acquisition that syntactic properties are acquired early while the acquisition of interface properties is delayed. One of the interface properties is inflectional morphology on English verbs, which…

Despite English being a core and compulsory part of the curriculum for Chinese English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners, it is nevertheless often highly challenging for them. This is partly due to the discrepancies between English's citation and spoken form and the lack of recognition this pronunciation receives within ESL classrooms. With this…

This article offers a critical intercultural perspective to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education inspired by Freire's conceptualisation of dialogue required in contexts where teachers must comply with hegemonic language policies. Drawing on an ethnographic study with Yusef, a Palestinian-Arab EFL teacher in Israel, I examine how…

Admission in English-medium universities or institutions of higher education depends on the results obtained by candidates in large-scale proficiency tests including Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test (iBT). The structure and administration procedure of the TOEFL iBT speaking test leaves no room for carrying out…

Drawing on sociocultural theories of language and literacy practice and Curdt-Christiansen's theoretical framework of family language policy (FLP), this multiple case study investigates the perceptions, practices, and challenges regarding heritage language maintenance (HLM) of Chinese immigrant families in a mid-sized Midwestern American city. The…

This study aims to compare the rhetorical move structure of English Medium Instruction (EMI) lectures given by native English and Chinese lecturers. Two specialized corpora were therefore accordingly created with transcripts of twelve science-oriented lectures selected from MICASE and the BASE corpus and twelve science-oriented EMI lectures…

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, educational systems, including teaching a foreign language, have been interrupted and classroom-based teaching paradigms have rapidly shifted to online platforms. Despite the emphasis of technology in language education, Thai tertiary educators are now in urgent need of identifying the best pedagogical…

The advancement of English as an instrument for the internationalization of higher education has foregrounded English as an academic lingua franca (EALF), and the case of China is no exception. This study focuses on the process by which EALF has been interpreted and negotiated across university policies and local practices in China's…

Writing in a foreign language is a particularly difficult skill to develop, especially when young learners are concerned because they are parallelly learning to write in their L1 and do not have strong oral foundations in their L2. The issue becomes even more complex when the ways to assess young learners' writing are considered, given that…