The research reported in the study was undertaken to measure English language teachers' ability to interpret second language learners' intended meanings in idiosyncratic utterances in written English. In doing so, it also aimed at verifying Corder's (1981) speculation that language teachers can correctly guess the intended meanings of learners in…

As language teachers, we realize that some mistakes found in our students' output are more serious than others. What may be less obvious, though, is that our judgement of learner error can yield linguistic insights, and that sharpening our error-analysis skills might improve the quality of our error feedback. This article presents an error-gravity…

Process-oriented writing instruction stresses the value of between-draft revision. Yet current literature and traditional pedagogy have provided little guidance for motivating student writers to look beyond surface errors to develop and to refine their communicative intentions. Based on the assumption that this deep-level revision is most…

This paper investigates a particular aspect of teacher commentary on EFL students' writing and examines the influence on their revisions. Three types of handwritten commentary were used between drafts: statements, imperatives, and questions. The resulting 115 changes were analyzed based on the degree to which the students utilized each teacher's…

This paper considers ways in which a detailed understanding of classroom discourse can be achieved through the use of reflective practices and professional dialogue. For the teacher, understanding classroom communication, being able to "shape" learner contributions and making strategic decisions in the moment-by-moment unfolding of a lesson are…

This article reports on the Slovene share in the European project called Janua Linguarum--The Gateway to Languages. It highlights its forerunners and its outcomes, and gives an illustrative example of how primary school students encounter and explore various languages by using a relatively novel, plurilingual approach. All the materials produced…

This paper considers teaching practice in short, intensive, pre-service TESOL certificate courses, drawing upon outcomes of recent research into the experiences of participants on courses offered internationally by a UK-based provider. Qualitative methodology led to the identification of 26 critical issues, including several related to the…

Although both research and practice have generally supported the use of peer feedback activities in ESL and L2 writing classes, many teachers (and most students) are less than convinced of its usefulness in their own particular situation. The objective of this article is to briefly summarize some of the main arguments in favor and against peer…

This article presents guiding principles teachers can utilize in their own planning and student training for effective peer response. As the principles illustrate, teacher planning and student training are ongoing processes that must be addressed before, during, and after peer response, although the majority should be carried out before peer…

This article advocates making the provision of opportunities for learning the main objective of language testing. It recognizes the need for tests to be fair, valid, and reliable, but asserts the priority of what it calls "learning validity", in order to prevent time being wasted on language courses on tests, and the preparation for them. The…

The technique of self-monitoring, by giving students control over the feedback they receive, enables teachers to provide effective feedback. This article presents a study investigating the use of this technique in Chinese students' English writing. The results show that students can be trained to use self-monitoring in their writing.…

This article provides an overview of the work carried out over the period of one year with a group of 10th grade students in a Portuguese high school. It argues that by using portfolios in EFL classrooms, the teacher cannot only diagnose the learners' skills and competences, but also become aware of their preferences, styles, dispositions, and…

Describes the development of an online course that aims to help tertiary students improve their English oral presentation skills. The course aims to allow learners to prepare their presentations out of class and then practice these skills in class with peer and teacher feedback. (Author/VWL)

Investigates an aspect of teacher talk--the teacher's provision of feedback or follow-up--and the role it plays in English-as-a-Second/Foreign Language classroom discourse. Draws on transcript data from a secondary school classroom in Tanzania to illustrate a teacher's follow-up moves, where these moves form the third part of a chain of…

This article provides one English language teacher's reflections on how to bring her teaching closer to her beliefs about old writing pedagogy within the present institutional framework. Different aspects of writing, such as audience, purpose, time pressure, and feedback are inspected, and their implications for the classroom are explored.…