Previous research within the field of argumentation has established that argumentation plays an important role in a variety of professions. Written argumentation has been extensively explored and investigated to examine its various aspects, including argument structures and schemes, argumentative strength, the role of audience, the evaluation of…

Explicit sociolinguistic instruction in language classrooms has become more widely accepted than ever, but the understanding and teaching of Canadian culture remains a controversial issue, particularly as Canadian culture becomes increasingly diverse. The degree to which Canadians are perceived to exhibit characteristics such as…

This study examines how three age-on-arrival (AOA) groups of Chinese-background ESL students use two types of cohesive devices on a standardized essay exam. A discourse analysis of 90 first-year students' expository writing samples was conducted to ascertain how factors such as first language (L1) and length of residence (LOR) in Canada influence…

This article reports findings from a strategy intervention study involving a treatment class (N=20) and a comparison class (N=20) in an ESL oral setting. Oral communication strategies were taught to the treatment class. A data-collection method comprising stimulated recall interviews that aimed to investigate respectively the learning process…

Collocations are one of the areas that produce problems for learners of English as a foreign language. Iranian learners of English are by no means an exception. Teaching experience at schools, private language centers, and universities in Iran suggests that a significant part of EFL learners' problems with producing the language, especially at…

This article integrates findings from earlier research (Roessingh & Kover, 2003; Roessingh, Kover, & Watt, 2005) linking distinct patterns of achievement for diverse age-on-arrival (AOA) cohorts of ESL learners on the grade 12 Alberta English language arts (ELA) examination to their vocabulary and reading comprehension scores on a standardized…

This article presents an autoethnographical account of my foray into Spanish immersion education in Costa Rica as a professor of multilingual education at a university in Canada. This language-learning journey was inspired by curiosity about the growing trend for Internet marketing of second-language learning as a form of tourism, which I label…

A study was conducted to explore the nature and effectiveness of peer feedback in EFL writing classrooms. High- and low-proficient Japanese EFL learners participated in the study where they exchanged comments with peers after receiving training in peer feedback. The two groups were compared in terms of their pre- and post-tests, original drafts…

Like others in the teaching profession, second language education (SLE) teachers have been subjected in recent years to a process of work intensification and accountability. This process makes use of externally developed sets of behavioral objectives, assessment instruments, commercially produced classroom materials, and externally controlled…

Comparison of 20 essays written by English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) beginners with prose of skilled writers suggests four constraints on information packaging are needed to facilitate identification of macrostructure. Results suggests that fragmentation in beginners' prose may be overcome if learners are made aware of the notion of…

A study comparing the speech used by English-as-a-second-language teachers (N=4) when instructing beginning- and advanced-level adult classes found that display questions and self-repetitions were used much less often with advanced students, suggesting that students are being prepared, as they advance in classes, for real communicative…

When non-native English-speaking elementary school students, exposed to English in the school environment only, were given high-interest, well-illustrated reading materials in English, measures of reading comprehension, English structures, word recognition, oral sentence repetition, and composition writing indicated that second-language…

A study of native English-speakers' (N=36) and English-as-a-second-language students' (N=60) understanding of conjunctions while reading indicated that more advanced ESL students were more capable of inferencing or using available logical relationships than were intermediate ESL students. (Author/CB)

Compared the writing skills of psychology students enrolled in a sheltered content-area English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing course with those of ESL psychology students enrolled in a course with more traditional instruction. Both groups gained in language proficiency; however, the findings suggest that focussed reading rather than actual…

Investigates the relationship of native speakers' (NSs) personal traits and experience interacting with nonnative (NNSs) to the use of conversational adjustments and differences in word frequency and speech rate. (33 references) (GLR)