Although pair work is advocated by major theories of second language (L2) learning and research findings suggest that pair work facilitates L2 learning, what is unclear is how to best pair students in L2 classes of mixed L2 proficiency. This study investigated the nature of pair work in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) class in a college in…

Many college mission statements convey the importance of citizenship education to prepare future leaders. However, values education often remains, at best, peripheral to the community college curriculum. This digest provides an examination of the classical and current approaches to community college values education. According to the digest,…

In this reflective piece I discuss the process of developing a new unifying initial English language teacher education curriculum in the province of Chubut (Argentina). Trainers and trainees from different institutions were called to work on it with the aim of democratising curriculum development and enhancing involvement among agents. In the…

Every institution of higher education in the United States must, in order to award degrees and financial aid, be recognized by an accrediting organization under the guidelines and oversight of the US Department of Education. This process of recognition is known as accreditation. The current procedure of accreditation involves revisits every ten…

This document collects 23 study proposal briefs presented to the National Center for the Study of Postsecondary Educational Supports. The proposals address the following topics concerned with postsecondary services for students with disabilities: cultural empowerment, longitudinal analysis of postsecondary students' experience, effective models of…

This issue discusses the importance of the community college to higher education in the United States. Contained are six articles: (1) "America's Community Colleges: On the Ascent," by Arthur M. Cohen, which places the strengths and challenges of the American community college within a historical context; (2) "Lamps Beside the Golden Door," by…

This policy brief explores the role of community colleges in addressing the national shortage of K-12 teachers. It provides a summary of recent studies that highlight the prominent contributions of community colleges to the preparation of teachers (Boggs and Bragg estimate that 40% of the nation's teachers have completed at least a portion of…

This paper traces the key periods, players and events which have contributed to the shaping of the current landscape of teacher education in Scotland. Starting with the Wheatley Report and the formation of the General Teaching Council (Scotland) in the 1960s through to the most recent Donaldson Review of Teacher Education, we examine ebb and flow…

Alberta's 1996 introduction of performance-based funding for colleges, universities, and technical institutes is a substantial departure from previous Canadian practice. Origins and implementation of the two-year pilot project are described and several conceptual deficiencies are examined. Further research on the impact on educational quality and…

This paper focuses on the discussion of community colleges as baccalaureate-degree granting institutions. The discussion is based on research projects undertaken in both the U.S. and Canada that investigate the institutionalization of degree programs at community colleges. Colleges in British Columbia and Alberta are baccalaureate as well as…

There is still limited understanding of the impact of high-stakes examinations on students' out-of-class learning. The current study attempts to fill this research gap by addressing this issue in the context of tertiary education in Mainland China. The study examines how far the revised College English Test Band 4 (CET-4) actually influenced…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 13 titles deal with the following topics: a teacher training project offering a structured reading program as a model for the teaching of reading; relationships between students in traditional and competency-based reading methods…

In this article I describe my interaction as an English for academic purposes (EAP) practitioner with a supervisor and her two postgraduate international students, both of whom were second language speakers of English (L2). Because of linguistic and relationship issues the supervisory experience for the parties was challenging and frustrating. I…

This study investigates the relationships between individual learner characteristics and gain in writing performance as measured by a standardized writing assessment in a sample of community college academic English as a Second Language (ESL) students in the United States. The ethnically and linguistically diverse convenience sample included 76…

This plenary paper showcases current corpus-based research on written academic English, illustrating the tight links that exist between corpus research and pedagogic applications. I first explicate Sinclair's concept of the "lexical approach", which underpins much corpus research and pedagogy. I then discuss studies which focus on…