The ethical considerations of three education researchers working with non-native English-speaking participants were examined from a critical theory stand-point in the light of the literature on research ethics in various disciplines. Qualitative inquiry and data analysis were used to identify key themes, which centered around honor and respect…

This article reports results of a corpus-based evaluation of 14 syntactic complexity measures as objective indices of college-level English as a second language (ESL) writers' language development. I analyzed large-scale ESL writing data from the Written English Corpus of Chinese Learners (Wen, Wang, & Liang, 2005) using a computational system…

This paper investigates the critical period hypothesis (CPH) for the acquisition of a second language sound system (phonology) in a naturalistic setting. Ten cases of successful late-starters with a native-like Hebrew pronunciation are presented in an effort to determine possible variables that may account for their exceptional accomplishment. The…

This study examined effects of talker variability and lexical difficulty on spoken-word recognition among native and non-native listeners with either normal or impaired hearing. Non-native listeners required greater intensity for equal intelligibility than native listeners. Significant effects of talker variability and lexical difficulty were…

A study investigated whether markedness relationships within a target language influence the degree of difficulty in acquisition. The Intralingual Markedness Hypothesis was developed, stating that if structures in the target language differ from those in the native language, and if those structures in the target language are in a markedness…

A study of the structure of the speech act known as an apology looked at the differences in linguistic strategies used by advanced nonnative English language learners and native speakers in apology behavior, and whether the differences result from the severity of the offense or the familiarity of the interlocutors. An apology is seen as consisting…

Investigated was the effect of presenting arithmetic word problems in the students' native language or in English on Nigerian students mathematics skills and strategies. Findings indicated that both private and public school students performed better when the word problems were presented in their native language. (CW)

A research project investigated communicative language skills and the academic proficiency of native English speakers and limited-English-speaking (LEP) elementary school students. The subjects were 304 native English speakers and bilingual program participants, speakers of Lao and Spanish. The data are derived from a locally developed assessment…

A 5-item rating scale was developed for the New York City schools to determine eligibility for English as a Second Language instruction in Category C exceptional students exempted from testing. Most students follow a curriculum of daily living skills, and many are nonverbal. The test was piloted with 163 students including severely, trainable, and…

This collection of conference papers includes: "When Does Teacher Talk Work as Input?"; "Cultural Input in Second Language Learning"; "Skilled Variation in a Kindergarten Teacher's Use of Foreigner Talk"; "Teacher-Pupil Interaction in Second Language Development"; "Foreigner Talk in the University…

Four writing samples were obtained from 638 foreign college applicants who represented three major foreign language groups (Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish), and from 60 native English speakers. All four were scored holistically, two were also scored for sentence-level and discourse-level skills, and some were scored by the Writer's Workbench…

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) was administered to 26 hearing impaired college students, in order to test the assumption that the English-language deficiencies of hearing impaired students are similar to those of foreign students. The students were attending Gallaudet College's School of Preparatory Studies and were identified…