The present and future situation of the Celtic languages is intrinsically interesting. Two are moribund, while the other four possess varying degrees of strength and institutional support. From the weakest to the strongest, however, there are pressing concerns about stability and maintenance, to say nothing of possible revitalisation. All are…

Computer-supported collaborative learning facilitates the extension of second language acquisition into social practice. Studies on its achievement effects speak directly to the pedagogical notion of treating communicative practice in synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC): real-time communication that takes place between human beings…

The geographical proximity and socioeconomic dependence on the United States brought about a deep-rooted anglicization of the Cuban Spanish lexis and social strata, especially throughout the Neocolonial period (1902-1959). This study is based on the revision of a renowned newspaper of that time, "Diario de la Marina," and the…

This article explores the textual properties of arguably one of the most influential textual domains in contemporary society; that of mass-media discourse. Within this genre, it examines English-language hard news media reports from the United States, Great Britain and Australia focussing on the concepts of objectivity within this domain. Drawing…

This state-of-the-art review is based on the fundamental idea that political economy should be adopted as a frame for research and discussion in applied linguistics as part of a general social turn which has taken hold in the field over the past three decades. It starts with Susan Gal's (1989) early call for such a move in sociolinguistics and…

The development of Sociolinguistics has been qualitatively and quantitatively outstanding within Linguistic Science since its beginning in the 1950s, with a steady growth in both theoretical and methodological developments as well as in its interdisciplinary directions within the spectrum of language and society. Field methods in sociolinguistic…

Hart and Risley's (1995) concept of a "word gap" (aka "language gap") is widely used to describe inferior cognitive development and lower academic achievement as by-products of the language patterns of families from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. In recent decades, this line of deficit research has proliferated and…

The past two decades have seen a growing interest in the role of humor and play in second-language (L2) learning and teaching. Drawing on the methods of conversation analysis, discourse analysis, and sociolinguistics, researchers have sought to understand how teachers and students "do" humor and play, what functions humor and play serve,…

The use of native English story in EFL, which has so far been a source for heated debate among the scholars due to the possible intercultural conflict experienced by the learners and can possibly lead to the learners' confusion during the class, is basically driven by the long gone communicative competence theory, the paradigm which views that…

This research investigates English acknowledgements in dissertations written by Thai PhD students, particularly the generic structure and linguistic patterns of gratitude expressions used in the acknowledgements. Following the line of the move analysis in acknowledgements of Hyland (2004), this article analyzed 70 acknowledgements accompanying PhD…

This study presents an overall review of the paradigms that contribute to the making and development of functional human linguistics and communication skills and the teaching of language.

Research methodology is determined by theoretical approaches. This article discusses methods of multilingualism research in connection with theoretical developments in linguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and education. Taking a brief glance at the past, the article starts with a discussion of an issue underlying the choice of…

This paper traces the evolution of Jack Mezirow's transformative learning theory and its conceptualisation. It discusses the three major influences, namely Thomas Khun's philosophical conception of paradigm, Freire's conception of conscientisation and consciousness growth, and Habermas' domains of learning and the discussion of…

Griffith University is set across five campuses in south-east Queensland, Australia, and has a student population of 43,000. The School of Languages and Linguistics (LAL) offers programs in linguistics, international English, Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Spanish, as well as English language enhancement courses. Research strands reflect the…

Situated at the intersection of sociolinguistic and educational planes, English as a medium-of-instruction debate has always been at the crux of the intense debates, and offers a lens for a systematic investigation of the spread of English in Turkey. As Turkey is moving toward greater integration with the European Union and promoting its…