The lexicon of emotion words is fundamental to interpersonal communication. To examine how emotion word acquisition interacts with societal context, the present study investigated emotion word development in three groups of child Korean users aged 4-13 years: those who use Korean primarily outside the home as a majority language (MajKCs) or inside…

This article seeks to develop Translanguaging as a theory of language and discuss the theoretical motivations behind and the added values of the concept. I contextualize Translanguaging in the linguistic realities of the 21st century, especially the fluid and dynamic practices that transcend the boundaries between named languages, language…

This article contributes to studies of race and class in English Language Teaching (ELT) by examining the local production of meanings in pedagogical encounters mediated by global textbooks, focusing on racialized occupational hierarchies in Brazil. We seek to locate these meanings in the interpretative frames provided by the experiences of two…

Post-structuralist theories of language and gender have become increasingly attractive to language learning researchers. However, masculinity, as part of a socially and culturally constructed system, in relation to English language learning has rarely been investigated. The current study examines how male English language learners negotiate their…

The biblical story of the shibboleth is widely cited in language testing as emblematic of the social and political function of language tests. But the meaning of the shibboleth has also been explored within poststructuralism, specifically within Derrida's discussion of the dilemmas of identity in the work of the German Jewish poet Paul Celan.…

This paper examines the type of creativity involved in the humorous exchanges that pervade an online discussion board where all interaction and relationships between participants are textually co-constructed. Taking a view of creativity as context-dependent, it considers how participants exploit the particular features of an online environment in…

Addresses the applicability of philosophers' insights regarding science to second-language acquisition. The generation of new hypotheses is an important component of theory construction. The role of reason in discovery is examined, as is the coincidence of interests between individual scientists and the institution of science. (Contains 99…

Explores the claim that successful second-language acquisition (SLA) is the result of social, psychological, and affective factors; the argument that this claim has been falsified is untenable. Exploration of behavioral, psychological, and biological constructs to generate new formulations is a more productive approach to SLA theory building than…

Research on social markedness and second language pronunciation is reviewed, and some general conclusions are drawn. A number of issues arising from this research are identified and inherent difficulties in forming hypotheses, performing analyses, and interpreting data are discussed. (30 references) (Author/MSE)

Argues for a reconceptualization of second language learning in ways that account for the larger social and cultural forces that influence both the meanings residing in the linguistic resources used in face-to-face communication and the ability of individuals to use them. Also considers the sociohistorical significance of this perspective for…

Five ethnographic studies located genres of public discourse most central to university students, thus enhancing understanding of those genres as a significant influence on students' use of language. The problem of divergence between school-based genres and genres of public discourse were addressed. Results highlighted are audience roles, sites of…