Presented at the Second Language Research Forum, Michigan State University, USA; 31 October 2009

Focus on form, i.e. brief attention to language items within a larger meaning-focused context (Long 1991; Ellis 2001), occurs in a variety of L2 instructional contexts. Meta-analyses of the effectiveness of focus on form have found overall positive effects; however, these meta-analyses have commented on the small number of studies available for synthetic analyses, particularly when considering the effects of specific characteristics of focus on form (e.g. Norris & Ortega 2001; Russell & Spada 2006; Mackey & Goo 2007). Consequently, this colloquium continued the investigation of specific focus on form variables to further our understanding of why ‘sometimes focus on form works, and sometimes it does not’ (Williams 2005: 685).

This seminar took place on 19 April, 2013 at the Centre for Language and Communication, Faculty of Language and Education Studies, The Open University. The seminar was coordinated by Janet Maybin and Theresa Lillis and there were 28 participants, including four postgraduate students, from universities in Britain, Belgium and South Africa.

Presented at the American Association for Applied Linguistics Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado, USA; 23 March 2009.

06–01Akira, Mochida & Harrington, Michael (U Queensland, Australia), The Yes/No test as a measure of receptive vocabulary knowledge. Language Testing (Hodder Arnold) 23.1 (2006), 73–98.

06–02Biddle, Rodney (Gunma Prefectural Women's U, Japan), What makes a good English class? Perceptions of individuality and the group among Japanese EFL students. The Language Teacher (Japan Association for Language Teaching) 29.8 (2005), 3–8.

06–03Burden, Peter (Okayama Shoka U, Japan), The castor oil effect: Learner beliefs about the enjoyment and usefulness of classroom activities and the effects on student motivation. The Language Teacher (Japan Association for Language Teaching) 29.10 (2005), 3–9.

06–04Corbeil, Giselle (Acadia U, Canada), Effectiveness of focus on forms instruction: Different outcomes on constrained and free production tasks?Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics (Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics) 8.1 (2005), 27–46.

06–05Dastjerdi, Hossein Vahid, Talebinezhad & Mohammad Reza (U Isfahan, Iran), Chain-preserving deletion procedure in cloze: A discoursal perspective. Language Testing (Hodder Arnold) 23.1 (2006), 58–72.

06–06Guan Eng Ho, Debbie (U Brunei Darussalam, Brunei; debbieho@fass.ubd.edu.bn), Why do teachers ask the questions they ask?RELC Journal (Sage) 36.3 (2005), 297–310.

06–07Honna, Nobuyuki (Aoyama Gakuin U, Japan; honna@sipeb.aoyama.ac.jp) & Yuko Takeshita, English language teaching in Japan: Policy plans and their implementations. RELC Journal (Sage) 36.3 (2005), 363–383.

06–08Jenkins, Jennifer (King's College, U London, UK), Implementing an international approach to English pronunciation: The role of teacher attitudes and identity. TESOL Quarterly (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) 39.3 (2005), 535–543.

06–09Kato, Asako (Fudoka Seiwa High School, Japan), The visual text speaks louder than the written text: An examination of the revised Monkasho English I textbooks. The Language Teacher (Japan Association for Language Teaching) 29.5 (2005), 3–13.

06–10Lazaraton, Anne (U Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA; lazaratn@umn.edu) & Noriko Ishihara, Understanding second language teacher practice using microanalysis and self-reflection: A collaborative case study. The Modern Language Journal (Blackwell) 89.4 (2005), 529–542.

06–11Li, Defeng (Chinese U Hong Kong, China; defeng@cuhk.edu.hk), Teaching of specialized translation courses in Hong Kong: A curricular analysis. Babel (John Benjamins) 51.1 (2005), 62–77.

06–12McCaughey, Kevin (California, USA; kevin@kevinmccaughey.com), Thekashasyndrome: English language teaching in Russia. World Englishes (Blackwell) 24.4 (2005), 455–459.

06–13McEachron, Gail (College of William and Mary, VA, USA) & Ghazala Bhatti, Language support for immigrant children: A study of state schools in the UK and US. Language, Culture and Curriculum (Multilingual Matters) 18.2 (2005), 164–180.

06–14Reza Hashemi, Mohammad & Farah Gowdasiaei (Ferdowsi U Mashhad, Iran; smrh@ferdowsi.um.ac.ir), An attribute-treatment interaction study: Lexical-set versus semantically unrelated vocabulary instruction. RELC Journal (Sage) 36.3 (2005), 341–361.

06–15Savickienė, Ineta & Violeta Kalėdaitė (Vytautas Magnus U, Kaunas, Lithuania), Cultural and linguistic diversity of the Baltic states in a new Europe. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (Multilingual Matters) 26.5 (2005), 442–452.

06–16Sercu, Lies (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium), María del Carmen Méndez García & Paloma Castro Prieto, Culture learning from a constructivist perspective: An investigation of Spanish foreign language teachers' views. Language and Education (Multilingual Matters) 19.6 (2005), 483–495.

06–17Stempleski, Susan (City U New York, USA), Developing fluency: Some suggestions for the classroom. The Language Teacher (Japan Association for Language Teaching) 29.6 (2005), 31–33.

06–18Swan, Michael (Freelance), Legislation by hypothesis: The case of task-based instruction. Applied Linguistics (Oxford University Press) 26.3 (2005), 376–401.

06–19Ter-Minasova, Svetlana G. (Moscow State U, Russia; dean@ffl.msu.ru), Traditions and innovations: English language teaching in Russia. World Englishes (Blackwell) 24.4 (2005), 445–454.

05–104 Alwright, D. (U of Lancaster, UK), From teaching points to learning opportunities and beyond. TESOL Quarterly (Alexandria, VA, USA) 39.1 (2005), 9–32.

05–105 Beckett, G. & Slater, T. (U of Cincinnati, USA), The Project Framework: a tool for language, content, and skills integration. ELT Journal (Oxford, UK) 59.2 (2005), 108–116.

05–106 Belcher, Diane D. (Georgia State U, USA; dbelcher1@gsu.edu), Trends in teaching English for specific purposes. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 165–186.

05–107 Berne, Jane E. (U North Dakota, USA), Listening comprehension strategies: a review of the literature. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 521–533.

05–108 Bohn, Mariko T. (Stanford U, USA; mbohn@stanford.edu), Japanese classroom behavior: a micro-analysis of self-reports versus classroom observations with implications for language teachers. Applied Language Learning (Monterey, CA, USA) 14.1 (2004), 1–35.

05–109 Byon, Andrew Sangpil (Albany State U, USA; abyon@albany.edu), Learning linguistic politeness. Applied Language Learning (Monterey, CA, USA) 14.1 (2004), 37–62.

05–110 Carrell, Patricia L., Dunkel, Patricia A. (Georgia State U, USA; pcarrell@gsu.edu) & Mollaun, Pamela, The effects of notetaking, lecture length, and topic on a computer-based test of ESL listening comprehension. Applied Language Learning (Monterey, CA, USA) 14.1 (2004), 83–105.

05–111 Chacón, Carmen Teresa (U of Los Andes Tachira, Venezuela; ctchacon@cantv.net), Teachers' perceived efficacy among English as a foreign language teachers in middle schools in Venezuela. Teaching and Teacher Education (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) 21.3 (2005), 257–273.

05–112 Dewey, Dan P. (U of Pittsburgh, USA), Connections between teacher and student attitudes regarding script choice in first-year Japanese language classrooms. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 567–583.

05–113 Dogancay-Aktuna, S. (Southern Illinois U, USA), Intercultural communication in English language teacher education. ELT Journal (Oxford, UK) 59.2 (2005), 99–107.

05–114 Doyé, Peter (Technische Universität Brunschweig, Germany; p.doye@tu-bs.de), A methodological framework for the teaching of intercomprehension. Language Learning Journal (Rugby, UK) 30 (2004), 59–68.

05–115 Erling, Elisabeth J. (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany), The many names of English. English Today (Cambridge, UK) 21.1 (2005), 40–44.

05–116 Flowerdew, Lynne (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China; lclynn@ust.hk), An integration of corpus-based and genre-based approaches to text analysis in EAP/ESP: countering criticisms against corpus-based methodologies. English for Specific Purposes (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) 24.3 (2005), 321–332.

05–117 Grabe, William (Northern Arizona U, USA; William.Grabe@nau.edu), Research on teaching reading. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 44–69.

05–118 Jackson, J. (Chinese U of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; jjackson@edu.hk), An inter-university, cross-disciplinary analysis of business education: perceptions of business faculty in Hong Kong. English for Specific Purposes (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) 24.3 (2005), 293–306.

05–119 Jarrell, Douglas (Nagoya Women's U, Japan; djarrell@nagoya-wu.ac.jp) & Mark R. Freiermuth (Gunma Prefectural Women's U, Japan; mark-f@gpwu.ac.jp), The motivational power of internet chat. RELC Journal (Thousand Oaks, CA, USA) 36.1 (2005), 59–72.

05–120 Jenkins, Jennifer (Kings College London, UK; jennifer.jenkins@kcl.ac.uk), Research in teaching pronunciation and intonation. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 109–125.

05–121 Kern, Richard, Ware, Paige (California U, Berkeley, USA; kernrg@socrates.berkeley.edu) & Warschauer, Mark, Crossing frontiers: new directions in online pedagogy and research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 243–260.

05–122 Lou Leaver, Betty (New York Institute of Technology, USA), Ehrman, Madeline & Lekic, Maria, Distinguished-level learning online: support materials from LangNet and RussNet. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 556–566.

05–123 McCarthy, Michael (Nottingham U, UK) & O'Keefe, Anne, Research in the teaching of speaking. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 26–43.

05–124 McGarry, Richard (Appalachian State U, NC, USA), Error correction as a cultural phenomenon. Applied Language Learning (Monterey, CA, USA) 14.1 (2004), 63–82.

05–125 Nassaji, Hossein (Victoria U, Canada; nassaji@uvic.ca) & Fotos, Sandra, Current developments in research on the teaching of grammar. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 126–145.

05–126 Perrin, G. (German Government Language Centre, Germany), Teachers, testers, and the research enterprise – a slow meeting of minds. ELT Journal (Oxford, UK) 59.2 (2005), 144–150.

05–127 Seidlhofer, Barbara (Vienna U, Austria; barbara.seidlhofer@univie.ac.at), Research perspectives on teaching English as a lingua franca. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 209–239.

05–128 Silva, Tony (Purdue U, USA; tony@purdue.edu) & Brice, Colleen, Research in teaching writing. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 70–106.

05–129 Simmons-Mcdonald, Hazel (West Indies U, Barbados; hsimmac@uwichill.edu.bb), Trends in teaching standard varieties to creole and vernacular speakers. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 187–208.

05–130 Stoller, Fredricka L. (Northern Arizona U, USA; Fredricka.Stoller@nau.edu), Content-based instruction: perspectives on curriculum planning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 261–283.

05–131 Tan, M. (U of Central Lancashire, UK), Authentic language or language errors? Lessons from a learner corpus. ELT Journal (Oxford, UK) 59.2 (2005), 126–134.

05–132 Wilberschied, Lee (Cleveland State U, USA) & Berman, Peiyan M., Effect of using photos from authentic video as advance organisers on listening comprehension in an FLES Chinese class. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 534–540.

05–133 Xu, Y., Gelfer, J. & Perkins, P. (U of Wisconsin, USA), Using peer tutoring to increase social interactions in early schooling. TESOL Quarterly (Alexandria, VA, USA) 39.1 (2005), 83–106.

05–134 Yeh, Aiden (National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, China; aidenyeh@yahoo.com), Poetry from the heart. English Today (Cambridge, UK) 21.1 (2005), 45–51

The present review refers to studies published in 2002 in leading research journals. It focuses in particular on learning, teaching and policy in respect of second, modern foreign or additional languages. The comments offered about particular studies are not intended to summarise them (for that, it is best to refer to the actual abstracts which the present journal publishes). What is on offer is a personal selection made because some aspect of a particular article seemed to be of particular interest or to reflect an important trend, and I have attempted to link such elements together to form a narrative. Compared with previous years, two important themes seemed to gather particular momentum in 2002: first, the role of ‘frequency’ in acquisition; and second, the impact of complex and contradictory global factors on everyday pedagogical practice, thinking and attitudes. As in previous years reference is made to the abstracts. Thus, Tarone (2002: 03-158) refers to an article by Tarone published in 2002 and reflected in the 2003 series of this journal as abstract 158. In previous years I have discussed ICT (information and communications technology) in a separate section of its own but this has now been integrated into other sections, reflecting a process of ‘normalisation’.

As part of their commitment to research in applied linguistics, The British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL) and Cambridge University Press annually support a number of seminars on applied linguistics and second language acquisition. Starting this volume, Language Teaching will be publishing specially-commissioned reports on the seminars.

This review highlights recent doctoral research in English language education and related areas completed between 2007 and 2010 in three countries in Southeast Asia: Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. Out of sixty dissertations initially chosen from major universities in these countries, five from the Philippines, four from Malaysia and three from Singapore were selected for review, the selection being based mainly on their quality of work and representation of key areas of intellectual work in the field in these countries. This review shows how the shared postcolonial identities of these countries and their unique sociohistorical locations help explain the coalescing and diverging agendas and trajectories in English language education doctoral research in the region. Much of the work affirms the dominant intellectual position of the West as the producer of knowledge, so there is a need to reposition the intellectual stance of research in English language education in the region within and emerging from its multilingual but unequally globalizing landscapes. Thus, there is an urgent need for more nuanced attention to socio-cultural factors that impact on English language education in the three countries under review, which, in turn, can help scholars produce new knowledge that can contribute to academic conversations in the field.

Presented at the AAAL Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 6 March, 2010.

This colloquium discussed a multilingual approach to language learning, language teaching and language assessment in school settings. This approach implies looking at language acquisition and use from a holistic perspective, taking into account not only the target language but all the languages known by the learner; such a perspective brings together the traditions of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and bi/multilingualism because it looks at the whole linguistic repertoire of learners when acquiring and using languages. This perspective does not regard the boundaries between languages as clear-cut; nevertheless, those boundaries are themselves used as a resource in communication. In contrast to traditional teaching approaches, code-mixing, code-switching and translanguaging are considered common practices in the behavior of multilingual learners. The multilingual approach also represents a reaction against the ‘monolingual bias’, which leads to the judging of multilingual speakers' competencies by native speaker norms. It also goes beyond common practices not only in foreign language classrooms but also in bilingual and multilingual schools.

A professional journey is always part personal and mine is no exception. How does an individual from the Midwest of the United States get involved with language? It is something I have pondered for a long time along with the additional question of how that involvement translated into a profession. I hardly see it as a profession; rather, it was a life-long love of language that took me down a professional path.

University of Sheffield, UK; 9–10 July 2009

The seminar, organised by Jane Woodin, Gibson Ferguson, Valerie Hobbs and Lesley Walker (School of Modern Languages & Linguistics and School of English, University of Sheffield), aimed to bring together those working in intercultural communication (IC) pedagogy largely – though not exclusively – in the higher education sector. It drew inspiration from the growing number of courses with an intercultural element, from stand-alone modules and training courses to Master's degrees.

04–669 Hardison, Debra M. (Michigan State U., USA; Email: hardiso2@msu.edu). Acquisition of second-language speech: effects of visual cues, context, and talker variability. Applied Psycholinguistics (Cambridge, UK), 24, 4 (2003), 495–522.

04–670 Hirst, Elizabeth (Griffith U., Queensland, Australia; Email: e.hirst@griffith.edu.au) Diverse voices in a second language classroom: burlesque, parody and mimicry. Language and Education (Clevedon, UK), 17, 3 (2003), 174–191.

04–671 Matsumura, Shoichi (Ryukoku U., Japan). Modelling the relationships among interlanguage pragmatic development, L2 proficiency, and exposure to L2. Applied Linguistics (Oxford, UK), 24, 4 (2003), 465–491.

04–672 de Mattos Pimenta Parente, Maria Alice and Geiger, Lucienne (Rio Grande do Sul Federal U., Brazil) and Dunbar, Harriet and Nespoulous, Jean-Luc. The role of phonological loop components on children's story recall during the first years of schooling. Revue Parole (Mons, Belgium), 25/26 (2003), 45–74.