Social-Constructivist Assessment and The Problem of Standards

Introduction In my position as the so-called native English teacher, my primary responsibilities are to teach communicative English and culture. Part of that responsibility includes a performance-based assessment, or speaking test. For the students, this has been a frought time, since they have to get used to a new teacher, learn very new content and …

Authority in Language: Definitions

--   I have made note over the past few posts a desire to attempt to write on the idea of "Authority" in language.  This essay, and the one or two that will follow, will be that attempt. Language vs. Dialect It is indicative of complexity, that in the science of Linguistics  the terms “language” …