This edited book documents practices of learning-oriented language assessment through practitioner research and research syntheses. Learning-oriented language assessment refers to language assessment strategies that capitalise on learner differences and their relationships with the learning environments. In other words, learners are placed at the centre of the assessment process and its outcomes. The book features 17 chapters on learning-oriented language assessment practices in China, Brazil, Turkey, Norway, UK, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Spain. Chapters include teachers' reflections and practical suggestions. This book will appeal to researchers, teacher educators, and language teachers who are interested in advancing research and practice of learning-oriented language assessment.

Of the five major Shakespearean tragedies-Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and Othello-King Lear is perhaps the most challenging. Issues of rulership, family and blood, are overlaid with bastardy, loyalty, lust, and deceit. Add to this the apparently gratuitous on-stage blinding of Gloucester, the deaths of Cordelia, Lear, Gloucester, and Kent, and one might be inclined to agree with Samuel Johnson that "The good suffer more than the evil, that love and suffering, in this play, are almost interchangeable terms and the driving force of the action is derived from the power of the evil to inflict mental agony upon the good" (quoted in Kermode, 505). However, one would be mistaken to accept wholeheartedly the happy endings of the eighteenth and nineteenth century revisionists. While the pleasant ending would certainly ease the sensibilities of the audience, it would omit the Aristotlean concepts of hamartia and the purgation of fear and pity attendant upon actually witnessing Shakespeare's King Lear, the necessary catharsis, a possible scapegoat for our own emotions. Of course, the ending is to some extent unpleasant and even shocking; however, one can argue that the ending is organic to the play; the ending IS, to a great extent, the play.

A Handful of Love is a book of Haiku poetry. The poems are not arranged in any particular order, yet, their individual and collective power, beauty and enlightenment are undaunted by their non-traditional arrangement. This book is perfect for individual, group and even classroom readings. Not only is it well suited for personal entertainment and enlightenment, but many of the short compositions found in it are perfect for group and/or class discussions. Unquestionably this book has the potential to revive the lost arts of reading, writing and simply enjoying Haiku poetry. Unique in its approach as well as in the topics it covers, this is a book that individuals of every age can read, enjoy, love and pass on.

En cu ntas ocasiones te has preguntado: Puedo ser poeta? C mo lograrlo? Ser sencillo o complicado? ..".me gust mucho hacer poes a, es muy lindo porque puedes expresarte y a la misma vez hacer arte." TESTIMONIO 1 "Se me hace una forma muy bonita de expresarse y de ense arnos a hacer poes a...." TESTIMONIO 2 "Fue una bonita experiencia, el inspirarme y dejar fluir mis sentimientos de amor y tristeza...." TESTIMONIO 3 "Me gust la manera en que explica la forma de hacer una d cima y como lo detalla...yo no sab a y pens que no podr a." TESTIMONIO 4 La poes a es creaci n porque a trav s de ella logras que cobren vida tus emociones, pasiones, vivencias que deleitan tus sentidos y despiertan tu sensibilidad, te permite plasmar tus momentos de alegr a, de locura, de amores truncados, de fantas as, etc. Para ser poeta s lo necesitas un l piz, un pedazo de papel o tu procesador de textos y apoyarte con la t cnica para escribir. En este libro encontrar s consejos a trav s de una t cnica sencilla para elaborar tus poes as en "d cima espinela," una forma f cil para compartir la verdad de tu ser a compa eros, familiares, amigos, alumnos, etc.

Atong is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Northeast India and Bangladesh. Seino van Breugel provides a deep and thorough coverage and analysis of all major areas of the grammar, which makes this book of great interest and value to general linguists and typologists as well as area specialists. Alongside an Atong-English dictionary and five fully-glossed Atong texts recorded during extensive fieldwork, this work also provides a sizable ethnolinguistic introduction to the speakers and their culture. Of particular interest is the pragmatic approach taken for the grammatical analysis. Whereas the form of an utterance provides some clue as to its possible meaning, inference is always needed to arrive at the most relevant interpretation within the context in which the utterance occurs. "This is a very important book for South Asian and Sino-Tibetan linguistic scholarship. Of the 200 languages of Northeast India, only a handful have been documented; the present work brings the number of full-scale modern grammars for these languages to six. Thus it represents a unique and extremely valuable contribution." Professor Scott DeLancey University of Oregon "This is a solid academic work which makes a huge contribution to the field. There is no other detailed account of this particular language, and it is highly doubtful that anyone will write something more comprehensive in the future." Dr Willem de Reuse University of North Texas

This book explains the emotion concepts of the Ibans, one of the indigenous peoples in Sarawak, Malaysia. It is an outcome of a research study, which aims to analyse the Iban emotion concepts utilizing Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM), an analytical tool developed by Anna Wierzbicka (1991), and the concrete/abstract cultural continuum framework, a framework introduced by J. Vin D'Cruz and G. Tham (1993), and later, J. Vin D'Cruz and William Steele (2000). NSM enables emotion terminologies in Iban to be explicated and further defined along the concrete/abstract cultural continuum framework. The respondents of this study were the village community of Sbangki Panjai, a longhouse located in Lubok Antu, Sarawak. The findings reveal the core cultural values that underlie the people's behaviours in the ways they express their emotions. The complex 'rules of logic' called "adat" and the rules of speaking in this speech community are discussed in detail in this book, which explain the Ibans' communicative behaviours. Although the semantic analysis of the emotion words is exhaustive and comprehensive, it is necessary in order to reveal the complete meaning of the emotions being examined without creating ethnocentric bias. Thus, this book essentially describes how the Ibans relate themselves to others in their interaction.

Entrepreneur and Customer Service Guru Redman Folgate is mysteriously found dead in his mountain retreat. Has been journalist Rock Hardstuff is coincidentally on the scene and decides to solve the murder to redeem his career. Rock must weave his way through a myriad of bizarre characters before he can solve the Who Dunnit with a How Dunnit and so much more. Who Killed Customer Care? uses a comedy murder mystery allegory to explain the secrets of Customer and Client Communication.

Of the five major Shakespearean tragedies-Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and Othello-Macbeth is in some ways the most accessible. For one it is the shortest. For another the witches continue to attract audiences just as they did during Elizabethan times. In addition he cinematographic approach of the last act-cutting easily from scene to scene-works as well as it did in Shakespeare's time. Thus, the play is a natural to introduce students to the Shakespeare canon. Probably it doesn't rival Romeo and Juliet in popularity with students or Julius Caesar with teachers, but nevertheless it is a finished, representative work of the best of William Shakespeare. In addition the main theme-ambition-one which is relevant to Americans today, can be witnessed again and again, especially during our quadrennial presidential elections. "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent," Macbeth muses; there are those seeking to attract the public eye for whom this statement applies equally well. I cannot say I enjoyed reading Macbeth the first time. It was an assignment and, as do many students, I disliked having to read the play. However, over the years of teaching the play and re-reading it-by choice-I have come to regard the play with respect and simultaneously admiration for the playwright. The play communicates its own special numen. Macbeth is the most tightly unified of the Shakespearean tragedies, and it is filled with major themes-ambition, definition of character, allegiance to one's state and king- and some which may be regarded as minor-sleep, drink, and humor. None of them could be sacrificed as together they make a unity of approach meant to satisfy the general audience and the groundlings. As one who has a foot in both camps, I believe the play is a masterpiece.

As the most widely documented language in human history, English holds a unique key to unlocking some of the mysteries of the uniquely human endowment of language. Yet the field of World Englishes has remained somewhat marginal in linguistic theory. This collection heralds a more direct and mutually constructive engagement with current linguistic theories, questions, and methodologies. It achieves this through areal overviews, theoretical chapters, and case studies. The 36 articles are divided between four themes: Foundations, World Englishes and Linguistic Theory, Areal Profiles, and Case Studies. Part I sets out the complex history of the global spread of English. This is followed, in Part II, by chapters addressing the mutual relevance and importance of World Englishes and numerous theoretical subfields of Linguistics. Part III offers detailed accounts of the structure and social histories of specific varieties of English spoken across the globe, highlighting points of theoretical interest. The collection closes with a set of case studies that exemplify the type of analysis encouraged by the volume. As attention is focused on innovative work at the interface of dialect description and theoretical explanation, the book is more succinct in its treatment of applied themes, which are given complementary coverage in other works.

Fluency in English is a highly sought after skill in every sphere of life. It is the yardstick that could make or break a person's chances of making it in the competitive job market that has become global and where to communicate confidently and smartly seperates the achiever from the loser. The contents of the book, in the form of explanations and exercises, promises to be easy to understand and the activities fun to work out. What a great way to learn