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"The project studies the diagnosis of reading and writing abilities in a second or foreign language. It seeks to identify the cognitive features which predict a learner's strengths and weaknesses in those areas. The project brings together scholars from applied linguistics, psychology and assessment to engage in multidisciplinary work and to develop innovative ways of diagnosing the development of second and foreign language abilities. The main contribution of the project will be to offer novel, well-grounded theoretical insights and to develop a range of methodologies to study second and foreign language development and its diagnosis. We are exploring the causes underlying strengths and weaknesses in language development, and the relationship between literacy skills in one's first language and the development of second language abilities. The results of the project will also have practical implications by providing a sounder theoretical basis for the development of curricula, pedagogic materials and diagnostic tests."

Connecting you with the world's diverse cultures is this KML layer produced by The Rosetta Project / The Long Now Foundation. Around the world, a significant part of cultural diversity is experienced through language. It is feared that many of the languages, and therefore the cultures they belong to are being lost at such a rapid rate that "linguists predict that we may lose as much as 90% of the world's linguistic diversity within the next century." This KML provides an opportunity to explore the areas where these endangered languages are spoken throughout Africa and the Americas.

A survey of internet leaders, activists and analysts shows they expect major tech advances as the phone becomes a primary device for online access, voice-recognition improves, artificial and virtual reality become more embedded in everyday life, and the architecture of the internet itself improves. They disagree about whether this will lead to more social tolerance, more forgiving human relations, or better home lives.