Cobb (2007) argues that free reading cannot provide L2 readers with sufficient opportunities for acquiring vocabulary in order to reach an adequate level of reading comprehension of English texts. In this paper, the authors argue that (1) Cobb severely underestimates the amount of reading even a very modest reading habit would afford L2 readers,…

In the author's piece "Computing the Demands of Vocabulary Acquisition from Reading" ("Language Learning & Technology," October, 2007), he argued that building an adequate functional L2 lexicon for reading from reading alone cannot be done by the majority of learners in the normal time frame of instructed L2 learning. An example of such a time…

This paper reports on a qualitative study that investigated the changes in students' writing process associated with corpus use over an extended period of time. The primary purpose of this study was to examine how corpus technology affects students' development of competence as second language (L2) writers. The research was mainly based on case…

This paper reports on a pilot and a subsequent study that focused on the assessment of student writing in asynchronous text-stimulated forum discussions. The study, which was conducted in advanced English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses, aimed at determining suitable assessment criteria for written academic discussions. In addition, the study…

This study investigated the potential impact of e-learning on raising overseas students' cultural awareness and explored the possibility of creating an interactive learning environment for them to improve their English academic writing. The study was based on a comparison of Chinese and English rhetoric in academic writing, including a comparison…

Automated writing evaluation (AWE) software is designed to provide instant computer-generated scores for a submitted essay along with diagnostic feedback. Most studies on AWE have been conducted on psychometric evaluations of its validity; however, studies on how effectively AWE is used in writing classes as a pedagogical tool are limited. This…

The purpose of this study is to introduce a new method of evaluating human comprehension in the context of machine translation using a language translation program known as the FALCon (Forward Area Language Converter). The FALCon works by converting documents into digital images via scanner, and then converting those images to electronic text by…

Many teachers of foreign languages struggle with finding alternative ways of exposing their students to the target language. At Kent Gardens Elementary School (KGES) in McLean, Virginia, many students participate in an immersion program from first grade to sixth grade. These students spend half of every school day immersed in French while learning…

Foreign Language in Elementary School (FLES) teachers in the West Des Moines schools incorporate the Day of the Dead into the fourth grade curriculum each year. The teachers discuss the Day of the Dead celebration at the Art Center, and many ask for volunteers from fourth grade to participate in the event. Student presentations include a wide…

The author and her family spent a few weeks traveling through Central America last summer. A few years back, they had been to Guatemala, Belize and Costa Rica yet that was it, not much more exploration of their neighbors to the south. They decided on a short tour of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama and realized this would be a great opportunity…

In efforts to improve, expand and inspire language learning to become a basic and essential component of the landscape of the educational system, one must reach out beyond the walls of the classroom to engage learners early. Real-world learning and energized, playful, interactive language experiences that inspire can drastically change the…

The author is a Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) Spanish teacher and works with students from K-6 at Little Run Elementary School in Fairfax, Virginia. FLES is a program that had been implemented in her school district six years ago. Finding ways to motivate students to use and practice the foreign language outside the classroom is…

At Concordia Language Villages, language and culture are inextricably intertwined, as they are in life. Participants "live" and "do" language and culture 16 hours per day. The experiential, residential setting immerses the participants in the culture of the country or countries where the target language is spoken through food, music, sports,…

Foreign Language Elementary Summer Camp is a fantastic way to spend part of the summer. For the past ten years in Glastonbury, Connecticut, the authors have offered a variety of foreign language elementary camps that meet daily for three hours for three to four weeks during July. Currently, they offer camps for Chinese, English Language Learners…

While immersion programs provide some of the greatest benefits to children learning a new language, many school systems have yet to dedicate the financial and personnel resources necessary to plan and implement such programs on a wide scale. In areas where immersion or formal FLES programming does not exist in the schools, often opportunities to…