Examined diaries kept by undergraduate students during an English language course at the National University of Singapore. Investigation comprises preliminary content analysis of the diaries, learners' responses to a questionnaire, an account of learners' engagement with language issues in their diaries, and a commentary on teacher feedback and…

Presents case urging caution in citing questionnaire findings which assess linguistic problems or evaluate courses as justification for recommendations or decisions. It agrees, however, that the exercise may motivate students and stimulate exchange of information. (BK)

Suggests that assistance is often required for English as a foreign/second language teachers who remain isolated and unsure in relation to the world of professional ability, books, and conferences. The language of the experts needs to be adapted for a wider audience and discussion of classroom procedures should relate to situations where…

A study looks at two broad issues: (1) the relationship between sentence sequence and 'coherence' in writing of academic discourse in a second language; and (2) identification of likely areas of difficulty for second-language readers. Two approaches to the diagnosis of coherence problems, using experimental manipulation of sentence orders in…

A study of reading problems among Hong Kong university students of English as a Second Language has two parts. The first examines a teacher's comparison of a source text with a student's written response. The student subject was a highly-motivated, proficient learner. Discussion of her reading problems focuses on the incidence of misinterpretation…

The case against a "remedial" view of English as a Second Language (ESL) is presented, and an alternative approach is offered: an "enhancement" account of programs that aim to improve students' command of English in the course of an English-medium college or university education. The transition from "remedial" to "enhancement" provisions within…

The process of organizing content for a course in academic English as a Second Language is discussed, specifically as it applied to construction of a course for first-year law students at the University of Hong Kong. Discussion focuses on issues that emerged while trying to reconcile the university English center's curriculum policy with student…

A recent study proposed a rational for investigating the effects of mediating tasks upon a summary writing activity for tertiary-level students using English as an educational medium. The tasks in this study involved a group discussion or a reading comprehension exercise, with a third condition providing for immediate access to the text and…

This article investigates certain modal choices made by law students when writing in an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) adjunct class, illustrating areas of concern and instances of successful development of ideas in extracts from first-year undergraduate law students' essays on a problem in tort law. The study compares judgements of teachers…

This paper focuses on how teachers and administrators share a commitment towards the general principle of accountability in regard to efficiency in educational programs. The notion of efficiency is shown to have limited application to complex multidimensional processes, including those of classroom language learning and of language program…