Reports on the experiences of five Cantonese-dominant secondary English teachers in Hong Kong during their first year of teaching after graduation from a BA course in Teaching-English-as-a-Second-Language (TESL). The report investigates the extent to which the teachers implemented the principles they were exposed to in their university education.…

An overview of the field of language planning and an updated bibliography are presented. Language planning is defined as the planning of deliberate changes in the form or use of a language or language variety and viewed as a subdiscipline of sociolinguistics. Among the topics discussed are the scope of language planning, an ideal language planning…

This collection of papers includes: "Martians Invade the Classroom: A Workshop in Language Learning" (Carmine Tabone and Robert Albrecht); "Autonomous Learning through Cinema: One Learner's Memories" (Connie Haham); "Learning a Second Language Through Culture" (Barbara Le Blanc and Joseph Dicks); "Shakespeare for ESL? 'Hamlet' through Imaginative…

Evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the Yale Online Kamusi project, an electronic Web-based Swahili-English and English-Swahili dictionary. The dictionary is described and checked for comprehensiveness, the adequacy and quality of the glosses and definitions are tested, and a number of recommendations are made to help make it a better and…

Discusses problems and insights gained during the preparation of a bilingual dictionary of Spanish--a Romance and ultimately Indo-European language--and Swahili, a coastal Bantu language of the Niger-Congo stock of African languages. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the design and implementation of the Kamusi Project Edit Engine, a Web-based software system uniquely suited to the needs of Swahili collaborative lexicography. Describes the edit engine, including organization of the lexicon and the mechanics by which participants use the system, discusses philosophical issues confronted in the design,…

Examines content-based instruction for African languages and considers Schleicher's (2000) expatiation of goal-based instruction for African languages. Focuses on the parameters for content-based instruction, the profile of a content-based instructional program, the nature of content-based instruction, the first steps for African languages, and…

Examines how well first-year African language textbooks convey communicative competency issues to African language learners and provides a suitable guide for the selection of communicatively-oriented first-year textbooks. (Author/VWL)

Provides a hands-on approach to materials production. Guides both the novice and the sophisticate on how to use QuickTime Pro to produce Multimedia. Highlights the new literacy requirements that are emerging that call for the teacher's ability to read instruction on software and be able to figure out how to use it. (Author/VWL)

Looks at the elaboration and exploration of content in the Swahili learning site SALAMA. Identifies within SALAMA design and implementation methods that ardently and perennially seek to lead learners to evolve learning habits of their own beyond formal instruction and textbooks. (Author/VWL)

Student motivation is one of the chief factors in success in second language learning. The role of the language teacher in fostering this motivation is crucial. The teacher must offer a good language model, be a good technician of language teaching, and inspire mutual confidence and sympathy in the classroom. (CHK)

The Sociedade Brasileira de Cultura Inglesa of Sao Paolo, Brazil, is an English teaching center which also runs an introductory course to train teachers of English. This article describes some of the projects completed by prospective teachers; they include language games, pictures, cartoons, role-playing and writing creative dialogue. (CHK)

A method for enlivening an English conversation class is suggested wherein the goal is to get every student to participate by saying something in English, and learning corrections until later. Class periods are divided into controlled language practice, free language practice and a short period of listening comprehension. (CHK)

In second language learning, the phonetic features of a dialect of the native language are often more important than those of the standard form of the language. Positive or negative transfer from the native dialect to the target language may occur. Details of Swabian-English transfer are discussed. (CHK)

The process and results of error marking in EFL written work are studied. Common errors were classified and presented to native and non-native EFL teachers to mark and to indicate seriousness of errors. Non-natives judged more severely; individuals were consistent in their judgment; differing views of error gravity are noted. (CHK)