Studied use of the Internet, Compact discs (CD), and email on the feasibility of conducting Russian language maintenance and development in a distance learning mode. Students from Air Force bases were guided by a native Russian moderator and interacted with each other in five-person teams. CD and email were found to be very reliable; Internet…

Outlines challenges that arose in the course of a classroom-based research project, identifies the realities of the second language setting that contributed to these complexities, and examines useful sources of support available to novice investigators. Oral communication tasks were administered to three groups of English learners in Canada: a…

Examines whether instruction can facilitate second language acquisition (SLA). Considers studies investigating the effects of instruction on the rate and ultimate level of attainment of SLA as well as on the route of development of acquisition. Explores implications for classroom teaching in the area of syllabus design, teaching materials,…

Examines whether there is a strong relationship between second language learners' noticing of benefactive auxiliary verbs and their use in communication. Participants were university students who had acquired Japanese at home without receiving any formal instruction. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews, an interpretation task with 20…

Discusses the relationship between language instruction and language policy. Looks at language policy and language instruction in different countries and focuses specific attention on U.S. policy. (Author/VWL)

Presents a comparative analysis of median frequency rates of explicit cohesive devices employed in academic texts of students who were speakers of English, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, and Arabic. Specific focus is on cohesive devices, such as phrase-level coordinators, sentence transitions, logical-semantic conjunctions, demonstrative pronouns,…

Proposes a model for the inclusion of a pronunciation teaching unit within second language/foreign language teacher preparation programs. A pilot course was offered at the University of Kansas in 1998. It was expected that this component would give prospective language teachers the requisite background for making decisions concerning pronunciation…

Addresses technical and learning issues relating to a formative implementation of a computer assisted language learning (CALL) browser-based intermediate Russian program. Instruction took place through a distance education implementation and in a grouped classroom using a local-area network. Learners indicated the software was clear, motivating,…

Verified the validity of the critical period hypothesis for the Slovak language. Recordings and short essays of native speakers of Slovak and nonnative bilinguals were evaluated by native Slovak judges. Studied critical period hypothesis for language and speech, relationships between age and education of judges, and correct identification scores.…

Focuses on the evolution of an assessment scheme implemented in an English for academic purposes (EAP) process writing course that sought to meet the assessment needs of three different audiences: learners, teachers, outsiders. Assessment plans and revisions are described. (Author/VWL)

This regional dossier aims to provide concise, descriptive information and basic educational statistics about minority language education in a specific region of the European Union--the Basque country of northern Spain. Aspects that are addressed include features of the education system, recent educational policies, main actors, legal…

Examines the structure of language-learning beliefs about learning in general and beliefs specifically about language learning and explores the relationship between the two belief domains. A brief questionnaire was administered to 187 college students learning Japanese as a foreign language. Factor analyses identified five dimensions of general…

Investigated the links between second-language classroom anxiety and second-language writing anxiety, as well a their associations with second-language speaking and writing achievement. Findings suggest that second-language classroom anxiety is a more general type of anxiety about learning a second language with a strong speaking-anxiety element,…

Reports an experiment investigating similarities and differences in basic processing involved in the word reading of second-language learners of English. The investigation specifically targeted phonological and orthographic processes in the context of language transfer from native language to second language during reading tasks. (Author/VWL)

This case study investigated whether patterns obtained from elicited speech also hold for conversational data. A longitudinal corpus of spontaneous/natural speech from an adult first-language Spanish learner of second-language Swedish is studied. (Author/VWL)