Human raters are normally involved in L2 performance assessment; as a result, rater behavior has been widely investigated to reduce rater effects on test scores and to provide validity arguments. Yet raters' cognition and use of rubrics in their actual rating have rarely been explored qualitatively in L2 speaking assessments. In this study three…

A number of exercises for promoting communication and self-expression in the classroom are described. (RM)

Gives practical suggestions for elementary school teachers with non-English speaking students. Initial survival language and peer tutoring models for promoting language development are the focus of these suggestions. (HTH)

The English as a Second Language (ESL) method variously described as communicative methodology, communicative approach, or Communicative Language Teaching refers to a focus on the use of language to communicate. A communicative approach recognizes that the yield or payoff for a learner is related to the opportunities given the student for…

Native English speakers have difficulty determining which form of direct address is appropriate in German, and students also need practice in giving commands to one another. This article describes an easily organized drill covering both areas. (Author/LB)

Some aural activities are described that can help language students with their listening comprehension. They include dictation, a "who am I?" exercise, sketch-drawing, chart completion, a comparison exercise, and a flow diagram. (LB)

A number of conversation exercises are described for use in second language teaching which are intended to promote communication in the foreign language by creating among the students a need to talk and a need to listen. (RM)

Competent writers make certain decisions when engaged in discourse-level revising of their own written work. Discussion and description of those decisions illuminates and informs classroom procedures for developing such revising and reviewing skills. A reader feedback guide for use in small group work facilitates the process. (Contains 14…

Participants in classroom discourse must be able to see, hear, speak, and be heard. In managing these aspects of the language classroom, the teacher must also command various strategies for managing students'"face"--the right to contribute or not, the right to acceptance of one's contribution in form and content. (Contains nine…

The communication difficulties of foreign teaching assistants (TA) in U.S. colleges are addressed in 11 articles, with attention to the problems of the TA system as a whole in the spirit of international educational exchange. Titles and authors include the following: "'The Foreign TA Problem'" (Kathleen M. Bailey); 'Toward an Anthropology of the…

This workbook tapescript is a component of "Beginning Pashto," a set of materials (including a textbook, student workbook, teacher's manual and glossary) that teaches the Pashto language. The tapescript consists of the prompts for the exercises marked with a T in the workbook. The workbook tapescript has been designed for the would-be Pashto…

This technical report presents concrete ways of meeting recommended practice by providing an overview of principles and practices in the area of second language acquisition. It discusses some of the major theories in the area of second language acquisition, as well as the developmental process of first and second language acquisition in the…