In this study we compare test takers' performance on the Speaking section of the TOEFL iBT™and their performances during their real-life academic studies. Thirty international graduate students from mixed language backgrounds in two different disciplines (Sciences and Social Sciences) responded to two independent and four integrated speaking tasks…

This study investigated the strategic behaviors that test-takers reported using when responding to integrated and independent speaking tasks in an English oral proficiency test [the Speaking Section of the Internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language[TM] (TOEFL iBT)] and the relationship between test-takers' strategic behaviors and their…

In this article we explore the process and product of languaging as it concerns the learning of the grammatical concept of voice (active, passive, and middle) in French. We examine and analyze the amount and type of languaging produced by a small sample of university students as they struggle to understand the concept of voice. Students who are…

In this article, we explore one aspect of language awareness that has rarely been explored--awareness (i.e. perception) of the language proficiency of the "other learner" in pair work settings. We examine how Mai, a Japanese ESL learner, perceives her peer's L2 proficiency during pair problem solving, and how her perception of learner proficiency…

This report constitutes a synthesis of 10 years of research which was conducted to assist Ontario boards of education in implementing and evaluating French immersion programs in their jurisdictions. The immersion programs evaluated include three major alternatives: (1) the early total French immersion programs of the Carleton, Ottawa, and Toronto…

Offers immersion classroom data focusing on the use of collaborative tasks related to the content to be learned that draw learners attention to formal properties of French. Such tasks provide both oral practice and lead to more accurate language use. (Author/VWL)

Focuses on the uses of the first language (L1) made by 22 pairs of Grade 8 French immersion students as they complete one of two different tasks: a dictogloss and a jigsaw. The outcome of each task is a story written by each pair. Proposes a coding scheme for the uses made of the (L1) and reports on an exploratory analysis intended to describe…

Presents a case study of an adult Japanese learner's second language (L2) learning through her teacher's recasts in an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) classroom in Japan. Investigated the relationship between the student's awareness of feedback and her L2 learning. Findings suggest recasting is a complex verbal behavior influenced by the…

Describes research on core, extended, and immersion French as a second language programs in Canada over the past decade. Results show older learners tend to be more efficient learners in some aspects of second language learning, but there may be some advantages to starting earlier in an intensive program. (BK)

Examines a subset of collaborative dialogues that occurred in a a multistage task where Canadian Grade 7 French immersion students worked together in pairs. Each pair wrote a story, noticed differences between their text and a reformulator's revision, and reflected on their noticing. Traces development of the target language (French), with…

The results of a study involving 18 students from a grade 8 early French immersion class support the argument that in producing a second language, learners will on occasion become aware of a linguistic problem and modify their output. (41 references) (MDM)

The relative effects of various types of negative feedback on the acquisition of the English dative alternation by 100 adult Spanish-speaking learners of English as a Second Language were investigated. Results suggest that adult learners can and do use feedback to learn specific and abstract linguistic generalizations. (75 references) (Author/LB)

Examines one aspect of the many interfaces between second language (L2) learning and L2 testing. The aspect is the oral interaction--the dialogue--that occurs within small groups. Discusses from within a sociocultural theory of mind, that in a group, performance is jointly constructed and distributed across the participants. (Author/VWL)

Shows how one teacher skillfully integrates vocabulary instruction with his subject matter teaching. The teacher links the target vocabulary to the students' experiences and concentrates on word meanings and their written and oral forms and syntactic behavior, pushing students to accurate use of the words in context. (12 references) (Author/CK)

Examined whether negotiated help provided within the learners' zone of proximal development (ZPD) is more effective than help provided randomly and irrespective of the learners' ZPD. Data were collected during tutorial sessions on writing English compositions by two Korean learners of English. Findings provide support for a consciousness raising…