Task-based language teaching (TBLT) emerged in the 1980s as a learner-centred and experiential alternative to more established and teacher-led approaches to acquiring an additional language (L2). Two decades ago, a paper published in "The Language Learning Journal" discussed the advantages and drawbacks of TBLT that had become apparent…

This article serves as an introduction to a collection of four articles on multilingual practices in speech and writing, exploring both contemporary and historical sources. It not only introduces the articles but also discusses the scope and definitions of code-switching, attitudes towards multilingual interaction and, most pertinently, the…

The bilingual speech of members of Spanish, Portuguese, and Algerian communities in France was examined, and a model proposed for classification of code-switching according to speakers' intentions and the dynamics of the interaction. (Author/CB)

Examines the phonetic characteristics of babbling by a pair of fraternal twins raised in a bilingual environment (English/Serbian). The study focused on the basic articulatory form of babbling, the impact of twinship on babbling patterns, and whether effects specific to one or another of the ambient languages could be observed. (30 references)…

Examines the role and significance of systematic error correction and explicit grammatical explanation in adult foreign language education. The type and nature of certain grammatical errors which are characteristic of the interlanguage of Arab learners of English as a second language and which seem insusceptible to defossilization are…

Focuses on the importance of developing the native language (L1), i.e., "Bahasa Melayu," as a firm foundation for the learning of a second language (L2) in Brunei and analyzes problems facing learners of "Bahasa Melayu" and English in Brunei classrooms. Saravanan's response focuses on the structure of the Brunesian bilingual…

Language educators find two kinds of errors in the interlanguages of language learners: developmental and interference. While developmental errors reflect a normal pattern of development common among all language learners, interference errors are caused by the learners' native languages. This paper deals with a number of die-hard types of…

Examines how the teacher incorporates elements of both "Bahasa Melayu" and Brunei Malay into content lessons and views code switching in the primary classroom within the wider framework of community language norms and the linguistic pressures on students and teachers. Espiritu shares Martin's concern regarding the quantity and quality of…

Describes the multilingual situation underlying the educational scheme in the Philippines, a system inherent with problems arising from the unequal developmental status of Filipino and English and the subsequent failure to meet manpower and material needs. The article issues a call to use the synergy created by two languages. Bajunid's response…

Reviews the literature on second language medium of instruction and educational achievement in Kenya using classroom data from English, Kiswahili, and mother tongue mathematics lessons and from lessons where code switching occurred. Argues that regardless of the instructional medium, a transmissional model of teaching and learning predominates.…

Analyzes classroom practice in Brunei and suggests alternative teaching strategies to enable teachers to more easily manipulate the classroom culture to achieve the objectives of the bilingual education system while maintaining class control. McLellan argues that in a multilingual situation, the lines between languages are fuzzy so extent that…

Portrays the effects of demographic, social, and cultural dislocation experienced by members of the Australian Strelley Aboriginal community on observed shift in languages, such as Nyangumarta and other Western Desert languages. Examines changes in code mixing and the need for English as the language of formal education. (23 references) (Author/OK)

Describes findings based on a self-rating scale by 38 teaching English as a second language (TESL) student teachers at a Malaysian university, responses to a self-rating scale by 20 TESL teachers, and case studies of 20 bilingual student teachers. Penaflorida's response focuses on strategies for dealing with learners with limited linguistic and…