The present article is part of a large-scale study conducted in Ontario that investigated gender differences in motivation to learn French. However, for this particular article second language (L2) motivation theory is the primary focus. Over the past 30 years of research, the study of L2 motivation has evolved. There appears to be a definite…

Related literature indicates that the Internet has an important role and great potential in foreign language learning. It is also obvious that attitudes of learners affect learning process significantly. This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of foreign language learners and to find the relationship between attitudes and subject variables.…

The study reviews translation validated tests and proposes a process-oriented translation test for assessing basic translation skills for freshmen English majors at the faculty of Education. The proposed test is developed based on the process approach to translating and translation teaching, and is confined to translation from English to Arabic.…

This study investigates the effect of phonological awareness instruction on the development of word-reading ability for EFL first-graders in a Jordanian state school. Based on Chard and Dickson's (1999) phonological awareness hierarchy, a phonological awareness training program was developed by the researchers, and used in training the…

The report on the status of the Indonesian and Malay languages in Australia documents the history of those languages in Australian education, within selected communities, in international trade, and among high school students. The first chapter gives a brief history of the Indonesian and Malay languages and comments on their place in the life of…

A study examined the historical, cultural, social, pedagogical, and psychological factors affecting Chinese students' language learning styles and attitudes, particularly concerning learning English as a Second Language (ESL). The first section offers an overview of considerations in understanding the cultural background that students bring to the…

In response to findings from a study of community college students' motivations for studying a foreign language that indicated that many students cited "personal fulfillment," a second study was undertaken to determine factors that affected students' sense of fulfillment. Specifically, the study sought to determine the relationship between…

The testing of 32,000 students in Australia and New Zealand participating in The Australian Language Certificates (ALC) provided the opportunity to examine students' attitude and learning preferences when studying a language other than English. The ALC offered the opportunity to learn seven languages in a Languages Other Than English (LOTE)…

An attempt is made is this paper to examine the validity of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale through a comparison of the scaling of speaking tasks and speech performances by the scale and by a Rasch analysis of judgments made by "naive" persons. The results of the multi-faceted Rasch analysis seem…

A study investigated the effectiveness of general study skill enhancement on the learning of a second language. Subjects were high school students deficient in study skills. They were enrolled in an after-school cooperative study skill tutorial program. After diagnostic screening, students completed the intensive tutorial program using selected…

Textual information, 32 tables, and 12 figures are used to describe Alaska high school seniors in this 12th annual survey report. During the fall of the 1988-89 school year, 3,254 seniors attending Alaska public and private high schools responded to the questionnaire sent to a total of 5,910 students for a return rate of 55.1 percent. The…

A study investigated the use of classroom strategies to improve students' attitudes about language study while improving their practical use of the language. Secondary school students of Spanish completed an interest survey, and then were involved in language class activities including writing paragraphs, watching a recorded television show,…

Results of a survey of students of the University of Dublin concerning their language learning experiences and attitudes are reported. The study was undertaken within a larger study of self-directed language learning. The questionnaire had seven sections. The first and largest covered these topics related to students' language background: (1) the…

Studies conducted concerning numbers of limited-English-speaking-ability (LESA) students and utility of criteria for estimating this population are discussed. A sample of 287 students in kindergarten through grade three, whose parents had responded to a Language Resource Questionnaire, were selected for study. The teacher of each student was…

Discussion of computer-assisted language learning highlights a British study with elementary, secondary and university Spanish language students that incorporated speech synthesis and interactive video. The Multifacet Language Laboratory is described, software used is explained, student and teacher reactions are discussed, and a sample of the…