Most EFL classrooms focus on building students' grammatical accuracy by learning rules and demonstrating mastery of form through exam-oriented assessments, rather than building fluency in the language by applying grammar in communication to make meaning. Moreover, grammar instruction is often rooted in materials that lack relevance to students'…

Globalization and the digitalization of our lives have made it impossible to avoid (inter)cultural encounters. In the traditional classroom environment, students are expected to juggle a myriad of choices almost simultaneously. Factors like grammar, pronunciation, word choice, etc. are all important assessment factors to consider when looking at…

This paper reports on a study investigating the potential effect of synchronous and asynchronous text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC) on oral fluency development of second-language (L2) learners. Sixty-three intermediate learners of English were randomly assigned to one of three groups (two experimental groups and one control group),…

This article is part of a longitudinal study of American college students studying Mandarin in China. Its main data are drawn from monthly speaking events (four sessions with each student) conducted in Chinese with each of 29 participants in a study-abroad program in China. The study yielded these results: (a) Students made significant progress in…

This paper details the use of a free and access-controlled wiki as the learning management system for a four-week teaching module designed to improve the oral communication skills of Japanese university EFL students. Students engaged in repeated experiential learning cycles of planning, doing, observing, and evaluating their performance of a role…

This paper is an ethnographic record of an ongoing journey during which I have tried to understand the kinds of language ideologies that my students and I have constructed about the Korean language. My students are mainly Korean-American university students who have never successfully achieved native fluency in their heritage language, although…

The issues confronting Australian tertiary institutions in the assessment of non-English-speaking-background students are discussed. A survey of tertiary institutions that identified test instruments currently being used is described and some of these test instruments (SST and CULT tests) are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Presents evidence that content-based instruction at the intermediate level of English language proficiency not only enhances performance at that level but may also help to facilitate English-as-a-Second-Language students' subsequent performance in the college academic mainstream and increase their likelihood of earning a college degree. (27…

Describes an approach to the study of writing processes based on the analysis of temporal aspects of the writing event. The approach involves recording the keystroke presses made during production of a text using a word processor, and analyzing such features as pausing, fluency, and revision activity. (Author/VWL)

Reports the results of a cross-sectional study of 67 short autobiographical essays by U.S. students of Russian at 4 levels. Linguistic measures differentiating the groups included fluency and syntactic fluency, but not accuracy. The article recommends further research into second- and foreign- language learning writing that accounts for different…

Although many foreign language instructors assess oral skills in their program, many hesitate to incorporate multiple oral evaluations because of the perceived disadvantages of time-cost and added stress. This article underscores the significant advantages of oral assessments and encourages instructors toward that goal by presenting five types of…

Explores whether pragmatic fluency is best acquired by provision of input and opportunity for communicative practice alone, or whether learners profit more with additional explicit instruction in the use of conversational routines. The article hypothesized that such instruction raises learners' awareness of the functions and contextual…

The Colorado State University Foreign Language Weekend Camps (also called the "Poor Man's Study Abroad") are described in this report. Developed to provide an international component and a mini foreign experience for the university's students, the camps are designed to accomplish several purposes including: to offer both foreign and…

An experimental English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program at City College (New York) is reported. The federally funded project investigated the effectiveness of an instructional method entitled "Fluency First" and based on whole language theories of learning. It requires large amounts of reading and writing, collaboration with peers,…