This study examined data elicited by the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI), which was administered to first-year, advanced learners of French at the University of the West Indies. The questionnaire looked at students' attitudes regarding the difficulty of language learning, foreign language aptitude, the nature of language…

Describes some experiments conducted among adult learners in France, West Germany, and Sweden to determine the accuracy of students' self-evaluations, measured against teachers' evaluations. Analyzes the results, showing that there is enough agreement between students' and teachers' assessments to justify increased reliance on self-evaluation.…

Reports the results of a questionnaire survey designed to discover the characteristics, background, and motivation of students of French frequenting institutes in Germany. (AM)

A variety of possible language methodologies and the effects these have on the learners are examined. A sample questionnaire, designed to discover how students have previously been instructed in foreign language, is included. (SW)

Discusses a client analysis conducted to explore the professional development needs of 11 language teachers, five in South Africa and six in Canada. Employed a questionnaire and interviews to discover how each teacher's background and context affects his or her perceived processional development needs. (Author/VWL)

Illustrates how autonomous learning, as a concept, guides the production of the English self-learning packages for young elementary learners (new arrival children). Explores how the children react to the process of improving their English standard by engaging in self-study as a way to achieve autonomous learning. (CMK)

Reports the results of a descriptive study on sex differences in the use of a second language. A questionnaire was administered to 581 Spanish-speaking students learning Basque and English as second language to answer the following question: Do male and female second language learners differ in the number and the range of vocabulary strategies…

Presents the findings of a survey among teachers of Spanish and Portuguese ( K-16) on the role and value of new technology and media for teaching and learning and on the identification of strategies for the development, selection, and use of technology. The results are discussed, along with comments from respondents. (AS)

Describes a qualitative research project designed to explore the relationship between the study of a foreign language literary text and the development of competence in a second culture (C2). Compared the attitudes and performances of students who read a fact sheet about Cote d'Ivoire to students who studied a poem about Cote d'Ivoire. Students…

Investigates the cultural accommodation hypothesis in questionnaire-based research: Do respondents adjust their responses in a way that reflects the cultural values associated with the language of the questionnaire. A test of this hypothesis with a sample of university students in seven countries indicates that cultural accommodation plays an…

Analysis of the responses of 286 students of German to a questionnaire regarding their interest in textbooks' cultural content showed that the 10 textbooks analyzed did not generally offer much information on the highest-ranked 25 (out of 99) topics of interest to the students. (24 references) (CB)

Reports a study of language learning and language attitudes among immigrants to the Netherlands. Questionnaires obtained from college students studying Dutch showed no evidence that Dutch was threatened by English and indicated that the importance attached to English as an international language did not lessen the value of Dutch for living in the…

Examines diaries kept by 18 anglophone high-school students of French while they spent 3 months in Quebec as part of an exchange program. Research focused on insights into language-learning process provided by student diarists; affective factors in language learning; extralinguistic benefits of exchange; and ways in which the diaries supplement…

Departments of Spanish can play a significant role in the multicultural movement by teaching a course on United States Hispanic Cultures. An introductory course is described, including its organization, approaches, materials, and class activities. (Contains 15 references.) (Author/LB)