Examined the effect of cross-cultural awareness training and explicit linguistic instruction on attitudes towards and comprehension of foreign-accented speech in three groups of students. Listening comprehension passages read in Vietnamese-accented speech before and after an 8-week instruction period revealed no cross-group differences. Attitude…

Argues that when teaching English as an international language, educators should recognize the value of including topics that deal with the local culture, support the selection of a methodology that is appropriate to the local educational context, and recognize the strengths of bilingual teachers of English. Based on a questionnaire given to…

Describes the organization of a video-letter exchange between a German ninth-grade class and a high school in the United States. The German students' experiences, feelings, and thoughts relating to the exchange formed the basis of a class questionnaire, and quotations from students responses are appended. (Author/VWL)

Discusses a study that was conducted to determine the effects of school affiliation on the level of language competency attained by Spanish 1 students. Competency in all four language skills was measured by a Spanish 1 exam, and the differences between the two groups in attitude toward foreign language learning were examined. (JL)

The effects of subtitling during transactional task practice were investigated among fifth-semester college students of French. Results support and advance the knowledge generated by language research on subtitles: subtitles help learners not only to comprehend authentic linguistic input better but also to produce comprehensible communicative…

Compares 39 native teachers' and 41 native nonteachers' perception of elementary learners' spoken Japanese. Interviews between a native speaker and a learner were audiotaped, and the 80 natives evaluated them according to grammar, fluency, vocabulary, appropriateness, comprehensibility and pronunciation. Results indicate teachers are more critical…

A group of college-level Spanish students received metacognitive awareness raising--a single session that, by means of brainstorming, involved students in developing a general awareness of language learning strategies. Final course grades were compared across control and experimental groups, revealing significantly higher scores for the latter.…

Questionnaire data from 484 Israeli tenth graders studying Arabic showed that Gardner's socioeducational model for second language learning was generalizable to the context of the present study (i.e., a different social context from that in which the model was developed). (23 references) (Author)

Presents the sources and solutions of listening-comprehension anxiety as reported by foreign-language students and discusses the pedagogical implications that relate to the results. (Author/VWL)

Explains how selections from "English Teaching Forum" articles were incorporated into methodology courses to form a successful 30-hour semester. The pilot course, which has five groups of students studying methodology, concluded with a questionnaire that brought a vast majority of enthusiastic responses.(Author/VWL)

Thirty-seven post-secondary students were studied over one semester in intensive English-as-a-Second-Language or degree programs, with a focus on their English language development and adaptation to Canadian life and study. Data were gathered through ongoing informal contact and pre- and post-administration of a detailed questionnaire, an English…

A study in interlanguage pragmatics investigated the effect of three types of rejoinder (positive, negative, absent) on non-native informants' choices of strategies to perform complaints, requests, and apologies. Results show strategy choice differentially affected by rejoinder type, suggesting that findings from studies using different production…

Replicates previous research on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for language learning in French Canadian students of English and considers the relations between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and integrative orientation. Quebecois university students completed a questionnaire addressing their reasons for learning English. (Author/VWL)

Provides the results of a survey of Irish language instructors at tertiary level institutions in the United States. Identifies the Irish textbooks in use, assesses students' needs and goals, and refers to research articles involving syllabus design. Data from the survey provides rich data that will serve to inform future textbook designers.…

Investigates the role of the three major languages in Hong Kong by looking in depth at one secondary school where Putonghua has official status rather than English or Cantonese. Motivation for code choice is investigated through interviews and questionnaires. While Putongua has a special role in the school, the use of Cantonese was found to…