Describes the beliefs about how to learn a second language held by 34 adults studying English as a second language and how these beliefs may influence what they do to learn. Describes eight modules designed to help these learners discover their own beliefs and consider alternative views. (SED)

The conflicting pressures of supply and demand often raise significant challenges for providers of languages for adults. Numbers of learners are inconveniently patchy, trends in take-up often short lived and provision vulnerable due to funding pressures. This makes institution-based curriculum planning very precarious. The answer, it seems more…

It is generally recognized that students' feelings about learning affect their ability to learn. One of the three strongest influencing factors on second-language learning is classroom anxiety. This paper focuses on student emotional distress in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom, and suggests that one of the primary causes of this…

This paper describes the functional-notional approach to language teaching and learning in terms of the ways it can be used to meet the communicative needs of the potential language learners, particularly adults, who vary in what they want to do in the target language. It contrasts the functional system with conventional approaches, illustrates…

An explanation of and guide to the resource document, "Un niveau-seuil" (A Threshold Level), is presented here. A brief presentation is made of the history of the project that produced the document, the operative definitions and concepts, and the contents of the sections of "Un niveau-seuil." Following the introductory…

This study, the culmination of a 3-year effort, represents the first step in the establishment of a European unit-credit system for foreign language learning by adults. Objectives are based on learners' needs and expressed in terms of operational learning objectives, with reference to the roles a language-user has to play, the settings in which he…

The manual designed as a guide for trainers in a seminar for teachers concerning some of the central issues in contemporary foreign language teaching and learning presents notes on each of the five seminar sessions, including overall goals and goals for the prescribed session activity, time and procedural notes, and reading lists. (MSE)

This report presents the results of a research development project to establish a suitable structural framework for the development of a European policy in the field of adult language learning. The report is divided into six sections: (1) the introduction in which the purpose of the work and the operative questions are discussed; (2) a discussion…

The collection of essays on aspects of Vygotskian theory focuses on the theory's application to research on second language learning. Articles include: "Theoretical Framework: An Introduction to Vygotskian Perspectives on Second Language Research" (James P. Lantolf, Gabriela Appel); Collective Scaffolding in Second Language…

A discussion of language teaching at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology emphasizes problems specific to the teaching of English, Hebrew, and Arabic, the main languages used in Israel. Three aspects of the program of instruction are examined. The first is the distinction between required and elective languages. English is required of all…

This guide is designed for tutors and teachers of literacy in rural locations in Australia, and their trainers, to help them respond appropriately to the language and literacy needs of adults of non-English-speaking background. It is divided into five sections. The first is an introduction. The second addresses the general topics of language…