It is impossible to imagine a modern person with higher education who would have never studied one or several foreign languages and would not be familiar with the culture of different countries. Especially in the modern world, in which knowledge of languages serves not only as a way of cognition, but also as a key to self-realization both in one's…

This paper primarily discusses the challenges deaf students in Ghana are likely to grapple with as they access education provided for them in English language. The arguments discussed in this paper are supported by findings from a multiple site case study of five Schools for the Deaf purposively sampled from four regions of Ghana. Observations…

This article reviews empirical evidence related to college students classified as learning disabled (LD) and foreign language (FL) learning by examining whether there are differences between: (a) students classified and not classified as LD enrolled in FL courses; (b) LD students with and without IQ-achievement discrepancies and FL aptitude,…

The relationship between performance in mathematics and the understanding of mathematical text is examined in the case of students who have to learn the discipline in a language which is not their mother tongue. No correlation between performance and text understanding was found. (MN)

Using a theoretical model of foreign language anxiety, this study of 96 college students of Japanese examines how language anxiety is related to Japanese language learning. Results suggest factors other than test anxiety, e.g., speech anxiety, fear of failing, and negative attitudes toward the class. A questionnaire is included. (Contains 63…

This study investigated the possible existence of causal links between anxiety and language learning difficulties by using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986) to examine anxiety and the Foreign Language Screening Instrument for Colleges (FLSI-C) (Ganschow & Sparks, 1991) to explore learning…

Since adult students' expectations and classroom experiences for foreign language study may vary greatly, an extra phase of training is recommended to introduce them to the types of activity and study attitudes expected of them. Components for this phase and a sample outline are offered. (Author/MSE)

This study examined 29 second-year undergraduate students of Spanish using a self-access learning environment for the first time, focusing on their language attitudes and learning strategies. The results show that, even as modern languages majors, the students possessed a model of language and strategies for learning that were significantly…

Examination of case studies of four learning-disabled college students experiencing severe problems learning a foreign language suggested that all subjects had deficiencies in listening comprehension and concomitant difficulties with the audiolingual teaching method. Other characteristics of these students which may have caused learning…

The common perception on the part of higher education institutions, academic staff, and scholarship donors, that English language skill level is the cause of the academic difficulties (problems in adjustment, longer completion times required) of international graduate students is examined, drawing on experience at the Australian National…

Discusses problems of learning English by students from Papua New Guinea, suggesting teachers restructure accepted assumptions about teaching and learning in English to more appropriately meet needs of students from different cultures. Argues many of these language problems are associated with lack of equivalence between concepts of academic…

Writing samples of four Arab college freshmen students of English as a second language were analyzed. The objectives were to classify the lexical problems found, determine the causes of the problems, and examine the students' choice of certain lexical items in an attempt to determine whether the students were more attuned to the form or the…

Expectations of performance in a foreign language are important predictors of future achievement. Two types of bias occur in foreign language learning: self-enhancement bias, which pertains to students who are unrealistically optimistic about their ability to learn a foreign language; and self-derogation bias, which pertains to those students who…

Discusses a number of areas of concern for the foreign language teaching profession for the 1990s. It is suggested that the foreign language teaching profession must consider the problems raised here to determine their validity and to address them as needed with the energy and resources that each requires. (JL)

It has been observed that some American students develop disorders of communication when learning a foreign language by the audiolingual method. Such disorders take various forms - "word deafness," articulatory defects and deviations in vocal quality. A project to study these phenomena began in 1959 at Purdue University. One study examined the…