Investigates whether readers who consider context and note the interrelationship of words, actions, and ideas understand more than students who do not use this text-level strategy. The strategy-use section and questionnaire utilized to elicit perceived strategy use are included in the appendices. (LMO)

Describes a study that provides further evidence for differentiating between memory for meaningful and for nonmeaningful material in the context of language proficiency, suggesting that foreign language teachers with a good memory have no guarantee of proficiency in language learning. (CB)

Discusses the many possible applications of video in the foreign language classroom for the development of students' listening comprehension and language acquisition skills. Ways to focus on this aspect of classroom video use are described, and examples of question types (in French) are presented. (CB)

This article describes an experiment conducted at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Romance Languages with first-year students. It was concluded that the language laboratory could best be employed to improve aural comprehension and to permit a more direct approach to contemporary French civilization. (Text is in French.) (Author/POP)

Presents study constructed to consider what kind of errors of misperception of English pronunciation by Japanese are revealed in dictation. Results show errors of segmental sounds are caused by interference from Japanese. Believes dictation provides means of exact, immediate, and simple key feedback to learner. (Author/BK)

Study examined the relationship between comprehension and production of lexical items when children are taught to both comprehend and produce new lexical items and when children are taught either to comprehend or produce new lexical items. Study involved teaching 12 adults and 12 children a miniature language. Results indicate production training…

Aims to identify listening comprehension strategies used by adult Japanese native speakers and monolingual Australian learners of the Japanese language. Investigates how two different listening contexts (audiovisual and audio-only) may influence listeners' choice of strategies and how the strategies chosen relate to learners' proficiency.…

Examines strategies effective readers employ in pre-reading, reading, and post-reading stages of instruction in classroom language learning. Aims at determining the difference in the strategy use by both successful and less successful readers at an upper-intermediate level. Subjects were preparatory English language teachers. (Author/VWL)

Describes a taxonomy of real-world listening tasks as a conceptual framework for teaching listening in a second language, and discusses the implications of the taxonomy for the design of listening instruction and the selection of authentic texts. The key elements of the taxonomy are listener function and listener response. (26 references)…

This paper discusses recent research on second-language learning and argues that "prior knowledge" does not necessarily constitute the basis of comprehension in second-language learning, that "comprehended input" does not have to be "learner-controlled," and that "input" and "intake" are not necessarily two fundamentally different phenomena.…

Discusses the different theoretical perspectives concerning input data to second-language (L2) learners, and examines the learners contributions to input and the interactions between what learners take in themselves and what is given to them. (58 references) (GLR)

Reviews issues relevant to the assessment of a listening comprehension construct and proposes a framework that specifies the person, competence, text, and item domains and components of assessment. Specifications focus on identification of the factors that relate to the purpose, object, and agent of assessment. (41 references) (JP)

The studies presented here represent an attempt to determine which of several alterations to the input directed to second-language learners affect comprehensibility. The first study manipulated both speed and syntax, and the second study examined the introduction of pauses into the input. (JL)

Suggests reasons why beginning second-language students try to translate into their primary language as they listen, even though this strategy is recognized as problematical, and proposes some teaching techniques to avoid their adopting it. (22 references) (GLR)