Investigates the effect of vocabulary glossing on recall and vocabulary learning, as well as learners' preferences as to glossing. Finds that glossing did not significantly affect recall for the college students but that those with higher than average proficiency recalled more if they had read a glossed version of the text. Notes that participants…

Investigates the effects of second language (L2) linguistic competence on L2 reading in terms of its accountability for L2 reading comprehension and the relationship with the use of reading strategies. (Author/VWL)

Numerous studies related to listening comprehension strategies have been published in the past two decades. The present study seeks to build upon two previous reviews of listening comprehension strategies research. Of particular interest in this review are studies dealing with the types of cues used by listeners, the sequence of listening,…

The proposal by Clahsen and Felser (CF) has the potential of marking a turning point in second language (L2) acquisition research. Contrary to much L2 research to date, it suggests that some of the differences between native and (advanced) nonnative speakers may be at the level of grammatical processing, rather than grammatical representations.…

Two views of listening are examined. The first, listening as comprehension, emphasizes accessing meaning through listening, and focusses on the message rather than on form. The second, listening as acquisition, emphasizes the role of listening in promoting language acquisition, and emphasizes the role of noticing in facilitating language…

Correct pronunciation is often a later step in the process of teaching English as a second language. However, a focus on the correct articulation of vowels can significantly improve listening and comprehension skills as well as articulatory skills. Vowels and consonants differ in their acoustic properties. Unlike consonants, vowel sounds are…

The Aural Grammar Test was designed to assess aural grammatical competence for language presented in a formal situation. The subjects used in this initial development of the test were 147 Toronto high school students learning French as a second language. The test is described and the results are interpreted in terms of both the explicit and…

IN THE PRE-NUCLEATION STAGE, THE STUDENT IS CONCERNED WITH STORING, OR INTERNALIZING, THREE KINDS OF LANGUAGE PATTERNS--(1) ONE REPRESENTING THE SOUND STRUCTURE, (2) ANOTHER INVOLVING A PORTION OF THE SYNTACTIC STRUCTURE, AND (3) A THIRD--CALLED SANDHI VARIATION--ARISING FROM THE ACCIDENTAL CO-OCCURRENCE OF CERTAIN SOUNDS MAKING UP THE ELEMENTS OF…

A study of listening comprehension skills in foreign language classes compared the level of retention achieved by students trained to listen and perform versus students trained to listen and observe. Physical movement during training was not shown to be a critical factor in achievement. However, the experiment revealed a significant difference in…

This paper describes the design and practical application of a program called "Listening" which has been developed to help young learners of English as a second language gain some strategies for comprehension in their new language. The long-range goal of the program is to develop the learner's active involvement in thinking about the facts he…

Classroom activities and materials for developing Spanish language skills are described. The exercises focus on listening comprehension, speaking, word recognition, vocabulary learning through reading, and grammar skills that prepare students for the National Spanish Examination and other language experiences. (Author/MSE)

This paper reports a study in which Iranian EFL female students' think aloud protocols were analyzed to find out what knowledge sources informed them as they tried to make lexical inference when reading an English text. The study also intended to find out if students' level of their L2 proficiency would affect the pattern of their use of the…

The present study investigated the effects of deductive and inductive teaching approaches to the acquisition of pragmatic competence on learners of English as a foreign language. In this study, 60 adult native speakers of Japanese with intermediate-level proficiency in English were each randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups, which consisted of 3…

This study examined the influence of first language (L1) orthographic experiences on decoding and semantic information retention of new words in a second language (L2). Hypotheses were that congruity in L1 and L2 orthographic experiences determines L2 decoding efficiency, which, in turn, affects semantic information encoding and retention.…

This paper reviews foreign and domestic sexism research and practice in language testing and reveals that China lags behind in this sociolinguistics perspective in both theoretical study and practice. The paper indicates that sexism is represented in the listening comprehension section in National Matriculation English Test (NMET) after a case…