School radio is useful if it has motivating power and can be understood and acted out by the students. The series "English for Juniors" is recommended as an example. Methodological points for the teaching of weaker students are presented. (IFS/WGA)

Answering critics of language laboratory effectiveness, this article presents a methodology for laboratory work which includes working in partnership. Necessary technical equipment is described. Learning goals are proposed, and possible further developments in the method are suggested. (IFS/WGA)

Provides a model for teaching listening comprehension through the use of soap operas. (AM)

Describes the use of the "micrologue," a brief narrative on cultural topics, to develop linguistic and cultural skills in the language classroom. (AM)

Uses of shortwave radio in the language classroom are discussed. Benefits are increased language skills and familiarity with the target language and country. Problems of transmission and reception are discussed; obtaining a license is explained. Advice is given on purchasing a radio set. (CHK)

The use of shortwave radio in the French class is discussed. Programing, receiving equipment, problems and suggestions for improving students' skills are described. (CHK)

Argues that presentations in second language conferences should not be read because written discourse is too difficult for the audience to understand, whereas spoken discourse normally has a great deal of repetition to ensure that the main points are successfully transferred. Points out that read presentations are dull and inflexible, difficult to…

Focuses on the form of the input for English for academic purposes listening tests. Reports on the development of a test in two audiotaped versions: a scripted monologue and an unscripted discussion of the same topic by three speakers. (Author/VWL)

Demonstrates that cues play a significant role in second language listening comprehension and provides additional empirical support for their beneficial effect. Found that the absence of cues appeared to contribute significantly to the miscomprehension of information in a lecture. (Author/VWL)

Investigated the role of higher-level syntactic and semantic processes and lower-level word recognition and graphophonic processes in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) reading comprehension. Particular focus wa on the extent to which these processes can discriminate skilled from less-skilled readers in a sample of fairly advanced ESL…

Investigates the impact of the World Wide Web instructional medium on second language comprehension during independent reading. Results of the study suggest that when teaching content through self-directed reading, the web medium can evoke better reading comprehension than the traditional print medium. (Author/VWL)

Points out reading/comprehension strategies applied by higher education first-year students during their daily learning academic tasks and their major difficulties in the field. Research consists of a measuring frequency Likert scale questionnaire completed by 1,000 students from four of the main Portuguese state universities from science and…

Presents a study designed to measure to what extent secondary school students' ability to guess the meanings of words in isolation is related to guessing words in context. Finds similarities between strategies used in isolated and contextual situations, but the students also made effective use of context. (MG)

A study examining native Spanish-speaking college students' comprehension of Portuguese, and Portuguese-speaking students' comprehension of Spanish found that the two languages were mutually intelligible at a 50 to 60 percent level. Portuguese speakers tended to understand Spanish better than Spanish speakers understood Portuguese. (CB)

Reports on part of a project that was investigating the reading requirements of second-language students beginning the study of a new subject. It is suggested that such students may have problems achieving full comprehension because of a lack of an appropriate schema for approaching the textbook. (19 references) (JL)