To investigate differences in achievement in foreign language listening comprehension, 61 students in a Foreign Language in an Elementary School (FLES) program were studied during instruction using video clips from authentic Chinese TV broadcasts in two advance organizer conditions. The first type of advance organizer consisted of written words…

With the growing acknowledgement of the importance of pragmatic competence in second language (L2) learning, language researchers have identified the comprehension of speech acts as they occur in natural conversation as essential to communicative competence (e.g. Bardovi-Harlig, 2001; Thomas, 1983). Nonconventional indirect speech acts are formed…

This study investigates advanced Japanese language learners' abilities to infer unknown "kanji" (Chinese character )words while reading authentic Japanese texts. Data obtained from 42 English L1 students indicate that, first, although they can guess the meanings of unknown "kanji" words in context, they frequently make erroneous guesses or fail to…

Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data, the authors focused on the relation between pre-school classroom experiences and the development of later comprehension skills in ethnic minority children whose first language is different from the language they learn in (pre-)school. In Study 1, the relation between pre-school playgroup…

This study explores the role of culturally familiar background knowledge in inferential and literal comprehension in L2 reading. Ninety-eight Turkish EFL (English as a Foreign Language) university students were divided into two groups of equivalent English proficiency. They read either the original of an American short story or a "nativized"…

"Research in the Teaching of English" (RTE) is the flagship research journal of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) in the United States. It is a broad-based, multidisciplinary journal composed of original research articles and short scholarly essays on a wide range of topics significant to those concerned with the…

The current study examined the effects of Korean elementary school teachers' accents on their students' listening comprehension. It also examined students' attitudes toward teachers with American-accented English (a native speaker model) and Korean-accented English (a nonnative speaker model). A matched-guised technique was used. A Korean American…

Testing English listening skills involves a variety of skills. Sounds are sometimes difficult to discriminate in a language that is not one's native tongue, so testing phoneme discrimination, the ability to tell the difference between sounds, is important. Picture choice items are a good way to select among alternatives to demonstrate…

The research project reported in this paper had two aims: to demonstrate what standard multiple-choice questions and two new varieties (multiple-choice cloze and guided summary test and to assess whether the new formats test the same skills. To find out what the various question formats test, the study looked at a battery of tests, each of which…

A two-year study is reported of the transfer of two literacy skills, narrative comprehension and learning from text, from elementary school children's first language (Spanish) to their second (English). For each skill, the primary research question was the degree to which the students' first language (L1) performance was predictive of their second…

When English is taught as a second language in grade 4 in Israeli schools, the emphasis is on listening and speaking. Efforts are made to include varied and interesting activities using games, songs, plays, and records. (Available from English Inspectorate, Ministry of Education and Culture, P. O. Box 292, Jerusalem, Israel.) (CHK)

Exercises are linguistically or content-oriented. There are three levels of silent reading: orienting, cursory and total. In designing exercises, emphasis should be placed on cursory reading. (Beginners have to concentrate on "total" reading.) Hints are given in acquiring skill in summarizing and excerpting. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

This article proposes a method for teaching quick and accurate reading in English to French university students majoring in fields other than language. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

A discussion of schema theory as it relates to the learning of English as a Second Language reviews related research and its implications for classroom instruction. The first section looks at schema theory in general and content schemata in particular, focusing on how they affect reading comprehension. Studies of non-native speakers, schema…

The rationale and methodology for using videotape recordings to test foreign language listening comprehension are discussed. First, the advantages of using video in teaching and testing listening comprehension are examined and the specific listening skills to be developed at the beginning level are outlined. Issues in the selection of video…