This encyclopedia of language teaching and learning is an authoritative handbook dealing with all aspects of this field of study. It has been produced specifically for language teaching professionals, but can also be used as a general reference work for academic studies at a postgraduate level. A comprehensive range of articles on contemporary…

Discusses the types of materials that should be used in the foreign language classroom to teach students how to communicate in real-life situations. These materials are called "communication tasks." (CFM)

Step-by-step instructions for bringing the French minitel telecommunications system into the language classroom as part of a larger telecommunications center project are outlined. Information sources for such a project, budget, timeline, a classroom lesson sample integrating French and science, and a list of useful addresses are provided. (MSE)

The Internet can provide very useful tools and resources for learners of English as a foreign language. In this study, those tools and resources, various Internet activities, and other related issues are introduced and discussed.(Author/VWL)

Discusses how English-as-a-Foreign-Language instruction in China is carried out through the grammar translation method. Suggests that this method is insufficient and that language education reform is needed that focuses on teacher training, testing reform, methodology, curriculum design, and instructional materials.(Author/VWL)

Describes two World-Wide-Web-based products designed to make the Web more interactive and accessible to less technically inclined language professionals for course development. The eWeb is a set of functions that support large-group and individual synchronous/asynchronous communication and material development. HomePage Maker allows interlinking…

This study, undertaken to assess the feasibility of the integration of a multimedia learning provision into a university language curriculum, reports results from a questionnaire of 107 undergraduates' attitudes toward the use of a multimedia program. Implications are that multimedia can play a beneficial role in the curriculum and may facilitate…

There has been a significant paradigm shift in foreign language pedagogy from measuring language achievement to measuring proficiency. The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines (1986) sought to reach consensus about describing and measuring language abilities. With the widespread recognition of these Guidelines have come far-reaching changes in our…

Internet is the most important technological innovation of today, which can easily be integrated into every field of people's lives. The reason of its rapid improvement is its usefulness and easy access. Web, WWW, is a new technology which is used as a communication facilitator and it is an instructional delivery medium. It is vital to learn…

The discussion presented here is intended to clarify terminology and concepts of learning strategies and language use strategies for second languages. It first provides working definitions for these terms: language learning and use strategies; language use strategies; language performance strategies; communication strategies; cognitive strategies;…

Results of two studies of microcomputer use for second language instruction at the secondary level are reported. The investigation is based on observations made at the University of Illinois' University High School, which serves academically talented students from the surrounding area. The school's computer laboratory uses software packages for…

This book discusses how second language acquisition (SLA) research can illuminate language pedagogy, and suggests four main roles for the SLA researcher: developing relevant theories; conducting classroom research; making research accessible to teachers; and facilitating action research. The first chapter outlines a number of different…

LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION, AS DISTINGUISHED FROM LANGUAGE LEARNING, IS CONSIDERED IN THIS ARTICLE TO BE A NEW DISCIPLINE WHOSE OBJECTIVES ARE COMPETENCE IN THE TARGET LANGUAGE, CULTURAL AWARENESS, AND LITERARY ACQUAINTANCE. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THIS DISCIPLINE IN TERMS OF A PROFESSIONAL GRADUATE PROGRAM FOR LANGUAGE INSTRUCTORS IS DISCUSSED. THE…

The notion of a functional syllabus has received widespread attention in recent years, so much so that in many cases it is being used where it is not suitable. One question is to what extent the functional syllabus may provide a framework for learning language structure, as it is difficult to impose any kind of structural organization on a…

An attempt at promoting greater variety and thus better student attitudes toward open languages laboratory attendance involves a set pattern of five specific steps in the preparation of taped exercises. Three basic principles are prescribed and illustrated by examples in German, French, and English as a foreign language. (RL)