Viewing language learning as another skill acquisition process allows correction to be seen differently. An "error" occurs when knowledge is faulty, a "mistake" when only the performance is faulty. Mistakes can be corrected when (1) the student desires correction; (2) knows what is correct; (3) knows a mistake has occurred; and…

Describes the study of learning strategies employed by successful (defined in terms of oral communicative abilities) Chinese learners of English. These strategies are compared to those of less successful learners and those of other population types from other studies. The test of oral communicative abilities is described. A strategies…

Evaluation of mastery at the various stages of language acquisition is more appropriately carried out through the use of creative testing on hybrid achievement tests, which retain certain features of achievement tests and incorporate proficiency-based tasks that require authentic communicative language use. (Author/CB)

Describes processes of facilitation involved in exolingual conversation (interactions between persons who are dynamically adjusting their respective linguistic performances) between foreign language learners and native speakers, concluding that such behavior is dynamic and creative, and incapable of being described and defined within predetermined…

A study of native English-speakers' (N=36) and English-as-a-second-language students' (N=60) understanding of conjunctions while reading indicated that more advanced ESL students were more capable of inferencing or using available logical relationships than were intermediate ESL students. (Author/CB)

Gives results of a national survey of foreign language teachers, department chairpersons, and state coordinators and consultants to find out their most pressing questions about foreign language teaching and learning. Respondents' concerns included testing and evaluation, promoting interest in foreign language study, developing oral proficiency in…

Describes the development of the Secondary Level English Proficiency (SLEP) Test specifications and the performance of each item type during administration of the test in other countries. Innovative formats such as multiple-choice cloze and multiple-choice dictation are discussed and described. In addition, the findings of a validity study…

The present study examines college students' English contact, which is one of the individual difference factors in foreign language learning. Exposure to a foreign language has been emphasized as one of the crucial conditions in order to achieve proficiency in that language (Dornyei & Skehan, 2003; Freeman, 1999). On the other hand, the lack…

This digest reports on a study that examined the impact of participation in a two-way immersion program on the language and achievement outcomes of former program participants and on their current schooling path and college plans. The study explored outcomes for three groups of students: (1) Hispanic students who began the two-way program as…

This pamphlet explains the U.S. Department of Education's mission to ensure equal access to education and promote educational excellence. The Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA) provides national leadership in promoting English language proficiency…

Generally, immersion is carried out in circumstances where children who speak the majority language are taught the minority language. In this way, the security of the language learners is secured in intensive teaching. In Pietarsaari, Finland, an experiment on language immersion has been started, in which minority Finnish children with a…

The purpose of this research is to examine the detailed components of Japanese students' English speaking ability in terms of communicative competence by using an oral proficiency test based on Bachman's Communicative Language Ability model (included in an appendix). Eighty college students were tested on four tasks--speech making, visual material…

This publication is intended for parents, teachers, and anyone in the wider community who has an interest in language, language acquisition, and second language learning; bilingual and multilingual education; bilingualism; language, culture, and society; language and power; and literacy. Extensive long-term research was conducted on a number of…

A study investigated the utility of a measure for assessing the writing apprehension of Japanese students of English as a second language. The Daly-Miller questionnaire, designed to measure writing apprehension, was translated into Japanese and administered to 687 first- and second-year students of English at a Japanese junior college. Results…

This paper describes the various barriers to comprehension that learners may encounter when viewing feature films in a second language. Two clusters of interfacing factors that may contribute to comprehension hot spots emerged from a quantitative analysis of problems noted in student logbooks. One cluster had a strong acoustic basis, whereas the…