Proposes the use of stenography in the foreign language classroom to improve speaking ability. (AM)

In this program English is taught as a second language, so that Puerto Ricans can meet the necessary language requirements for career development while maintaining their cultural integrity. (BH)

Reviews recent research into the qualitative and quantitative aspects of fluency to more clearly define the word as a performance descriptor for oral assessment of foreign language learners and as an indicator of progress in language learning. The concept of fluency is confused and multilayered when used in the assessment of oral performance. (22…

Surveys the growing body of research on formulaic language units--or ready-made chunks and sequences of words. Evidence suggests that these multi-word lexical units facilitate long-term memory storage and fluent language production. Examines formulaic language acquisition in children and adults and discusses applications for teaching. (Author/VWL)

Critiques a previously published article about the automatization of fluency within a communicative framework, and questions aspects of language learning principles cited by the authors. In response, the authors define automaticity and creativity and discuss other issues to clarify their principles. (CB)

Examined whether second language (L2) utterance durations increase as age of learning increases. Fluently produced English sentences spoken by 240 native speakers of both Italian and Korean were examined. Results give preliminary support for the proposal that the more established the first language during exposure to the second language, the more…

Reports on a study that investigated the effect of different amounts of planning time on the speech performance of second-language speakers. Subjects were four groups of learners of German performing two tasks each. The study employed various general and specific constructs for measuring fluency, complexity, and accuracy of speech; the…

Explores the role of lexical phrases in language teaching. Lexical phrases are an important feature in language use and language acquisition and offer advantages for language teaching. (Author/VWL)

Previous research has shown that studying orientations are important factors in determining academic performance. The main purpose of this study was to investigate how Greek students' approaches to studying in combination with gender, academic discipline, and professional degree in English affect performance on verbal fluency tasks in English as a…

This paper is an ethnographic record of an ongoing journey during which I have tried to understand the kinds of language ideologies that my students and I have constructed about the Korean language. My students are mainly Korean-American university students who have never successfully achieved native fluency in their heritage language, although…

This article discusses the reality and benefits of language study programs in the Soviet Union for American students as compared to the expectations of teachers and students. Specific problems concern the areas of phonetics, grammar and conversation. (CLK)

Discusses the development of the ability to speak independently through the use of exercises which progress gradually from direct external guidance through indirect external guidance to self-directed utterance. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Article evaluated the need for foreign students to understand Dutch in order to study in the Netherlands as well as to exist socially. (RK)

Examines the validity of picture-type parallel tests of aural ability as a measure of aural language dominance for bilingual students. Relationship with various criterion measures is explored, as is relationship to length of residence in continental United States. Results suggest that such testing is a promising technique. (Author/HMV)