Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) is a global phenomenon that represents one of the greatest advances for autonomous language learning outside the classroom in the past few decades. The power of IDLE lies in its capacity to compensate for inherent problems in language learning in classrooms, due to the "authenticity" of input…

The research findings reported on here confirm the facilitative role of pre-task planning on fluency and of online task planning on accuracy of speech. This quasi-experimental research was conducted to examine whether learners could be trained to attend to the fluency of their speech while planning online and whether such training might compensate…

Although a number of studies have reported on the positive effects of Internet chats in the second language classroom, to the best of my knowledge no studies to date have examined the effect of text-based chats on oral fluency development. This exploratory study addressed the above question by examining the oral fluency development of 34 English…

No empirical studies exist comparing the effectiveness of the two prevalent foreign language methodologies, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS), at helping students achieve second language acquisition. In turn, the purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to…

This paper describes two Internet-based French language courses that help students acquire fluency in a nontraditional format. The Annenberg/CPB Project's "French in Action Online" was originally offered as a free online adjunct to a television course. The Coastline Community College's French 186AB French Topics Online is a stand-alone…

This booklet explains that teachers need to upgrade the strategies they use to help students who are learning English as a Second Language (ESL), describing several strategies that have been derived from advances in bilingual education and ESL research during the last 20 years. The introduction explains first language acquisition. The next section…

This article will provide an overview of computers; an overview of the history of CALL, its pros and cons, the internet, World Wide Web, Multimedia, and research related to the uses of computers in the language classroom. Also, it also aims to provide some background for the beginners on using the Internet in language classes today. It discusses…

The collection of essays on the politics of adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction includes: "The Politics of Adult ESL literacy: Becoming Politically Visible" (Pamela Ferguson); "Learning To Be Legal: Unintended Meanings for Adult Schools" (Pia Moriarty); "The Relationship Between Knowing Our Students' Real…

These conference proceedings address the following six topics: (1) "Change and the Future" (e.g., English language education in Japan, sociolinguistics in Hong Kong, and Esperanto); (2) "Children and Language Education" (e.g. a short-term language immersion case study, virtual classrooms for bilingual students, and the role of…

This document consists of the six issues of "ESL Magazine" published during 1998. This journal for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) professionals includes the following articles during this period: "The Internet in the Classroom" (Christine Meloni); "Trippingly on the Tongue: Putting Serious, Speech/Pronunciation…