Summarizes an interactive computer-based reading program developed to enhance the linguistic proficiency of intermediate language students and increase their awareness of Francophone cultures. The article describes the program's glossing capabilities and its tracking device and summarizes the pilot research that preceded the program. (38…

Suggests an evaluation framework for language teachers' inservice courses regarding the degree to which they offer participants the opportunity to become more open to "otherness." The article describes training courses in five European countries and examines how they typically bring participants into contact with natives of another…

Lists doctoral degrees granted in the United States in African languages and literatures; Celtic languages and literatures; comparative literature; foreign-/second-language acquisition and teaching; French, Germanic, and Italian languages and literatures; theoretical linguistics; Near and Middle Eastern languages and literatures; and Portuguese,…

Examined secondary school teachers' (n=6) beliefs about effective second-language reading instruction. All teachers believed reading proficiency is facilitated by providing students with frequent opportunities for reading practice, use of the target language is preferable for reading instruction, and oral reading interferes with comprehension, but…

The relationship between teachers' perceptions of students' foreign-language (FL) academic skills and affective characteristics and their performance on tests of native language skill and FL aptitude was examined. Comparisons of final grades and teachers' perceptions by skill level groups found significant overall effects when grouping students by…

Reviews the challenges and benefits of using multimedia instructional technology to teach intermediate business Spanish at Thunderbird American Graduate School of International Management (Arizona). Challenges were technical and administrative support requirements, technical training needs, and locating quality materials. Benefits included learner…

Focuses on how the foreign language instructors' understanding of the historical development of forms and systematic language patterns enhances classroom presentations by transforming lists of irregularities and exceptions into coherent groups of related elements. Discusses examples of structures traditionally presented in lists or tables and…

Presents the results of an April 1996 survey on articulation between and among Japanese programs. Attempts to offer commentary about articulation from the perspective of Japanese and about the results of the survey, and to tie these results to more general issues. Suggests that articulation is an ongoing problem for virtually all language…

Highlights the importance of the dynamics of the learner group in shaping the second language (L2) learning process, and overviews the most relevant aspects of classroom dynamics. Argues that group characteristics and processes affect any success or failure in the L2 classroom and that teachers could benefit from an awareness of the principles of…

Explores the issue of international students' sense of personal identity in relation to postgraduate argument texts and examines research students' own perceptions about their writing experience in the English language. Argues that the associations these students make between their self-concepts as learners and their English language texts have…

Examined open-ended production tasks in higher level testing in French-as-a-second-language courses in the United Kingdom. The article studied the effect of teachers' linguistic background, training, experience, and ability on their marking of students' oral language tests; the reliability of marking criteria; and the validity of assessing…

Analyzes the computer program, "Question Mark," produced in England and designed to be a testing tool for large second-language classes. Using this tool, it is possible to create and edit up to 500 questions using any one of 8 different question types. The program also can provide a running score for students using it. Notes that student…

Investigated the effect of grammatical and discourse features on rater perceptions of writing quality in evaluating foreign language writing samples. Also investigated differences in rating profiles between native and nonnative speaking raters. (Author/VWL)

Uses a detailed qualitative case study to explore the implementation of task-based teaching in three primary school classrooms in Hong Kong. Reviews six issues that were found to impact how teachers approached the implementation of communicative tasks in their classroom. Themes addressed are teacher beliefs, teacher understandings, the syllabus…

Offers communicative activities designed to enhance the cross-cultural awareness of Japanese university students whose language levels range from beginner to intermediate. The activities range from student-generated interviews of a guest speaker and e-mail exchanges with target language speakers to a mini-video ethnography project that focuses on…