Reports on a study of adult learners' use of the simple past tense that showed that past tense acquisition occurs in stages determined by the lexical aspects of verbs. The article also describes a pedagogical approach for increasing accurate past tense use through contextualized examples in authentic texts and focused noticing exercises. (Contains…

Discusses language policy in Quebec, reviewing the rise of French as the dominant language in the province, the maintenance and promotion of heritage languages and cultures in public and private schools, and three initiatives to promote second-language study (parent-child classes for immigrants, French language courses for adults, and school…

Discusses the importance of linguistic accuracy in proficiency-orientated foreign language programs, focusing on the experiences of college students in a summer intensive Chinese program. Linguistic inaccuracy is often the result of teachers focusing on form and meaning at the same time, fossilization, overuse of communicative strategies, lack of…

Presents a vision for change in foreign language education. Topics include U.S. national interest, views of prominent politicians, role of the intellectual community, curriculum content, global outlook, cooperation among universities and elementary and secondary schools, and changing technology. A response to this overview is presented. (12…

Discusses the revision of the master's degree in the International and Overseas Teaching and Administration (English-as-a-Second-Language track) program at Trenton State College in New Jersey to include a more holistic, rather than test-based, evaluation of students' work. The revised program included action research projects, videotaped…

Examines an interlingual subtitling course for Welsh-English transfer designed to provide professional capability and developed over 10 delivery cycles. Analysis of student performance on course indicates the need for regular practice to maintain capability and the possibility of developing an individual style. (14 references) (Author/CK)

Examined the reactions of 60 Taiwanese graduate students studying English as a Second Language in a business writing course to traditional and communicative language teaching (CLT) activities. Most students favored a combination of traditional, grammar-based instruction and CLT, although many questioned the value of peer editing and student…

Faculty were asked to rate 24 sentences containing errors commonly committed by nonnative speaker (NNS) writers on 6-point scale of tolerance. Results generally suggested that faculty were more tolerant of NNS errors than of errors perceived to have been made by native speakers (NS), suggesting that NNS students may not be held to the same…

Reports on a 3-year study of approximately 100 students through grades 4, 5, and 6 on the impact of a variety of second-language learning options among English-speaking children in francophone Canada. Finds that those options that use early, French-only environments were most effective. (CFR)

Because use of computers in second-language classrooms may tend to decrease interpersonal interaction, and therefore communication, ways to promote interaction are offered. These include small group computer projects, and suggestions are made for use with various computer functions and features: tutorials, word processing, voice recording,…

A study was conducted to identify appropriate standardized tests of English second-language proficiency among foreign high school students after a three-month stay, for use in a battery of tests to determine achievement gains. Identification of three potential tests and further considerations in selecting the appropriate test are reported here.…

Describes how instructional television and other existing videos can be repurposed to develop theory-based interactive videodiscs. Barriers to videodisc use in education are discussed; and two models are described that integrate curriculum theory and cognitive learning theory in the creation of social studies and foreign language curriculum…

Measurement of quality of phonological input of 20 Saudi Arabian teachers of English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) indicated teachers trained in English-as-a-Second-Language environment showed far fewer incidences and types of phonological error than those trained in EFL environment. Little difference was found among teachers who taught in…

A study investigated the communicative competencies required in English as a Second Language (ESL) by 200 business and accounting students at Nanyang Technological Institute (Singapore) and explored a communicatively based ESL curriculum design. Student attitudes about the current linguistically based ESL program were also examined. Results are…

Presents a whole language model for teaching social studies that is helpful to students learning English-as-a-Second-Language. Outlines whole-language principles, and provides a lesson plan that incorporates these principles. Points out that such principles draw upon student experiences. (NL)