Describes the Intensive English Language Testing System test, which is used to assess whether nonnative candidates are ready to study or train in the medium of English. (Author/VWL)

Describes an activity, the "coat of arms," that can serve as an ice-breaker or warm-up for the first day of an English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language class, as a motivating start to the week, or act as an innovative segue between skill lessons. The technique can be adapted for students ranging from elementary school to adult language learners of all…

Describes the incorporation of service learning in a sheltered content course for Japanese sophomores studying in the United States. Service learning holds promise for furthering cognitive knowledge, cross cultural awareness, and language competencies. After profiling the academic program, a definition of service learning is provided with a review…

Examined the language production of English-as-a-Second-Language learners at four proficiency levels to determine the extent to which they spontaneously attended to form when interacting with others. The degree and type of learner-generated attention to form was related to proficiency level and the nature of the activity. Learners overwhelmingly…

Eighty bilingual Hispanic college students evaluated their own Spanish and English language skills before and after administration of the Woodcock-Munoz Language Survey, which provided an objective measure of these skills. Self-assessments were more accurate for Spanish than for English. Contains 37 references. (Author/SV)

Expands prior descriptions of expatriate-local personnel communication patterns by reconfiguring and adding new zones. Presents eight new communication zones in a comprehensive framework that represents the dynamic, bi-directional, multiply influenced, and transformational translation process integral to international business communication.…

In a study of teenage learners of French, the aspect of teachers' language that was found to be most responsive to the ability of their students was lexical diversity. Focuses on this finding using a new measure. (Author/VWL)

Illustrates some of the issues that have arisen in the implementation of outcomes-based systems of assessment and reporting. Two examples from school and adult immigrant education in Australia are provided that demonstrate some of the political and technical problems involved in implementation in both high- and low-stakes contexts. Outlines ways…

This study examined the effectiveness of a transitional Spanish-English bilingual program, Academic Language Acquisition (ALA), in enhancing K-5 students' English-language proficiency, as well as their English performance in academic subject areas, in comparison with the Structured English Immersion (SEI) process. An existing reading program,…

This study provides descriptive data on first-grade reading proficiency of English learners in multiple-language settings. Using curriculum-based measurement of reading (CBM-R) to measure oral reading fluency (ORF) and a nonsense word-reading fluency (NWF) measure, weekly scores during the final 6 weeks of the first-grade school year indicated…

Early diagnosis of selective mutism (SM) is an important concern. SM prevalence is higher than initially thought and at least three times higher in immigrant language minority children. Although the DSM-IV precludes diagnosing SM in immigrant children with limited language proficiency (as children acquiring a second language may normally undergo a…

This study aimed to develop, pilot, and validate an aptitude test for Hungarian learners of English. A literature review on the construct and tests of aptitude is followed by two parts: a pilot phase on the development of a new aptitude test and a main study involving 419 12-year-old children in 10 schools. Data were collected on the aptitude…

Studies on brains of individuals with an exceptional mental capacity are of widespread interest. Here, we analyze the cytoarchitecture of areas 44 and 45 (anatomical correlates of Broca's speech region) of a person with a documented extraordinary competence in language performance (Emil Krebs, E.K.), and compared it with 11 control brains.…

This paper reviews briefly the close relationship that foreign language research has sustained with social and political power since the emergence of applied linguistics as a field of scientific inquiry and, more recently, with the demands of economic competitiveness and national security. It examines two debates that capture well the conflicting…

This paper reports our findings and observations on the difficulties of university students learning Greek as a foreign language at the University of Thessaly. A group of medical students, whose native language was Arabic, answered two questionnaires concerning their use of and competence in Greek. The results showed that first and second year…