Identifies the language learning strategies associated with the achievement of higher levels of oral proficiency in German for 100 Irish students about to complete their second year at Dublin City University. Investigates the way in which these strategies are used by those with higher and lower levels of proficiency. (Author/VWL)

Integrative motivation was found to correlate significantly with American Sign Language (ASL) proficiency for 115 hearing faculty and staff at a postsecondary program for deaf students. Instrumental motives, however, were perceived as less important. Higher achievement in ASL was also associated with a positive cultural attitude toward deaf…

Focuses on the qualifications of an ideal candidate for an undergraduate teaching position, such as competence, including linguistic, cultural and pedagogical skills; collaboration, or the ability to cooperate effectively with students, colleagues, and people from the local community; and commitment, i.e., a dedication to serving one's…

Analyzes the effects that English proficiency has on the performance of international students in comparison with Australian students at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), concentrating particularly on overseas students studying externally and admitted under the alternative English entrance requirements. (Author/LRW)

Describes the Chinese-language program at Portland State University. Elements of this program include newspaper and classical courses; textbooks from China, Taiwan, and English-speaking countries; the use of characters on the first day; and a diverse student body. The university's goal is to make a solid Chinese education available to anyone in…

This article presents a replication of a study by Chaudron and Parker (1990) on the effect of discourse markedness and structural markedness on the development of noun phrase use. The study analyzed the language usage of 55 young adult Spanish learners of English, finding that only intermediate and high-level learners used zero anaphora. Contains…

Data from 1981, 1983, and 1991 to 1993 permit an analysis of the changes in stress, social resources, coping, mental health, employment, English proficiency, family reunification, consumer practices, and traditional and Canadian customs over the first decade of resettlement for Southeast Asian refugees in Canada. (SLD)

Presents an approach to developing a grammatical scope and sequence for elementary and intermediate foreign-language instruction that is different from the standard model, which bases the grammatical syllabus of a textbook on tradition, intuition, or both. The article argues that different descriptions of grammar are needed for each of the skills…

Uses structural equation modelling to examine the relationship between learning strategy use and second-language test performance (SLTP) in 1,382 high- and low-ability test takers. Results showed metacognitive strategy use and SLTP models produced similar factorial structures for each group; cognitive strategy use models differed. This suggests…

Examines two teachers' approaches to the management of writing workshops for English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language students in an English proficiency course. Discusses the different approaches the teachers use and how these different approaches affect the interactions between teachers and students that take place in these workshops. (Author/VWL)

Reports on the development of a learning package for a newly introduced test in Hong Kong, the Graduating Students' Language Proficiency Assessment (GSLPA)-English. Examines reactions of teachers and students to the learning package during piloting of the materials. (Author/VWL)

Investigated diversity in English-language competence of first-year students at an Australian university and the impact of language diversity and English-language competence on academic performance. Found that 76 percent of diverse students, compared to 20 percent of local Australian students, had English-language difficulties. When language…

Examines the role of American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) guidelines in language proficiency testing, focusing on Japanese language instruction and discussing how effective that system is in relation to university classroom instruction. Two main issues are addressed: viewing ACTFL Proficiency Tests as having the…

How second language development is assessed has been a question among English as a Second Language (ESL) faculty, since it has previously focused primarily on oral, rather than writing, development. Oral interviews and writing were compared for errors and syntactic maturity to see if any differences could be determined over a two-year period.…

This article reports on the gains that may be obtained from the use of computers to develop language skills in students of English as a foreign language. Advantages and disadvantages of using computers to teach English are presented. A set of guidelines for using computers are suggested, and two related issues in using computers in instruction are…