Investigated the probable effect of different contexts on learning idioms, as well as the interaction between learning idioms in different contexts and English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) learners' language proficiency. Findings revealed that different contexts and proficiency levels had significant effects on EFL learners' acquisition of idioms;…

Describes a new model for teaching academic English-as-a-Second-Language/Foreign-Language reading. The model emphasizes considering texts, function, meaningfulness, and rhetoric, rather than sentence, form, grammaticality, and logic, as expressed by systemics. (Author/VWL)

Describes the development of an instrument for assessing the writing development of students in an English-medium university in Japan. Discusses the process of selecting a language proficiency framework suitable for the 4-year degree. The Canadian language Benchmarks were chosen and subsequently formed the basis for the development of the rating…

A survey of first-year and final-year management students (n=104) and 17 tourism employers revealed differences in the perceptions of the two groups regarding the role of foreign language skills. Results raised concerns in light of the demand for multilingual tourism staff. (Contains 24 references.) (JOW)

Argues that the assessment of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students ought to be determined by ESL faculty prepared to take into account their special needs and that ESL students should "ultimately" be held to the same standards as all other students. The article emphasizes that good assessment will give an accounting of strengths and…

Discusses a computer-assisted language learning model developed by the Didascalia center designed to comply with as many Belgian criteria as possible and based on contents and events in an object-oriented approach. Describes how the didacteme as basic object can enhance learner-content interaction and how this approach can lead to a new platform…

Overviews ethical issues in applied linguistics presented in this special issue. The review discusses the articles' contributions within the broader contexts of the discipline and beyond the concerns of ethnocentric and Western contexts. The article argues that the issues raised are crucial to understanding functional approaches to linguistics and…

Examines second language students' perceptions of grammar instruction, with specific reference to writing skill. Discusses issues involved in defining a role for grammar study and presents excerpts from student essays and explanations of classroom lessons. Results indicate that the instruction provided helped to improve students' ability to use…

Replicates prior research into the determinants of English language proficiency among immigrants using a dataset that controls for potential biases stemming from selective emigration, omitted variables, and the mismeasurement of key constructs. It finds that English proficiency rises with exposure to U.S. society and that a pattern exists in…

Describes diverse aspects of the speaking proficiency of novice-low to novice-mid level foreign language in the elementary school students and to identify the syntactic knowledge underlying such behavior. Data were collected from students who had been studying Japanese continually for 6 and 7 years on a variety of oral production tasks.…

Explores psycholinguistic processes underlying second language (L2) self-repair behavior by means of analyzing the timing of various types of self-corrections found in the speech of 30 Hungarian speakers of English at three proficiency levels. Discusses relevance of timing data for existing models of speech monitoring and examines how level of…

Examines the relation between background knowledge and second language (L2) proficiency in L2 reading performance in two groups of university learners of English, one from mainland China and one from Hong Kong. Results show a strong cultural effect on reading comprehension, but not on post-intermediate readers. Findings have implications for…

A protocol analysis of second language (L2) writing of adult speakers of Japanese, English, and Spanish observed how language switching (first language (L1) switching use in L2 writing) was affected by L2 proficiency, task difficulty, and language group. Less proficient L2 learners switched to their L1 more frequently than more advanced learners,…

An ethnographic study examined the language development and cultural and academic adjustment of a student in her first semester of a year-long program in Mexico. Data reveal that the most dramatic change in her proficiency came about as she learned the rules, both societal and academic, that allowed her to function within the culture and that…

A three-year Florida project to develop subject area certification examinations in foreign languages is reported. The project was carried out by teachers at each stage: research, writing, validation, pilot-testing, editing, and scoring. The teacher-developed certification test development project is seen as a model for other states. (four…