Discusses the relationship between universal grammar and second language (L2) acquisition. Explores the phenomenon by testing children of contrasting first languages to see whether null-prep is a general acquisition phenomenon among L2 learners of English, and whether child learners, in contrast to adults, produce null-prep because of first…

Discusses a language classroom that helps develop a vision for expanding intelligent behavior and reinventing language learning. The article encourages using the seven intelligences--verbal, musical, logical, spatial, kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal--in problem situations and focusing on the varied approach to learning fostered by…

Investigated linguistic and affective outcomes of summer study abroad participation by 25 college French students. Sought to determine if significant changes occurred in two linguistic factors--oral and listening French skills--and two affective factors--integrative motivation and language anxiety after study abroad. (Author/VWL)

Discuses the use of micro stories--shorter short stories--in the Spanish language classroom. Highlights the use of one micro story--Monterrosos'"El dinasauro"--as a point of departure for teaching literary reading skill to intermediate college and secondary level students. (Author/VWL)

Argues that learner attitudes and motivation are equally important for the improvement of students' proficiency in a second language. Used pre- and post-test results in the Use of English course at a university in Nigeria. (Author/VWL)

Presents findings of an intervention designed to examine the effects of affective strategy instruction on measures of second language (L2) proficiency and self-efficacy. One group of adult English-as-a-Second-Language learners received affective strategy training; a second served as a comparison group. Data from self-report questionnaires and…

Examines synchronous computer-mediated communication used in a university environment. Compared the level of participation among students and contrasted their written German chatroom discourse with their oral discourse produced in small face-to-face discussion groups. (Author/VWL)

A teacher reflects on experiences teaching an online master's in ESOL program, offering insights about how the mode made her teach in less traditional ways, deal with more probing questions, and reconceptualize the roles of formal and informal text. (Author/VWL)

Examines how social, cultural, and institutional affordances and constraints in a telecollaborative foreign language learning partnership shape the agency of online teachers. Details how various aspects of school and schooling impact the negotiation, execution and management of a German-American virtual course from the perspectives of the…

Provides information on how to spot the kinds of errors that occur in student compositions as the result of word-for-word translations from on-line translation programs such as "Babelfish." Provides a brief history of such programs, explains how they function, and offers solutions to this problem facing foreign language teachers. (Author/VWL)

Examines lexical interference from the perspective of language proficiency in a study of Iranian English-as-a-Foreign-Language learners. Subjects were given two tests--a proficiency test and a test on similar lexical forms--to investigate whether there is any relationship between the two variables in question. Results indicate that there is a…

Describes a study of the listening comprehension of first-year, nonnative English speakers in a large North American university that sought to find out how students--all economics majors--were coping with listening to economics lectures and to try an experiment in mentoring by linking them with a lecture buddy. The mentoring project was found to…

Drawing on activity theory and the construct of investment, explores how three francophone college d'enseignement general et profesionnel (CEGEP) variously invested in a task that involved producing short documentary-style videos in English. case study data included interviews without he student and teacher and student work portfolios. suggests…

Compares the lexical environment of secondary school English language classrooms in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Teacher output for one week of first-form lessons was recorded in two representative schools. Lexical richness in terms of type-token ratio and word-type frequency was measured, the words that were explicitly taught were identified and…

Discusses the creation of a reading niche for second-language learners to motivate their development as independent readers, emphasizing that book selection for this niche should cater to student interests and that informal discussion of the books' subject matter should take place. (six references) (CK)