Compares English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and foreign-language instruction in terms of the context of learning and course goals. Considers the differences in the backgrounds, attitudes, motivations, sociocultural characteristics, personality factors, and learning styles of ESL and foreign-language students. (GFW)

This article examines instances of "para-poetic" writing produced by beginning and intermediate learners of English as a Second Language. It is suggested that the instructor or reader look beyond the conventional grammar and usage rules to appreciate the imagery of unusual juxtaposition of words and phrases in student work. Provides examples of…

Four activities for classroom French instruction are described: a board game for children's vocabulary development; a sentence and dialogue construction exercise using comic strips (existing or student-made); a discussion of the treatment of the notion of "event" in different journalistic contexts; and an exercise in debating skills and language.…

Presents a cross-cultural training program at California State University (Northridge), in which U.S. student teachers live with Mexican families in Ensenada, Mexico; teach English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) to Mexican high school students; and learn about Mexican school system. Argues that experience awakens students to Mexico's cultural…

A description of the French language training program used in Canada's Public Service Commission outlines its two components, a core course for lower levels and an independent study package, and other program aspects, including program characteristics, application of the communicative approach, notions as organizing principles, methodology, tests,…

A survey indicates that student complaints led legislators in 20 states to mandate that higher education institutions develop policies on oral English proficiency of instructors, including language certification for international teaching assistants. Many institutions responded with policies requiring formal language testing and remedial…

Describes the role of technology in teaching foreign languages. Offers a brief history of language lab technologies, including computer use for drill-and-practice, text reconstruction, and simulations and games. Discusses tool programs, intelligent systems, video technology, satellite television, videodisc and interactive video, hypertext and…

Summarizes presentations at an international symposium on "Autonomy and Foreign Language Learning." Topics include the good language learner; experiments in learner autonomy; individualized learning in Italian universities; adult language learning; learner autonomy in the classroom; cultural variation in learning styles; use of…

Examines secondary-level Spanish speakers' linguistic needs, highlighting foreign-language teachers' roles. The article outlines a model of acquisition that integrates student development in Spanish with acquisition of English, reviews theories of instruction, describes exemplary programs, discusses unique assessment needs, and analyzes the…

Describes the movement toward integrating the instruction of English as a Second Language (ESL) into mainstream education in Australia. Challenges of mainstreaming for teachers, students, and policymakers are described. ESL learners must have a carefully integrated program of language-conscious teaching and content-based language instruction. (SLD)

Australia's Griffith University introduced computer assisted language learning (CALL) to existing language curricula in the Department of Asian and International Studies, offering professional development to support the faculty. Evaluation of faculty and student attitudes and program outcomes indicated that with appropriate support, CALL had a…

Examines how college-level intermediate English-as-a-Second-Language students modify interaction when engaged in small-group versus pair work, and whether task type (optional versus required information exchange) affects amount of language and interaction individual students produce. Results suggest "negotiation of meaning" is not a…

A colleague interviews linguist Ann Johns concerning her interests and work in the field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), her teaching career, development of several new university programs that bring ESP perspectives to bear in other disciplines, the evolution of ESP as a discipline over several decades, and a new publication. (MSE)

Describes a team teaching program for first-year French and Spanish courses at the Plattsburgh State University of New York. Goals were to (1) facilitate pedagogical cooperation between college foreign language and literature faculty and local middle and high school students; (2) improve articulation between secondary and postsecondary foreign…

Describes an approach to needs and syllabus design that is illustrated by way of pedagogic elements comprising the learning environment of second-year Japanese college students, doctors in training, who read, discuss, and write in response to medical case studies accessed and mediated through the Internet. (Author/VWL)