In face-to-face teaching, the educator is able to directly mediate learning and gauge the level of the learners' English proficiency. Teleteaching makes this virtually impossible, as learners are invisible and thus immediate intervention in learning or estimations of proficiency are much more difficult to achieve. TELETUKS Schools 1--a community…

Second-language acquisition theorists caution educators that higher second-language competency skills can take anywhere from five to eight years to attain realistically for any individual acquiring competency in a second language. There are many other variables like age of arrival in the United States and standard of education from home country…

There is a growing volume of research on task-based language use; however, the nature of "task proficiency" has not yet been clearly defined. In order to gain new insights, this study examines the relationship between the process of communication in an L2 and a task outcome by analysing lexical density, as obtained from the pattern of a…

The study examined deaf clients' perceptions of counseling expertise as a function of several counseling variables: counselor's signing skill, gender, and therapy type. Twenty undergraduate students at a special college for the deaf who were enrolled in either counseling courses or psychology courses viewed 4 video clips reflecting a mock…

With President George W. Bush's unprecedented call in January 2006 to expand the foreign language capacity of the United States, it has become clear that languages other than English (LOE) are of great interest to public policy in the United States. Yet the language capacity of the United States remains poorly documented. The 2000 General Social…

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is an aptitude test, thought to reflect intelligence or the capacity to learn (Larsen & Buss, 2003). It is a standardized admission exam designed to predict performance in graduate school through verbal, quantitative, and analytical reasoning questions. The GRE Board encourages graduate schools,…

A structural equation model of second language (L2; English) reading comprehension was tested on a sample of 135 Spanish-speaking 4th-grade English-language learners (ELLs). The model included 2 levels: decoding and oral language. English decoding measures included alphabetic knowledge and fluency. English oral language measures included…

This paper treats methodological issues involved in assessing linguistic competence in the field, specifically in bilingual fieldwork situations. First, the various means of assessment of linguistic competence that have been described and/or used are listed and commented on. Then the authors explain the choice of assessment methods for fieldwork…

Bilingual speakers report experiencing stronger emotions when speaking and hearing their first language compared to their second. Does this occur even when a second language is learned early and becomes the dominant language? Spanish-English bilinguals who had grown up in the USA (early learners) or those who were first exposed to English during…

Every year, thousands of students worldwide leave home for the purpose of participating in an educational experience in a different country. Israel is one of the many destinations offering study abroad programs. Yet, being a Jewish country and a homeland for the Jewish Diaspora (Jewish communities outside Israel), Israel constitutes a unique study…

This paper develops a scalar or quantitative measure of the "distance" between English and a myriad of other (non-native American) languages. This measure is based on the difficulty Americans have learning other languages. The linguistic distance measure is then used in an analysis of the determinants of English language proficiency…

In this selective look at research on test-taking strategies over the last 25 years, brief mention is made of the beginnings of test-taker strategy research, and then important developments in its evolution to the present are discussed, focusing on conceptual frameworks for classifying strategies, first and second language-related strategies,…

This study represents a first effort to identify sociocultural background variables that predict the successful mastery of a heritage language by adult learners. While there are well-documented sociocultural models for other second language learners, thus far there are no similar published models for heritage language learners. We focused on…

English is hot in many foreign language schools abroad, and as the trend accelerates, so too has debate over the value of English in a global society. English-only countries steadfastly cling to their strong historical connection to imperialism, and monolingualism at the risk of losing their share of the world marketplace. While advocates of…

This study explored a holistic model of English reading comprehension among a sample of 135 Spanish-English bilingual Latina and Latino 4th-grade students This model took into account Spanish language reading skills and language of initial literacy instruction. Controlling for language of instruction, English decoding skill, and English oral…