The paper considers the effects of study abroad on student second language acquisition (SLA) and suggests areas for further study. It begins with an overview of current research on study abroad, its relationship to foreign language programs, and the innovations that this growing research base holds for program development. Attention then turns to…

High dropout rates among language-minority secondary school students are one indication that many schools are failing to adequately support the needs of these students. The belief that the student dropout rate is due to a lack of proficiency in English often leads educators to overlook the economic, cultural, academic, and personal issues that…

This paper presents the various components of the cultural orientation program as it has developed at the Bilingual Educational Institute (BEI), the organization that is currently awarded the grant for RSS in the Houston area by the state of Texas. This cultural orientation program's topics include the following: employment; healthcare; community…

This paper aims to reassess conclusions drawn in 1975 about the prospects for survival of the Navajo language. A study done at that time uncovered evidence that there was increasing knowledge of English among Navajo children, although knowledge of English was highly, positively correlated to the level of isolation from Navajo speakers. As a result…

This quarterly publication is designed to share information of practical, theoretical, administrative, and general interest. It provides linguistic fieldworkers with news, reviews, announcements, and articles that will stimulate interest in linguistics and help them to stay current with the field. Articles in this volume include the following: "Is…

This report evaluates a project to provide a year-long English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) institute for 100 ESL literacy providers and instructors in Pennsylvania in order to enhance the skills of the participants in the institute. The ESL Institute provides an intensive 3-day summer workshop followed up by two 2-day workshops and a spring 2-day…

Learners of English in the United Kingdom find that the language they hear in the classroom is different from native speech outside the classroom. Previous participants in Scotland's Institute for Applied Linguistics Studies summer pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes program had requested more opportunities to talk with native speakers in…

This study stems in part from a desire to correct the misapprehension that Japanese students are somehow less autonomous than learners from other cultural backgrounds. The view that Japanese learners tend to be passive, obedient, and quiet is commonly accepted. Much of this "evidence" is anecdotal and comes from teacher observation of…

In this research synthesis, notions of literacy from a variety of inclusive rather than exclusive perspectives are presented. Notions of national literacies, mother-tongue literacies, multiple literacies, and bi-literacies are explored. Information and research pertaining to threatened languages, language shift, and language loss is presented,…

Anxiety is believed to affect foreign language learning and performance. This preliminary study investigates the role of high school Japanese learning experience in student anxiety while taking an introductory Japanese course in college. This study shows that the presence or absence of high school Japanese instruction affects levels and sources of…

Many teachers of adult learners of English have found dialogue journals, interactive writing with a teacher or other individual, to be an important part of their classes. Dialogue journals not only open new channels of communication, but they also provide natural contexts for language and literacy development. When adult learners write with their…

This paper documents the development and field testing of pedagogical materials needed for six 5-week modules of French language instruction and introduction to Quebec's Francophone culture and business practices. Presently available materials produced in the United States too often focus on France and French business practices. Similarly,…

Second language (L2) computer-adaptive testing (CAT) is a technologically advanced method of assessment in which the computer selects and presents test items to examinees according to the estimated level of the examinee's language ability. The basic notion of an adaptive test is to mimic automatically what a wise examiner would normally do.…

This paper details a 2-year study of exemplary uses of electronic texts (information displayed electronically on a computer screen) in two English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learning contexts. Topics include the following: the need and desire to communicate; opportunities for topic control; and opportunities for planned and unplanned discourses.…

The project described in this digest was designed with the belief that teacher professional growth can best be fostered through sustained collaborative inquiry between teachers and researchers. It set out to incorporate what is known about quality professional development with the special features necessary for meeting the needs of English…