Ron Unz, originator of Proposition 227, claimed, prior to the passage of Prop. 227, that the five percent annual reclassification rate of English learners to fluent English proficient indicated bilingual education was a failure. Critics of Prop. 227 have countered that the annual reclassification rate has changed little since the passage of Prop.…

This article revisits a question posed by Hyland [(1997). Is EAP necessary? A survey of Hong Kong undergraduates. "Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 7," 77-99] in the Hong Kong higher education context: Is EAP necessary? The article presents the overall findings of a large-scale, multi-faceted investigation into the language…

The admirable ideal of "total" immersion in a foreign culture privileges students who plan early on for foreign study, establish early language fluency and elect majors and activities that make it easier to leave campus. Other students often find that they lack the language skills to qualify for many foreign programs or are unable to reconcile…

Ways to develop "creative automaticity" for writing in a foreign language are examined. The paper focuses on transactional writing (i.e., writing with the purpose of transferring precise information by such means as telex messages, business letters, memoranda, and short reports), and its main features of clarity and conventionality. It is noted…

Ego development data were collected from two groups of subjects. One group consisted of 175 students from junior high, senior high, and college. The second group was comprised of 136 adults who were either teachers and administrators of a medium-sized public school system, or long-time employees of a large chemical manufacturing corporation.…

This paper describes accounts of two kindergarten-aged children learning English as a second language (ESL) to demonstrate that exposure is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for acquiring a second language. The 10-month histories of "L," a quick and highly successful learner, and "M," a less successful, much slower…

The materials in this volume are intended to supplement existing tape materials in the lessons of the basic course in French. The exercises begin with lesson 13 of the Basic Course and continue through lesson 63. Each unit in this manual concentrates on a grammatical point and contains the following elements: (1) learning objectives, (2)…

THIS STUDY REPORTS AN EXPERIMENT ON THE HYPOTHESIS THAT GRAMMAR-RELATED SENTENCE-COMBINING PRACTICE WILL MEANINGFULLY ENHANCE THE NORMAL GROWTH OF SYNTACTIC FLUENCY. TRADITIONAL STUDIES ON ERROR THERAPY AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE ARE REVIEWED, AND DESIGN AND RATIONALE ARE INFERRED FROM THE RESEARCH OF BATEMAN AND ZIDONIS. RULE LEARNING, PATTERN…

Several experiments that manipulate stuttering by the use of delayed auditory feedback (DAF) and the prolongation of speech are reported. In a study on six severe stutterers (aged 15 to 47), self monitoring as a source of reinforcement in the use of DAF reduced stuttering frequency. Stuttering frequency was investigated with six severe stutterers…

Language teaching typically reflects current research, and, until quite recently, grammatical competence (e.g., in the Chomskyan sense) was the major target of linguistic research. Emphasizing the spoken language, the term "fluency," as applied to the foreign language performance of a language learner, is correlated to foreign language…

The objective of this study was to develop a highly reliable instrument for primary grade students which was relatively culture free and could accurately identify each child's dominant language. In addition, it should provide normative data regarding the child's fluency in his two most predominant languages. This test, known as the Test of…

A pilot study was undertaken for the Community Relations Commission of the employment of non-English speaking immigrants in British industry, using open-ended interviews (21 at the management level, 15 others, and 128 immigrants). Objectives were (1) to investigate the impact on business organizations of employing non-English speaking immigrants…

This handbook was prepared for use by the various ethnic associations in Canada whose members want to find effective means of helping their children learn or maintain their ancestral language. The program described involves the use of recreational activities for language instruction, based on the theory that the nature of and motivation for…

This volume contains suggested curriculum guidelines for an effective bilingual program, with specific focus on Spanish language skills for the second grade level. The philosophy of the program views bilingual education as a vehicle and pedagogical tool to be used to better prepare all children to function in society. The point of departure for…

It is hypothesized that free, spontaneous interaction cannot be easily attained in language courses which are rigid and mechanical. For this reason, the author urges the development of instructional materials which facilitate a smooth and natural transition from "skill-getting" to "skill-using." Discussion of Jerome Bruner's theory of language…