The study described here investigated the refusal strategies of intermediate-level second language learners and the potential for developing sociolinguistic competence in nonnative speakers (NNS) through classroom instruction. Subjects were six college students of English as a Second Language, divided into treatment and control groups. The…

This module on the garbage crisis is for intermediate and advanced learners of English as a Second Language. It seeks to inform learners about this issue and to give them an opportunity to direct their concerns about the environment into positive action. The guide uses the problem-posing methodology of Paulo Freire. This methodology has three…

Johnson County Community College, in Kansas, recently implemented a unique laboratory combining interactive video, computers, and peer tutors to support its speech communication, foreign language, and interpreter training departments. The facility is equipped with 15 interactive, video-based work stations, costing $3,930 each; four computer…

Essays address the relationship between second language education and intercultural communication in several countries. Following an introduction are the following papers: "Second Language Learning in Belgium" (Ludo Beheydt); "Foreign Language Education in Bulgaria: Present-Day Situation and Future Tendencies" (Madeleine…

A survey of students of English as a Second Language at the University of South Florida found most ranked listening and/or speaking skills as most important to learn, and reading and writing skills much lower. They also perceived the inverse to be true of teachers. The challenge is to create a curriculum that provides for listening and speaking…

This report presents the findings of a Canadian study that in established a part-time instructional program for a small number of Punjabi-speaking women immigrants and traced their uses of literacy and English in classroom and home settings. Measures of literacy and language use were taken during the 6-month instructional period and 4 months…

Metacognitive activities were studied through the verbalizations of students during a learning process, to study the differences in the performance of good and poor students. The moment of verbalization, either at prompting marks or without prompts, and the instruction in verbalization, either directed or non-directed, were variables. Thirty-two…

One aspect of the development of a performance assessment is addressed--the field testing of the tasks. In a performance-based assessment, the tasks must allow each examinee a fair and equal opportunity to give the best possible demonstration of his or her ability, and must elicit a performance sample that enables scorers to evaluate each examinee…

The 1985 issue of the journal on second language teaching and learning contains four articles in French and three in English, including: "Lire et comprendre un texte informatif (Reading and understanding an Informative Text)" (Jacqueline Billant, Pascale Fade); "Les nouveaux diplomes de Francais Language Etrangere: Le D.E.L.F. et le…

Three different bilingual, bicultural curriculum, preschool models encouraged children to use three different interaction strategies, but the models had no lasting effects on the children's first grade interactions, according to a year's observation of the communication experiences of 42 Mexican American children of varying English language…

Correct pronunciation is often a later step in the process of teaching English as a second language. However, a focus on the correct articulation of vowels can significantly improve listening and comprehension skills as well as articulatory skills. Vowels and consonants differ in their acoustic properties. Unlike consonants, vowel sounds are…

This article offers ten suggestions for teaching young learners between the age of 7 and 12 based on language-teaching principles. They include supplementing activities with visuals, realia and movement; involving students in making visuals and realia; moving from activity to activity; teaching in themes; using stories and contexts familiar to…

The Hawaiian Language Immersion Program, implemented at the kindergarten/first grade level in an elementary school on Oahu and one on Hawaii, is described and evaluated. The program was instituted at the request of parents of students who had attended a Hawaiian language immersion preschool and was open to all students, regardless of ethnicity or…

Federal legislation, such as the Education Amendments of 1976 and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984, recognizes the urgent national need for vocational programs that adequately serve limited-English-proficient (LEP) persons. In order to meet the need, vocational teacher education programs must be adapted to train preservice…

This Peace Corps guide to individual, independent, or group study of Chichewa provides basic conversational vocabulary and phrases necessary for Peace Corps volunteer survival skills in Malawi. The 20 lessons consist of dialogues, vocabulary, and exercises on these topics: greetings; self-introduction; discussing others; relatives; professions;…