One theory of second language acquisition argues that children's competence in a second language is a function of the amount of "comprehensible input" acquirers receive and understand, without formal instruction in reading or grammar. To examine this hypothesis, this study analyzes whether comprehensible input in the form of captioned television…

It is generally recognized that students' feelings about learning affect their ability to learn. One of the three strongest influencing factors on second-language learning is classroom anxiety. This paper focuses on student emotional distress in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom, and suggests that one of the primary causes of this…

Research into language acquisition is reviewed and implications for practice are discussed. The research stemmed from the State of California's mandate to use specific oral language instruments for identifying students who are limited English speakers. The development of a test to identify and place English as a second language students in…

Essays on language transfer in language learning include: excerpts from "Linguistics across Cultures" (Robert Lado); "Language Transfer" (Larry Selinker); "Goofing: An Indication of Children's Second Language Learning Strategies" (Heidi C. Dulay, Marina K. Burt); "Language Transfer and Universal Grammatical Relations" (Susan Gass); "A Role for the…

The experience described by Kay Hoag, Advocacy Chair of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL), exemplifies the threat of program elimination and/or cutbacks that elementary school foreign language programs across the nation experienced with increased frequency during the 2002-2003 academic year. Reports of these threats…

The article describes the change in teacher training from instructivist to constructivist. The author defines constructivism and discusses its two main approaches: cognitive and social constructivism. The author then compares an instructivist versus a constructivist classroom and focuses on how they are different in terms of the level of…

This lesson plan contains four activities based on the theme of newspapers and journalism. It includes a lesson to familiarize students with newspapers, journalistic writing, interviewing, and creating a class newspaper. The activities can be used as individual lessons or a larger project of creating a class newspaper.

Statistical prediction problems often involve both a direct estimate of a true score and covariates of this true score. Given the criterion of mean squared error, this study determines the best linear predictor of the true score given the direct estimate and the covariates. Results yield an extension of Kelley's formula for estimation of the true…

We assessed whether and how the discourse written for prototype integrated tasks (involving writing in response to print or audio source texts) field tested for the new TOEFL® differs from the discourse written for independent essays (i.e., the TOEFL essay). We selected 216 compositions written for 6 tasks by 36 examinees in a field…

Leaders in government and business are expressing a need for stronger programs in foreign language education that address national and state needs in defense, diplomacy, and commerce. The deterioration in foreign language capabilities in the United States results from declining participation in foreign language and cultural education. No concrete…

This manual is designed to assist coordinators of an English-as-a-Second-Language discussion group program in program planning and administration. The program uses volunteers to conduct discussions on topics of interest to limited English speaking community members. The introductory section of the manual describes the program, outlines the…

The Cheche Konnen (Haitian Creole for "search for knowledge") project was designed to address the following concerns in the education of language minority children: limited access to science and mathematics education, separation of science and mathematics from literacy development, isolation in and outside of school, and inadequate…

Textual information, 32 tables, and 12 figures are used to describe Alaska high school seniors in this 12th annual survey report. During the fall of the 1988-89 school year, 3,254 seniors attending Alaska public and private high schools responded to the questionnaire sent to a total of 5,910 students for a return rate of 55.1 percent. The…

A study investigated the use of classroom strategies to improve students' attitudes about language study while improving their practical use of the language. Secondary school students of Spanish completed an interest survey, and then were involved in language class activities including writing paragraphs, watching a recorded television show,…

This paper describes studies conducted in Saudi Arabia that: (1) investigated the effect of the number of orthographic alternatives of English consonant sounds on the spelling responses of 48 first-year secondary students studying English as a foreign language (EFL); and (2) compared the use of two spelling mechanisms of these first-year secondary…