An exploration of trends in Chinese language instruction discusses textbook-oriented programs, language pedagogy research, overemphasis on reading, curriculum design, and ways to improve and make proficiency-oriented programs more effective. (25 references) (CB)

Presents an analysis of non-native English verbs of saying constructions, such as "discuss about" and "explain about," as they are realized in Nepali English. It is suggested that the analysis of Nepali English constructions offer important insights into second language acquisition and language change. (30 references)…

The source of the similarities and differences produced by pidginization is a central question studied in Pidgin-Creole linguistics. Several explanatory approaches are discussed that have guided research in this area, including simplification, substratum, independent innovation, and universals. (27 references) (Author/OD)

Examination of the lexical compensatory strategies Dutch students of English used in a picture-naming task, a story retell task, and an oral interview showed that proficiency level was inversely related to the number of compensatory strategies the subjects used. The type of strategy was not related to proficiency level. (33 references) (Author/CB)

An analysis of the English word stress placement of six native Arabic speakers and six native English speakers studying Arabic revealed that, while most of the native English subjects produced the expected word stress, the Arab subjects placed stress on English words in conformity with Arabic stress patterns. (CB)

A longitudinal study on language maintenance and loss among Dutch-English bilinguals in Australia revealed little loss in both languages over the years. This leads to the hypothesis of a "critical threshold" that must be reached to retain the second language. First language reversion appears commonly among immigrants who did not reach this…

Studies the language proficiency of the Turkish returnees from Germany who were either born in Germany or emigrated there with their parents at a young age. Results indicate that returnees have a deficit in cognitive academic language proficiency compared to control groups and that a correlation exists between language proficiency in Turkish,…

Argues that the language planning role of Japan's public broadcasting organization, NHK, is considerable, although neglected. The article overviews broadcasting, language policy, organization, and history and focuses on NHK's role in establishing and disseminating the standard language. NHK is perceived as an arbiter of language standards. (51…

Analysis of an adult's self-study of Hungarian pinpoints lexis as the major learning priority. Personalized, real-message practice tasks appeared vital for motivation and for input to become automatized. The crossing of two linguistic thresholds appeared crucial--the gaining of a large stock of word-roots and the ability to read authentic texts.…

In a study of bilingual speech production, data were collected from 771 unintentional language switches by 45 Dutch learners of English at 3 different proficiency levels. One finding was that the occurrence of language switch was related to learner proficiency in English. (Contains 40 references.) (Author/LB)

Reviews theoretical arguments from a longitudinal study of 1 Dutch child (age 3;8.13 at start) for considering production as a source of input for analysis and presents empirical evidence supporting the output-as-input hypothesis for the blending of the Dutch words "wats" and "iets." Evidence suggests the child analyzed his own…

This paper discusses the Thai reading curriculum in use at the Foreign Service Institute, focusing on the development of the Thai curriculum over the past four years. It describes the instructional materials used in the program, activities developed to accompany the materials, and suggestions for improvement. Feedback from instructors and students…

Examines the relationship between ideas of universal grammar (UG) and second language (L2) teaching and learning in medieval Europe in the context of the 20th-century debate about the role of UG in L2 acquisition. The roles of generative linguistics on UG and L2 instruction and learning in the 20th century are discussed. (65 references) (MDM)

Presents an experiment supporting the thesis that visual languages are well-suited for computer programmers whose native languages are not English, analyzing the particular problems of Arabic speakers in comprehending Pascal program structures. A visual programming environment is presented in which all syntactic and nearly all semantic information…

Presents effective strategies to enhance parental support for school second-language (L2) programs, focusing on orientating parents to L2 programs, capitalizing on current international events, direct parent-teacher cooperation, and involving parents in cultural projects. Techniques for engendering support for Ukrainian L2 language programs are…