Proposes the use of simulations to develop oral-language skills in the English-as-a-Foreign-Language classroom. Simulations allow students to interact in meaningful and realistic contexts and generate their own discourse. (Author/VWL)

Studied the impact of exposure to authentic video--a Spanish-language telenovela--on the second-language acquisition process of students studying Spanish at the university level. Measured the increase in listening comprehension that exposure to the soap opera would afford and tested the validity of the hypothesis that an increase in the quality…

Native English-speaking (NS) listeners evaluated effects of three types of instruction (segmental accuracy; general speaking habits and prosodic factors; and no specific pronunciation instruction) on speech of three groups of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners. Sentences were recorded and extemporaneously produced narratives at beginning…

Considers the role of interactive lecturing styles within the context of the Edinburgh University MBA program. Examples show a variety of ways of including student oral participation within the lecture framework. (Author/VWL)

Addresses some of the epistemic and practical issues facing alternative assessment, with particular reference to teacher assessment of spoken English as an additional language/second language (EAL/ESL) in the early years of primary education in England and Wales. (Author/VWL)

Looks at the Quebecois TV show, "Un gars, Une fille" used in a university French course to teach the socio-cultural reality that underlies all linguistic utterances in a university-level French course. Attempts to identify what makes the show more authentic than videos and CD ROMs that accompany most language textbooks in French.…

Recommends talking to children to help them develop language skills. Identifies daily routines (mealtime, bath time, dressing, play) as ideal opportunities to engage in parallel talk, describing out loud what the child is seeing, hearing, or thinking during the activity and suggests self-talk as parents perform routine actions around the home.…

Examines two rating scales for assessment of oral proficiency and judges both as inadequate because they are based on an untenable theory of the development of proficiency in a second language and on mistaken intuitions about oral interaction. The paper concludes with a discussion of an architectural, context-dependent theory of second-language…

This article examines the problems of the intermediate-level foreign-language course as well as student attitudes and goals derived from survey data. (33 references) (CK)

Focuses on the effect of using a second language in the classroom and the series of mental situations created in the listener in this environment. The second entry in this section discusses what is required in a student who listens to the news in a foreign language on a daily basis as presented by Radio Canada. (CK)

Defends the emphasis on aural, oral, and writing skills in the teaching of Latin in today's high schools as a means of helping students make a connection between the past and present and gain the knowledge needed to function in the next century. The article emphasizes that teachers who pursue new ways to teach Latin are reanimating interest in the…

First-semester Spanish students were encouraged to acquire vocabulary through small- and large-group oral activities plus semantic mapping. A second group participated in similar oral activities but did not perform semantic mapping. A comparison of the two groups suggests a trend toward the effectiveness of semantic mapping as a strategy that…

Uses the foreign language autobiography to explore the perceptions of a group of adult foreign language learners toward a broad range of issues related to classroom atmosphere and instruction. Qualitative analysis of student writings revealed three categories of data: classroom interaction, perceived level of success, and attributions of success…

Reports on a study comparing student performances and test reliabilities for the German Speaking Test, a semi-direct tape-mediated oral proficiency test (GST) developed by the Center for Applied Linguistics, and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Oral Proficiency Interviews. (Author/VWL)

The book reviewed presents a thorough literature review supporting the use of children's first languages in schooling. Criticisms of the book relate to the equation of fluency with academic language and the implication that academic language holds a superior position to other language registers. Discussion of transformative pedagogy fails to…