Discussion of the role of literature in the college second-language program, and in liberal arts education in general, argues that it is an ethical obligation to teach literary competence, or literary sensitivity, in the language of the author, because the "great books" are those that combine stylistic refinement with deep insight into the human…

An examination of the salient characteristics and benefits of a technology-enriched curriculum for second-language learners underscores the pivotal role technology can play in second-language teaching. The current challenge is to adequately train teachers in the effective use of such curricula. (MSE)

Investigated the talk of 14 intermediate learners of English as a Second Language in a tertiary setting as they performed a passage-editing task collaboratively. Transcripts of the students' dialogs were analyzed for the kind of talk the task elicited, the grammatical items that drew the most attention from the learners, and the knowledge sources…

This paper considers initial findings of a research study examining the strategic behavior of nonnative speakers of English when they are faced with situations requiring pragmatic competence in a second language. The development of first-language pragmatic competence is described then the acquisition of pragmatic competence by adult…

Discusses the growth of the Spanish-speaking population served by the North Central Regional Library System (Washington) and the library's response which has included improving Spanish language collections, encouraging staff to learn Spanish, developing bilingual programs for children and families, improving publicity, and using translators. (LRW)

Examination of the cultural content in grammar exercises in recent college-level Spanish textbooks suggests a trend toward integration of cultural content with grammar, in accordance with recent research on form-based practice within a communicative context. Teachers can supplement their texts' offerings by creating form-focused activities with…

A study in interlanguage pragmatics investigated the effect of three types of rejoinder (positive, negative, absent) on non-native informants' choices of strategies to perform complaints, requests, and apologies. Results show strategy choice differentially affected by rejoinder type, suggesting that findings from studies using different production…

The e-Lective Language Learning System is designed to promote language learning by incorporating target-language text and a variety of first- and second-language dictionary and learning-strategy supports into a multimedia CD-ROM design. Any text in electronic form can be imported into the system. It differs from conventional computer-assisted…

Reports on a one-year examination of two urban teacher study groups. Data from participant observations and journal notes indicated that there were five themes: tensions about knowledge, alliance with traditional professional development structures, ways of working with one another, understanding the educational needs of English language learners,…

The Standards for Foreign Language Learning present a definition of language teaching that includes the sociolinguistic and cultural aspects of language. The article analyzes the concept of communicative competence as used by sociolinguists and anthropologists and examines some of the components of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and…

Replicates previous research on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for language learning in French Canadian students of English and considers the relations between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and integrative orientation. Quebecois university students completed a questionnaire addressing their reasons for learning English. (Author/VWL)

Compared the effectiveness of English instruction at an Austrian immersion school and a regular Austrian high school. Immersion students showed the highest levels of English proficiency and also outperformed regular high school students in French, suggesting that in addition to language learning experience, further factors such as aptitude,…

Examines differences in attitudes between boys and girls after 5 years of modern language study through interviews with 75 students, 12 language teachers, and 2 headteachers. The significance of teacher personality and classroom practice emerged clearly from student interviews. Findings are discussed in the context of the British national…

Examines the transferability of five Japanese indirect request strategies to corresponding English request contexts. Findings indicate that the Japanese strategies were differentially transferable and the transferability of each first-language request strategy was determined by interaction between the politeness and conventionality encoded in each…

Investigates the relation between foreign language proficiency and multilingual lexicosemantic organization, using two sets of unbalanced Dutch-English-French trilingual adults as participants. Results indicate that foreign language proficiency determines multilingual lexicosemantic organization. (35 references) (Author/CK)