An empirical study is reported that investigated the relationship between first language (L1) and English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) reading in terms of efficiency, speed, and comprehension with Chinese university students of English as subjects. Results indicate that reading speed transfers readily from L1 to EFL readers for those who are slow…

Three 1991 issues of a British journal for modern language teacher trainers are provided. Articles include the following: "Perspectives on the In-service Training Needs of Non-native Speaking Teachers of English to Youth Learners" (Jennifer Jarvis); "Royal Society of Arts Certificate Trainees Speak Out" (Mario Rinvolucri);…

A number of papers by secondary school German language teachers resulting from an institute on incorporation of literature into classroom instruction jointly sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Goethe Institute of Germany are collected here. They represent classroom methods and materials developed by institute…

This directory offers detailed information on 128 language service organizations and includes addresses and less specific information on over 100 additional organizations. Teachers, students, and others interested in languages and cultures will find the directory to be an invaluable guide to resources and services related to language study and…

A comparative, protocol-based study is reported of the first (Chinese) and foreign (English) language writing processes of six postgraduate English-as-a-Foreign-Language students. The study revealed the approaches of the six writers to the task of producing academic written discourse to be very different, and suggested that if composing strategies…

Dealing with the relationships among language, communication, and culture, the 12 papers in this collection are divided into three parts. The first part deals with the critical issues related to language acquisition, context, and cognition. The second part presents an array of perspectives in analyzing the role of language in comparative…

A study investigated the ability of native-Chinese-speaking graduate students (N=18) at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh to infer word meanings from context in two passages written in English. One passage came from the "China Daily" and the other from an editorial in a student newspaper. Glosses were provided…

Advanced learners' processing of linguistic knowledge in connection with a translation task from Danish into English is discussed. The focus of the discussion is on learners' use of different types of linguistic knowledge (the degree to which they use this linguistic knowledge and the form in which it is represented). The following issues are…

This paper is about successful teaching methods for foreign language instruction in the primary grades, with emphasis on French in first grade. One teacher drew on the literature of elementary school second language instruction, and personal experience and ideas to develop a six-lesson instructional unit for first grade French instruction at Cale…

Most advanced second language (L2) learners find continued vocabulary growth to be one of the most difficult areas in second language learning, and vocabulary acquisition has not received little attention by researchers. As a result, no unified theory of L2 vocabulary acquisition exists, although the literature contains ample advice on how to…

The state of second language acquisition research, particularly that which is classroom-oriented, is examined in a review of 50 empirical investigations undertaken over the last 25 years. The studies were analyzed according to the following dimensions: the environment in which the data were collected (classroom, naturalistic, simulated classroom,…

A system of different types of tasks can be used to help language learners achieve their learning goals, which may include learning of: discrete language items (sounds, vocabulary, grammatical constructions); content or ideas of the subject studied (geography, literature, mathematics, cultural understanding); language skills (listening, writing,…

It is argued that teaching and learning a second language for communicative competence should not lead to neglect of students' understanding of the way the language works, but rather should include constant development of language awareness. While use of the language in a variety of communicative activities is the central goal of instruction,…

This paper addresses the difficulty experienced by many non-mother-tongue speakers in acquiring the click sounds of the Xhosa language. Eighteen English- and Afrikaans-speaking students, aged 10 through 13, with no previous knowledge of Xhosa were instructed and tested in making the 15 different click sounds that occur in the Xhosa language. The…

Language policy in Australia has evolved in three phases, with three kinds of argumentation prevailing in public attitudes. In the first phase (1945 to the mid 1970s), maintenance of the first language by non-English-speaking-background (NESB) immigrants was considered a hindrance to assimilation and educational achievement, and thus abandonment…