Discusses a computer-assisted language learning model developed by the Didascalia center designed to comply with as many Belgian criteria as possible and based on contents and events in an object-oriented approach. Describes how the didacteme as basic object can enhance learner-content interaction and how this approach can lead to a new platform…

Overviews ethical issues in applied linguistics presented in this special issue. The review discusses the articles' contributions within the broader contexts of the discipline and beyond the concerns of ethnocentric and Western contexts. The article argues that the issues raised are crucial to understanding functional approaches to linguistics and…

Examines second language students' perceptions of grammar instruction, with specific reference to writing skill. Discusses issues involved in defining a role for grammar study and presents excerpts from student essays and explanations of classroom lessons. Results indicate that the instruction provided helped to improve students' ability to use…

Replicates prior research into the determinants of English language proficiency among immigrants using a dataset that controls for potential biases stemming from selective emigration, omitted variables, and the mismeasurement of key constructs. It finds that English proficiency rises with exposure to U.S. society and that a pattern exists in…

Describes diverse aspects of the speaking proficiency of novice-low to novice-mid level foreign language in the elementary school students and to identify the syntactic knowledge underlying such behavior. Data were collected from students who had been studying Japanese continually for 6 and 7 years on a variety of oral production tasks.…

Explores psycholinguistic processes underlying second language (L2) self-repair behavior by means of analyzing the timing of various types of self-corrections found in the speech of 30 Hungarian speakers of English at three proficiency levels. Discusses relevance of timing data for existing models of speech monitoring and examines how level of…

Examines the relation between background knowledge and second language (L2) proficiency in L2 reading performance in two groups of university learners of English, one from mainland China and one from Hong Kong. Results show a strong cultural effect on reading comprehension, but not on post-intermediate readers. Findings have implications for…

A protocol analysis of second language (L2) writing of adult speakers of Japanese, English, and Spanish observed how language switching (first language (L1) switching use in L2 writing) was affected by L2 proficiency, task difficulty, and language group. Less proficient L2 learners switched to their L1 more frequently than more advanced learners,…

An ethnographic study examined the language development and cultural and academic adjustment of a student in her first semester of a year-long program in Mexico. Data reveal that the most dramatic change in her proficiency came about as she learned the rules, both societal and academic, that allowed her to function within the culture and that…

A three-year Florida project to develop subject area certification examinations in foreign languages is reported. The project was carried out by teachers at each stage: research, writing, validation, pilot-testing, editing, and scoring. The teacher-developed certification test development project is seen as a model for other states. (four…

A study investigated aspects of reading comprehension for familiar and unfamiliar topics among native and nonnative English-speaking college students enrolled in French and Italian courses. Results suggest that, as comprehension proficiency improves, qualitative differences appear rather than just quantitative ones. Background knowledge was found…

Examines the qualities and frequency of episodes of concurrent metalinguistic and ideational thinking reported verbally by second-language learners while they composed. Finds frequencies of thinking episodes is significantly related to learners' writing expertise in their mother tongue. Argues for integrating the notion of comprehensible output…

A comparison of the French proficiency of bilingual and monolingual native English, Italian, or non-Romance language speaking eighth graders in an Ontario bilingual program found that the bilingual students generally performed better than monolingual students on cloze procedure tests and story telling tasks. (40 references) (Author/CB)

A brief exploration of the essential philosophy of second-language proficiency testing within a communicative framework yields the following five principles for teachers designing second-language tests: updating outmoded tests; critically and objectively evaluating test effectiveness; ensuring test reliability and validity; ensuring tests'…

Describes an experiment that looks into the effect of a 90 hour extensive reading program using graded readers on the language development of a group (N=25) of learners of English-as-a-Second-Language in Pakistan. Results show significant gains in both fluency and accuracy of expression, though not in the range of structures used. (21 references)…