Advantages and disadvantages of songs in the language classroom. (FWB)

Foreign language learning/acquisition is a highly complex intellectual-psychic/physical-social integration process that is different for each individual. Cognitive and affective emphases for language acquisition are discussed, along with changes in the student-teacher relationship and implications for teacher education. (Authors/PP)

Although language needs, strategies, and instructional situations vary considerably, some degree of integration of methods for native and second language instruction based on empirical research is recommended. The value of second language instructional methods for native language instruction, instruction for communicative competence, and the place…

Seven personality traits are examined as they relate to the speed of English acquisition among 13 children. Contrary to previous conclusions, faster learners did not seek to befriend or identify more with English-speaking children than slow learners, but were more talkative, responsive, and gregarious. Implications are discussed. (MSE)

English-speaking Canadian students were asked why they were learning French and why French-speaking Canadians wanted them to learn it, and the results were compared with their language proficiency and use. Students' expectations of motivational support from the French-Canadian community was a significant and sometimes unique predictor of…

Issues underlying current debate about language learning and teaching are discussed and categorized: views of language learning, views of language, program design, methodology, and psychological factors. It is suggested that educators are justifiably concerned with catering to students' varied needs, wants, and learning styles. (MSE)

In an investigation of how different types of topic reinstatements affected second language learners' recognition and recall of sentence topics in lectures, it was learned that repeated structures were more easily recalled and recognized than simple ones, and low English proficiency learners have poorer recall of complex structures. (MSE)

Two experiments are reported in which mismatched sounds and spelling were studied in Dutch pseudo-words used as stimuli in English lexical decision experiments. Results show mismatches in spelling or sound result in longer latencies for Dutch pseudo-words than for their nonword controls, supporting a cooperation model of lexical access. (MSE)

A group of adult intensive English students, language teachers, and graduate music education students were taught a 300-word German vocabulary list in a five-week period, some with and some without Baroque music but with superlearning techniques, and some by traditional techniques. Accelerated learning by superlearning methods could not be…

Presents a model for testing in individualized adult programs which includes aptitude, placement, achievement, and proficiency measurements. The model calls for measurement of discrete-point knowledge as well as the communicative ability and cultural insights of students. The kind and detail of record-keeping are discussed. (Author/AMH)

Describes a bilingual education program for Finnish children in Sweden. Analyzes some of the factors influencing the school and language achievement of the Finnish pupils and compares their achievement level with other relevant student groups. (EKN)

A study of English speakers' acquisition of relative clauses in Chinese, Japanese, Persian, German, and Portugese is reported. Various structures were tested to separate interlanguage features attributable to first language interference from those universal to second language acquisition. Application of an accessibility hierarchy theory and…

A study of foreign students' English acquisition used short-term memory tasks to determine if phonological encoding of visually presented verbal material occurred during reading. Students not using oral repetition in English showed greater phonological interference and longer reaction times. Correlation with reading proficiency was small.…