Reports a study of Japanese students learning English in Japan. Supports the notion that the necessity to communicate forces learners to notice linguistic problems, and that noticing a problem can push learners to modify their original input. Through this cognitive process, learners acquire second languages, especially the ability to produce oral…

Emphasizes the importance of sociolinguistically and pragmatically appropriate materials of the target language for second-language learners. Discusses whether there is any strong agreement between Japanese and Korean learners of English regarding their perceptions of status, obligation to apology, and the appropriateness of the situation.…

Extends the research on academic outcomes of second-language immersion schooling by comparing children's early experiences in and understanding of regular and French-immersion kindergartners through script analysis. Sixty-four female and 56 male kindergarten children were asked to tell about kindergarten from the time they got to school until the…

Discusses results of a cross-sectional study that examined the phenomenon of referentiality in the acquisition of English as a foreign language by Francophone English-major college students in Burkina Faso. The research focused on the acquisition of the English article system. A cloze test of 107 items was used to collect the data. Demographic…

Describes development of POSTECH Live-in English program (PLEP), a five-week intensive-English program at Pohang University of Science and Technology (South Korea) originally designed in 1996 to improve students' English skills and cultural awareness through intensive program of formal instruction with native English teachers. Focuses on reporting…

Considers the validity of Widdowson's discourse model of communicative competence and performance as the basis for developing tests of reading. Describes basic structure of the model and attempts to add to original description in such a way that is possible to design an operational test of the model components. The purpose of the model validation…

Explores the potential of the use of voice-recognition technology with second-language speakers of English. Involves the analysis of the output produced by a small group of very competent second-language subjects reading a text into the voice recognition software Dragon Systems "Dragon NaturallySpeaking." (Author/VWL)

Describes a longitudinal study of four Vietnamese-speaking 4-year olds' acquisition of English as a second language in a bilingual preschool over one year. The research examined the learners' English-language output in interaction between the teacher and peers, and identified the key factors that influenced their development of English. (TJQ)

Reports the results of detailed observations conducted in four Grade 9 French classes during one school semester in one school district in Eastern Canada. Results suggest teachers were implementing the multidimensional project-based core French curriculum prescribed by the Ministry of Education in different ways. (Author/VWL)

Describes the first- and second-language literacy levels of a sample of Turkish children living in the Netherlands and identifies factors related to individual variation in literacy performance. Measures of school literacy were taken in both Turkish and Dutch. Results indicated that these children attained lower levels of literacy than did their…

Explains how access to the World Wide Web can change approaches to teaching German composition and conversation. Reflects upon past practices in teaching German, describes an actual college course, and places the use of the new media in the general context of humanistic endeavors. (SM)

Provides suggestions for developing Web-based lessons for German-language classrooms. Practical guidelines for finding and selecting materials on the Web are followed by suggestions on preparing the materials for classroom use based on students' levels of comprehension. A model lesson plan illustrates various components in a Web-based unit within…

Examines gender bias in classes teaching English as a second language. Considers the role of teacher expectations in student achievement, especially for the Latina population. Maintains that school administrators and teachers must work together to increase their awareness of gender bias in ESL classes and work to dispel stereotypes. (KB)

Reports on a study of the communications strategies used in the writing of answers in biology by English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) first year biology students at the University of Botswana. Examines four macro-strategies used by the subjects: risk taking, risk avoidance, second language-based strategies and semantic simplification. (Author/VWL)

Describes a theme-based language course for science students at a South African university. Suggests that acquisition of language for science and technology should be regarded as acquisition of a range of literacies of science rather than acquisition of skills or grammatical features. (Author/VWL)