Examines three English oral language proficiency tests in terms of whether the tests measure basic interpersonal communication skills or cognitive-academic language proficiency. Suggests that oral language proficiency tests should be academic in nature if their purpose is to determine whether language-minority students can meet the demands of…

Narratives of Puerto Rican and Mexican American students, written in 8th grade and then 11th grade, describe who they are and illustrate school-sponsored silencing, with student critiques of their educational experience ignored by schools. The narratives help explain the Hispanic student high dropout rate, reasons behind students' academic…

Discusses four critical areas of instruction (decoding skills, language development/competence, concept/context building, and critical thinking skills/strategies) which can help limited English proficient (LEP) students improve their reading competence. (MM)

An exploration of the effectivenes of college overseas study programs on improvement of foreign language skills addresses student motivation, academic expectations, curricular changes, language pledge requirements, communication with native speakers, and the purpose and image of study abroad programs. Suggestions are made for improving…

A study of two English-Hebrew bilingual children's productive vocabulary loss in oral Portuguese after discontinued contact with the language investigated lexical loss in Portuguese storytelling behavior. Analysis focused on the nature of attrited productive lexicon, compensatory lexical production strategies, and lexical retrieval process.…

Survey responses of faculty in six graduate study fields and undergraduate English faculty identified nine listening skills that they perceived as particularly important to academic success in lecture classes. Faculty believed that non-native English speakers had greater difficulty with listening activities. Research suggestions are presented…

Reading comprehension experiments suggest that cultural content means little to Arab students reading in a second language (English). The students did just as well or better reading stories with no Arabic content. The study also found significant differences in the learning strategies of male and female Arab students. (MJP)

Analyzes data from a study conducted in Barcelona that examines one day in the life of an English class for MBA candidates. Fourteen points of view are presented: those of the classroom teacher and of an outside observer and those of 12 learners. Teachers and learners operate differently when attributing purpose to tasks. (nine references)…

Examines a Danish English-language reading proficiency test offered to freshman students to diagnose weaknesses which may impede their academic careers. To facilitate the assessment of what parts can be transferred and used in other language areas, the article discusses the test construction, development and improvement. (11 references) (Author/CK)

Describes a collaborative program organized by English professors at National Kaohsiung Normal University in Taiwan and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, in which students in similar courses at the two institutions communicate via online conferencing. Such communication aids student learning and enhances cultural awareness (five…

This paper reports the findings of an investigation of university students' attitudes toward the study of literature and culture in a foreign language program. Discussion centers on why language students consistently rate the study of literature below other aspects of their language courses. (19 references) (JL)

This study compared the performance of college students completing an advanced-level German language course with that of high school-level candidates on the Advanced Placement (AP) German examination. Successful high school-level AP candidates demonstrated a language competency equal or superior to that of college students who received…

Maintains that California schools have undergone an enormous transformation over the past two decades, with over a million students identified as limited English proficient. Describes changes in teacher education and certification designed to meet the needs of limited English proficient students. (CFR)

Examined the influence of 4 variables (supplementary mother-tongue instruction, length of residence in the host country, self-esteem, and schools) on the French oral comprehension and expression of 137 minority language immigrant children in 4 Montreal elementary schools. Results found that supplementary mother-tongue instruction did not…

Reports on the first stage of a British phonetic training project in foreign language learning that used a repurposed videodisc developed by using the editing capabilities of an authoring tool. Topics discussed include student motivation; content issues; teaching strategies; questioning/feedback techniques; text and graphic screens; and manuals…