This handbook is a much expanded version of the original Learning Activities Survey published by Dr. Kathleen P. King of Fordham University in 1998. Based on her ground breaking research in this field where she used a mixed methodology research approach to study transformative learning, the book will provide a model of research, firsthand…

Some guidelines are offered that detail the complexities involved in interviewing for language testing purposes. They cover strategies for structuring interviews (informal conversational, interview guide, standardized open-ended), questions, interviewing skills, and physical setting. (five references) (LB)

Gives tips and classroom techniques on the use of interviews as a way to provide real communication practice in the English as a second language classroom. (EKN)

The use of an interview to test verbal ability in a second language and to establish a scale of oral proficiency is discussed. Sample questions are included in Spanish. (JB)

Interview data gathered from students in a New Zealand English-as-a-Second-Language program form the basis of a discussion of autonomous behavior in language learning. It is noted that autonomous language learning has advantages over teacher-dominated learning but that it cannot simply be "clipped on" to existing programs. (Contains…

Discusses the use of recordings from Radio Canada and Radio France in advanced high school or college French classes. Techniques for using the recordings, particularly interviews, are suggested. A 16-item selective bibliography is appended. (AM)

This article reports on a study that investigated the dual characteristics of willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language (L2): trait-like WTC and situational WTC. By adopting methods of classroom observation, participant interviews and questionnaires, consistency between L2 learners' self-report WTC and their actual WTC behavior in an…

This article outlines a plan for developing listening comprehension materials for advanced students of English as a second language, based on formal and informal speech samples of natural discourse. (CFM)

Interviews and biographical sketches of 16 minority students and teachers of German at 3 universities and 1 school district are reported. The process of acquiring the language and becoming familiar with a foreign culture unites these individuals of otherwise diverse ethnicity, background, and experience. (Author/LB)

Mental rehearsal is a somewhat ambiguous term in the literature of language acquisition, psychology, and second language learning. However, in second language learning it refers to an important strategic behavior involving silent covert practice of the other language, undertaken in relation to an oral or written, future or past language task. A…

Articles in these two issues are as follows: "Imagination and Memory: Friends or Enemies" (Earl W. Stevick); "Imagination in Second Language Acquisition" (James J. Asher); "Where the Magic Lies" (Interview with Carolyn Graham); "Drawing on Experience: The Interview" (with John Dumicich); "What Color is…

Recent research in second language acquisition (SLA) suggests that cultural pluralism can be an effective approach to assisting immigrants blend into the majority society. This handbook was designed to assist educators to be responsive and sensitive to the needs of a group of Kurdish political refugees who recently resettled in Idaho. It provides…

As part of a larger study of instructional issues for English as a second language (ESL), current literature is reviewed and summarized in four major areas affecting the teaching and learning of ESL in grades K-12: ESL instructional approaches, patterns of curriculum organization, instructional materials, and language learning theories. In the…

The document describes the Changes Project, a participatory action research project conducted by adult learners at five adult literacy and education programs in Western Massachusetts. It is a 3-year project aimed at examining the impact of welfare reform, immigration reform, and the changing workplace on adult learners. The Changes Project is…

This guide is a summary of ideas for enhancing the teaching of German through direct contact with Germany or German people without traveling abroad. The following ideas are highlighted: (1) correspondence (pen pals) with students in Germany; (2) audiotape recordings as an alternative to letter writing; (3) the exchange of videotape recordings with…