In this paper, I narrate highlights of my long process of learning and teaching English as a foreign language in mainland China and Australia, presenting a picture of the practices of learning and teaching English in mainland China from the bottom up. Over the past 50 years, English learners in mainland China, as Gao Yihong has written, have…

Despite the lack of empirical evidence, the term "foreign language learning disability" (FLLD) has become popular in the learning disabilities (LD) and foreign language literature. I contend that there is not a unique "disability" for foreign language learning and suggest instead that foreign language skills run along a continuum of very strong to…

In this article we examine how instructors make decisions about task design in telecollaboration and the factors that influence these decisions during the actual implementation of the tasks. We begin with a review of the recent literature of online intercultural exchanges to identify and describe a typology of 12 different types of tasks and task…

Discusses the definition and classification of second language learning strategies, the range of strategies used among second language learners, the importance of learning strategies, and learner strategy training. (Author/VWL)

Raises questions regarding the classification system Darwin and Gray offer for phrasal verbs on the basis of utility in the classroom. Darwin and Gray clarify the purpose of their classification system and provide additional corpus-based data. (Author/VWL)

Suggests that classifications of French verbs derived uncritically from Latin are not useful and are confusing because verb classes are defined according to their infinitives. It is suggested that verbs be grouped according to other criteria which are more useful to the learner. (SED)

Critiques past approaches to identifying phrasal verbs and proposes an alternative approach. Instead of requiring verb + particle combinations to demonstrate specific features to be identified as phrasal verbs, the new approach calls for researchers and teachers to consider all verb + particle combinations to be potential phrasal verbs until they…

Freeman and Richards agree about points raised regarding the overlap among categories of teaching and classroom practice but note that the categories might contribute to the analysis and understanding of teacher education programs and practices. (Contains nine references.) (LB)

Five classroom strategies for improving the comprehension of the content areas by students of English as a Second Language (ESL) are described. The strategies encourage students' processing skills of comprehension rather than emphasizing the products of comprehension. The strategies can help students learn English and also prepare them for…

Literature chronicling the history of instruction of French as a second or foreign language is reviewed, and significant gaps and further research needs are noted. (MSE)

Discusses and analyzes the Bosco/DiPietro descriptive framework for the analysis of foreign language instruction. Refines the psychological and linguistic features originally presented by Bosco and DiPietro. Proposes the creation of two new features--analytic and communicative--to replace the functional feature central to Bosco and DiPietro's…

An archive of still images in videodisc format becomes a powerful instructional tool when complemented by a computer data base system for selection and retrieval and programs to generate materials and manage image presentation. Considerations in using this potential include database design, a classification system, and computer-videodisc…

Using Zahorik's framework, which classifies conceptions of teaching into three categories (science/research, theory/philosophy, and art/craft), this paper reviews different conceptions of second-language instruction prevalent in the English-as-a-Second-Language teaching field. The aim is to shift the focus of discussion from behavior/activity to…

Onomatopoeia is overlooked in many French grammar courses but plays a key role in everyday speech. Classification according to the feelings communicated stresses their importance. Students enjoy learning the sounds produced by animals in a second language and discovering the abundance of onomatopoeia in songs, commercials, comic books, and slang.…

Discusses language instruction in international schools, with particular focus on understanding the international school context, a typology of early language learners, and a typology of early-language-learning programs. (Author/VWL)