Assesses the validity of Language Assessment Scales (LAS) and a cloze test in measuring language proficiency. The LAS and two written cloze passages were administered to 28 Mexican-American third graders enrolled in bilingual classes. The cloze test correlated significantly only with the California Test of Basic Skills. (Author/LMO)

Gives a brief account of some factors which affect the teaching and learning of English pronunciation in Jordanian secondary schools. These factors include negative transfer from Arabic into English, learning strategies, and socioemotional, methodological, and psychological factors. (SED)

To compare and contrast language development in 22 normal and 22 language handicapped children, aged five to eight, who speak Spanish as a first language, the study focused on differences and similarities in the children's Spanish. Handicapped children performed significantly worse than controls in production of syntactic features, though not in…

Discusses the value of classifying the errors adult language learners make and of comparing them to errors made by children. It is suggested that teachers correct student errors in the same way parents correct children's errors in order to encourage successful learning. (CFM)

Presents a method for classifying errors of second language learners for the purpose of: (1) evaluating information in samples of students' communication, (2) diagnosing individual learner needs, (3) developing individualized instructional materials, and (4) deciding which errors to correct first. Suggests applications of the method in…

Presents the results of three experiments investigating the time course of grammaticality judgement. The high correlations among the experiments suggest that the incremental tasks assigned were tapping into the same decision-making process as is found online. The article discusses the findings' implications for the error types that do and do not…

Two experiments assessed whether children's difficulty with word problems can be attributed to difficulty in comprehending abstract or ambiguous language. The subjects were 38 first-, 36 second-, and 36 third-graders. The resulting theory of arithmetic word problem solving may represent a theoretical problem-solving model. (TJH)

This article examines instances of "para-poetic" writing produced by beginning and intermediate learners of English as a Second Language. It is suggested that the instructor or reader look beyond the conventional grammar and usage rules to appreciate the imagery of unusual juxtaposition of words and phrases in student work. Provides examples of…

The construct of complexity has been advanced as a variable in the efficacy of treatment for children with functional phonological disorders. This article focuses on clinical complexity as it influences selection of target sounds, with three clinical factors reviewed: consistency of error, normative age of acquisition, and number of errors.…

In this paper we present the Report Manager of our Web-based tutoring system for German--an interface to a persistent learner report that students can inspect and manipulate. The learner report collects and retains information on the learner's progress and performance that is saved between visits. It also provides access to a journaling system…

We have developed an English pronunciation learning system which estimates the intelligibility of Japanese learners' speech and ranks their errors from the viewpoint of improving their intelligibility to native speakers. Error diagnosis is particularly important in self-study since students tend to spend time on aspects of pronunciation that do…

This preliminary study examines what the effects of additional time and different media have upon the overall quality of English language learner's written assessment tests. Sixteen intermediate-level students (L1 Cantonese), enrolled at a satellite campus of an American university within Asia, manually wrote a 45-minute timed placement test in…

This paper is another installment in the ongoing project on early language learning in a Japanese FLES program, conducted by ELLRT (Early Language Learning Research Team): Richard Donato and G. Richard Tucker with graduate students from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. The Japanese instructor in this FLES program, Yoko…

A study examined how college professors reacted to non-native English-speaking students' academic writing. It looked specifically at (1) their rating on a 10-point scale of content versus language of an essay written by non-native-speaking students; (2) their rank ordering of comprehensibility, acceptability, and irritation for errors; (3) how…

A handbook for Peace Corps volunteers gives ideas and suggestions for improving second language learning. Chapter one answers some of the most common questions about learning foreign languages, including the best age and means for language learning, avoiding mistakes, dealing with the inability to understand a message, the time needed to master…