This study was conducted in a private language school in Auckland, New Zealand to investigate the relationship between course level and reported frequency of language learning strategy use by speakers of other languages and to look for patterns of strategy use according to course level and other learner variables (Author/VWL)

In contrast to the usual approach to teaching grammar, this article argues for a comprehension-based approach. Based on a model of second-language acquisition, it examines a number of possible goals for grammar instruction (e.g., to promote "intake" of new grammatical features by helping learners notice input features and comprehend the meaning).…

When preintermediate English-as-a-foreign-language students did a controlled dictation test and then amended their protocols during an unexpected second exposure to the passage, an analysis of the scores showed a modest improvement in performance, counterbalanced by a marked drop in dispersal and a loss of validity. (Author/CB)

Grosjean and Gee's prosodic structure theory is applied to second-language listening comprehension. It is argued that second-language students whose native language is syllable-timed do not have a mechanism to deal with unstressed syllables and must create one. The absences of this mechanism helps explain difficulties in listening comprehension.…

Discusses how the English-language-learning needs of a development project in Thailand were met. Describes how the language program that emerged became a critical episode that has subsequently informed work in various professional contexts. (Author/VWL)

Examines the perceptions of 100 adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners from a variety of first language backgrounds with regard to their pronunciation difficulties and the strategies they employ when faced with communication breakdown. Findings are discussed with reference to pronunciation instruction and commercially available…

A review of Hunt's research to find ways of measuring the growth of syntactic proficiency in American school children explores the possibilities of applying these measures to groups of British native and non-native speakers of English and developing them for use in teaching and testing. (Author/CB)

A detailed, nonimpressionistic assessment checklist is presented for teach-yourself language packages. Two example research applications are given: a survey of a range of course packages, and an analysis of the patterns of materials used by an individual learner of Hungarian. (39 references) (Author/LB)

Provides an analysis of classroom discourse by identifying the topics in the discourse and following their development. To identify topics, bottom-up approaches based on theme-rheme progression and lexical networks were used together with a top-down schematic approach producing semantic networks of keywords. (Author/VWL)

Investigation of non-native English speakers' ratings of other non-native English learners' oral proficiency. Results indicate that the judges' ratings significantly differed, and the average of three judges' ratings was a better appraisal of the testee's true ability than that of any single rating or pair of ratings. (Author/CB)

Investigated the language wants of English majors in Hungary. A questionnaire was administered to students in all six universities in Hungary where there are students majoring in English language and literature. Results suggest that students use English mainly for academic purposes during their academic study. (Author/VWL)

German advanced English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students' productive knowledge of English collocations consisting of a verb and a noun were investigated in a translation task and a close task. Results suggest that EFL students should concentrate on collocations that cannot readily be paraphrased. The tasks are appended. (32 references)…

Promotes the use of international broadcasting as a rich source of spoken text for foreign language learning. A basic knowledge of this technology is stressed, including types of broadcasts, times, frequency/wavelength, transmission modes, propagation variation, reception techniques, and program schedules. In addition, choice and use of equipment…

The hypothesis explored is that autonomy in education and language learning is more significant than the ability to make responsible choices, relating more to exploration of the self-concept and to the realization of personal and group potential. Experiential learning is discussed in this context. (25 references) (Author/LB)

Some 107 students participated in a study exploring factors that influence satellite-delivered language achievement. Of the factors (motivation, learning style, learning strategy use, gender, previous language learning experience, and course level), student motivation was by far the most significant determiner, followed by learning strategy use.…