This study investigates the attitudes towards, and practices of, computer-assisted autonomous learning in learning English of 160 students from three different higher education institutions in China. To do this, a questionnaire was completed by 160 participants, and follow-up in-depth interviews were undertaken with six participants and six of…

Indicates that under- and overachievement is related primarily to teaching and educational methods, and is independent of the subject matter area. (DS)

Research on the interaction of keyword treatment with materials or student characteristics in learning foreign languages was reviewed. Most of the studies implied that foreign language vocabulary learning was related to verbal, not visual-spatial ability or elaboration, conditions, and that student-generated keywords were more effective than…

More foreign-language professors are stressing speaking rather than grammar in their courses. They are encouraging their students to talk as much as 90 percent of the time. At the heart of the new approach is the concept of "proficiency"--what the student can do with the language. (MLW)

The effects of elaboration instructions and imagery characteristics of verbal material on learning of Malay--English word pairs were investigated, as well as the moderating effects of individual differences. Results reflect aptitude X treatment interactions and the importance of individual differences in planning instructional methods. (Author/JAC)

The report reviews recent arguments for directing attention to suitability for a linguistic course of study. A first step in that direction, a Verbal Reasoning Test composed and tried out in the 1975 student selection for English, is described, and the results of this experiment, involving 1046 candidates, are given. The Verbal Reasoning Test is…

Communicative competence, the ability to use a language effectively in unrehearsed transactions with native speakers, must be the ultimate goal of language teaching. Drills and repetition of patterned phrases do not, in and of themselves, lead to real language use. We should begin giving students opportunities to use language in unrehearsed,…

This resource guide is designed to provide foreign language teachers with suggestions for helping students become better language learners. The four chapters of the guide for teaching speaking skills are as follows: (1) Teaching Learning Strategies (e.g., rationale for teaching, types, useful strategies, guidelines, instructional sequence, and…

One of the main tenets of the audio-lingual theory which has dominated most of our thinking in foreign language teaching methodology for the last fifteen years is that students should never be put in the situation of having to say something for which they have not already learned the patterns. Is the language laboratory really useful, however, in…

This handbook, intended for language teachers at all levels, is an introduction to foreign language testing. It is a revision and expansion of the edition that appeared ten years ago. This edition reflects contemporary concerns in measurement and evaluation and contemporary changes in teaching aims, particularly toward communicative competence.…