Second language (L2) learners of tone languages do not perceive and produce the different tones of the target language with equal ease. The most common explanation for these asymmetries is that acoustically salient tones are the easiest to learn. An alternative explanation is that tones are easiest to learn when they are highly frequent in the…

Language program evaluation is a pragmatic mode of inquiry that illuminates the complex nature of language-related interventions of various kinds, the factors that foster or constrain them, and the consequences that ensue. Program evaluation enables a variety of evidence-based decisions and actions, from designing programs and implementing…

Since its inception seven years ago, Michigan State University's vibrant Second Language Studies (SLS) Program has grown quickly under the direction of Dr. Susan Gass. Thus far, twelve students have graduated from the program and now hold academic positions in various universities in the United States and elsewhere. In 2011, the department…

Recent currents in language learning research highlight the social and emergent aspects of second language (L2) development and recognize that learners need opportunities for interaction in meaningful contexts supported by explicit attention to language itself. These perspectives suggest new ways of conceptualizing the challenges faced by children…

This article presents some aspects of multilingualism and multilingual education in the Nordic countries, drawing upon experiences from the project "Network for Researchers of Multilingualism and Multilingual Education, RoMME" (2011-2013), where Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden are represented. The aim is to briefly present and…

This paper reports on the processes experienced in the development of a language programme in a high school in the western suburbs of Sydney in 2006 and represents the ideas and views of the two key participants. We consider the different perspectives held by the key participants on the project and how these need to be worked through in order to…

In the field of EFL, effective language evaluation is receiving more and more attention. However, in many Chinese EFL situations, the evaluation of language development is still considered to be product-oriented. It is the purpose of this article to examine an evaluation system of an English language program offered by a university in Yunnan…

In Canada, education in French as a second language (FSL) offers students the opportunity to learn a second official language. Is such an opportunity appropriate for allophone students who are still in the process of learning English? This literature review provides a fourfold consideration of the issue. Section 1 examines the political response…

Designed to inform the profession about foreign language programs, methods, schedules, enrollments, and trends on Long Island, this report of a survey conducted in 1968 in 60 school districts, the Diocese of Brooklyn, and three parochial schools updates information gathered in a similar survey made in 1966. After a brief analysis under the general…

The major emphasis of this bibliography is on Canadian research in teaching French as a second language published since 1967. Important references before that date, as well as selected British and American references, have also been included. Seven subtopics have been established: aims and objectives of second language instruction, bibliographies,…

Ten 1975-80 surveys and studies of FLES programs reported: Americans approve of FLES programs; children profit from FLES programs which stress interpersonal communication skills; and children develop increased interest in academic programs. Positive correlation exists between practice and proficiency in second language acquisition. Different…

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) sees discourse as a form of "social practice", in which language use is seen at the same time as socially influenced and influential. Another characteristic of CDA is that it is engaged and committed; it intervenes in social practice and attempts to reveal connections between language use, power, and ideology. The…

REPORTS OF EIGHT WORKING COMMITTEES CONSTITUTE THIS 1956 PUBLICATION OF THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE ON THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES. OBSERVATIONS ON PRESENT PRACTICES AND THE LONG RANGE POSSIBILITIES OF THE SECONDARY SCHOOL LANGUAGE LABORATORY ARE IN THE REPORT PREPARED BY THE COMMITTEE ON TEACHING AIDS AND TECHNIQUES, HEADED BY FREDERICK D.…

The core of the case for bilingual education is that the principles underlying successful bilingual education emphasize the same factors that underlie successful language acquisition in general: understanding messages and obtaining comprehensible input; using background knowledge; and the development of literacy. The importance of the first…

Discusses the Bangalore Project in South India and responds to three articles on it, particularly the one by C. J. Brumfit (ELT, 1984). Argues that more information on teacher and learner performance and more explicit and illustrative evidence of materials and methodology are needed in order to evaluate the project accurately. (SED)