Background: In Germany, there is a substantial gap in reading literacy between monolingual children and their L2-speaking peers. Nevertheless, it is still unclear where these performance differences are rooted. Methods: We investigated children of grades 5, 6 and 7 with comparable socio-economic status, who completed a battery of tests assessing…

This article explores ways in which learners' achievements can be assessed and reflected in both the domains of linguistic performance and subject-content learning. The content and language integrated learning (CLIL) approach adopted by the authors is one in which language learning and content learning are truly integrated and where neither…

This paper describes and supports (through citations of published literature) hands-on and personalized activities that help English (and any other) language learners of all ages and skill levels to acquire and express integrated reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. The paper discusses use of motor activities, video, graphic art works…

Discusses problems in second language acquisition caused by linguistic interference and emphasizes the importance of positive attitudes. (RL)

Discusses a system for evaluating student performance in the language laboratory, grading for comprehension and correctness, with four categories: complete, limited, severely limited, unsatisfactory. Evaluation of laboratory performance is more objective, being based on what has been taught and learned under stable conditions. (Text is in German.)…

Factors affecting student listening comprehension include those inherent - age, IQ, hearing ability, knowledge of the foreign language, memory - and those relating to material - content, complexity, length, use of visual clues. Suggestions are made for adapting text material to effective listening exercises. (CHK)

A model of speech perception and production is suggested here which attempts to account for different rates of acquisition of perceptual and productive skill in the second language without assuming the existence of two separate second language grammars. (Author/KM)

Alternatives to prose translation as a language test are discussed, and an experimental reorientation test in French given to 128 prospective A level candidates is described in detail. (RM)

The "dictee" as a method of language testing is discussed. Commonly made mistakes are described, and ways to help the student perform well discussed. (RM)

Examines the linguistic awareness of the translation process by analyzing the self-corrections made by native speakers and matching subjects' self-perception of what they had done with what they actually did in order to establish a set of parameters of linguistic awareness. Contains extensive bibliographic references. (PMJ)

Investigated how well nonnative speakers (NNSs) could modify their output toward comprehensibility when interacting with native speakers (NSs) and NNSs, noting how often modified comprehensible output (MCO) was other- or self-initiated. Picture-dictation and opinion-exchange task data indicated that most repairs were self-initiated. NNS-NNS…

Inconclusive evidence that second-language learners understand a foreign language better than they speak it led to a study of the comprehension of native and nonnative speakers. Results indicated that second-language learners speak better than they understand. The paper discusses three conditions for learning: overt activity, emotional…

Asserts that language mastery should be judged separately from knowledge, reasoning ability and personality traits. Recognition of and communication of intention are discussed as key factors in language mastery, and the skills of reading, speaking, writing and comprehension are described as independent skills. (RM)

The goal of this report is to identify factors that led to success for L2 (second language learning or acquisition) students at Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) (Massachusetts). The author intends to use the results of the study to write proposals to secure funding for the success of more L2 students. He originally intended to read a total of…