For many language learners, studying a foreign language is a compulsory, high-stakes activity. It is perhaps for this reason that positive feelings about language learning are rarely mentioned in the literature on language learning. The focus is predominantly on negative feelings: the anxiety caused by being asked to speak in the foreign language…

This paper reports a case study of the nature and extent of progress in speaking skills made by a group of upper intermediate instructed learners, and also assessors' perceptions of that progress. Initial and final interview data were analysed using several measures of Grammatical and Lexical Complexity, Language Accuracy and Fluency. These…

Presents arguments concerning the linguistic assimilation of Blacks (West Indians) in Britain, and the research methodology used to examine this issue. One argument holds that the studies' designs are flawed, allowing a false interpretation that Blacks are linguistically assimilated; the other argument upholds the research findings. (WAS)

Reports on a longitudinal study on the effects of students' early linguistic development and family background on test performance when the students reach the end of their compulsory schooling years. Finds a considerable degree of continuity between early language development and later examination performance. (CFR)

Argues that the proceduralization of linguistic knowledge is the most important factor in the development of fluency in advanced second-language learners. Experimental results indicate that learners become more fluent (as measured by speaking rate) after a period of residence abroad. It is concluded that quantitative and qualitative evidence…