Facilitating the transformation of vocabulary from receptive to productive can be challenging for second language (L2) teachers. Although some studies have focused on understanding activities that promote productive vocabulary in written modes (e.g., Teng & Xu, 2022), little is known about the effect of activities on productive vocabulary in…

Since the late 1990s the notion of a plurilingual and pluricultural competence as elaborated by Coste, Moore and Zarate (1997) has had a strong impact on the didactics of languages. Several plural approaches have been developed which aim at developing competences in several languages and/or cultures (Melo-Pfeifer & Reimann, 2018; Reissner,…

This paper suggests six areas of vocabulary research which the author believes would be fruitful for future research. They include (1) developing a practical model of vocabulary acquisition, (2) understanding how vocabulary knowledge develops from receptive to productive mastery, (3) getting lexical teaching/learning principles into vocabulary and…

Language researchers and teachers have long been interested in the timing of learning, and the distributed practice effect, whereby greater inter-session intervals result in longer retention, is well-known (Kim & Webb, 2022). Many L2 studies have focused on the intentional learning of lexis (Edmonds, Gerbier, Palasis, & Whyte, 2021),…

Learning English language is important as mother tongue in the case of second language learners because of its widen opportunities in one's professional and academic areas. Getting command in English language needs special practice and training in the case of second language learners where they are exposed continuously to their mother tongue. To…

The purpose of this article is to briefly describe the design and piloting of a branched, online placement and credit examination that measures receptive as well as productive and creative language abilities in the heritage language of college students entering the Spanish for Heritage Learners Program at the University of Houston, a major…

Online technology and streaming video have the potential to generate tremendous interest and motivation in ESL/EFL students. Unfortunately, as the basis for a task-based language teaching (TBLT) program, such technology often places students in a passive position and limits inter-student communication. This paper describes a successful TBLT course…

Discusses the elements of the language learning process, i.e., language experience, the learner, mental processes, comprehension, learning, the capacities the learner brings to the process, and the conditions for learning and elaborates on their implications for second language teaching. What must occur before the learner moves across the gap…

Reasons that students have trouble developing their reading skills in Russian include: (1) reading comprehension is regarded as unimportant; (2) teachers discourage the surmising of meaning; and, (3) it is difficult to remember Russian words unless their elements (roots, prefixes, and suffixes) are recognized. (SED)

Proposes that second language instruction should give priority to the receptive skills of listening and reading and describes a project conducted in Sweden which sought to realize the development of these skills in a short course. (AM)

It is argued that dictation is a neglected technique for second-language training. Students' error patterns at three levels are presented to show how the technique can be used effectively for both teaching and testing, and to develop integrative skills and accuracy in both listening and writing. (Author/MSE)

Communicative proficiency, defined as native-like ability to use the language as a medium of two-way communication, is most effectively and efficiently achieved through instruction emphasizing development of listening and reading comprehension skills, and virtually excluding training in production. The comprehension approach avoids the teaching of…

The syllabus for a college-level speech course at California State University, Los Angeles, designed to help students of English as a second language bring their pronunciation closer to mainstream English is presented. While the primary focus is on pronunciation improvement, the course also provides functional communication practice. The students…