This study used eye-tracking to investigate the real-time processing of phonetic and semantic radicals (components of Chinese characters that give clues to their pronunciation and meaning) by intermediate-level university Chinese foreign language (CFL) learners. Additionally, the study examined how knowledge and awareness of radicals affect…

Language-specific features necessitate certain processes and skills in reading. The visually unmarked between-word boundaries in written Chinese render it critical that readers be able to segment words in the continuous texts. It may pose challenges for second language (L2) readers whose first language (L1) is word-spaced. In light of the lack of…

The current study examines the cognition of reading instruction held by teachers of Japanese as a second or foreign language (L2 Japanese) working mainly in Japan, New Zealand, and the US. The study reports findings obtained from two data collection methods: interviews and metaphor elicitation contained in a questionnaire. The researcher…

Pinyin is a sound-annotating system for Chinese characters using Roman letters. Teaching and learning Pinyin has been an important educational practice in Mainland China for native Chinese children, and it is also typically taught to beginning learners of Chinese as a foreign/second language in tertiary-level classrooms. However, whether it should…

"Reading in Asian Languages" is rich with information about how literacy works in the non-alphabetic writing systems (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) used by hundreds of millions of people and refutes the common Western belief that such systems are hard to learn or to use. The contributors share a comprehensive view of reading as construction…

The aim of this book was to present innovative applications of technology in second language teaching and learning, as well as to explore the transformation of the different techniques to different theoretical frameworks. It has also been desired to have a representation of researchers from different parts of the world as contributors. When the…

This course on the language of Sri Lanka is intended to be taken under a Sinhala-speaking instructor. This module introduces the Sinhala writing system. The emphasis of the module is on letter recognition. Directions for writing the symbols in the "basic" alphabet are provided so that students will have a culturally appropriate and phonetically…

The importance of integrating written with oral language in second-language instruction for children is emphasized, and ways to do so naturally in the first two years of French language teaching are outlined. Specific exercises are described, particularly for the second year. (MSE)

This book remains a comprehensive, myth-debunking examination of how L1 features (orthographic system, phonology, morphology) can influence English L2 reading at the "bottom" of the reading process. It provides a thorough but very accessible linguistic/psycholinguistic examination of the lowest levels of the reading process. It is both theoretical…

Reports on a development in interactive Japanese at a new facility where lexicographical information can be viewed with full contextual information. This information is available for any word in the 65 texts incorporated in the course. This method of showing all the collocations of a word was implemented to help users monitor progress. (24…

Second-language teachers are encouraged to develop two forms of reading, silent and oral, in classroom instruction. The relationship between the two is discussed, and aspects of oral communication that teachers can explore (voice, multiplicity of voices, movement and gesture, use of props, and spatial use) are examined. (MSE)

High Speed Projection (HiSP) is a classroom technique that employs a standard carousel slide projector to induce conditioned oral responses by students to unfamiliar symbols. HiSP enables active teaching of Japanese, Korean, and other non-Roman languages, drastically reducing the time and effort students must devote to learning the pronunciation…

What lessons can be learned from relevant research in vocabulary- and language-learning strategy training as well as from comparative studies on learning Oriental languages, which could have helpful applications to language learners from Kanji-background countries? Could both mnemonic and semantic field keyword approaches help these learners by…

This paper describes a project involving EFL learners in synchronous electronic discussions. The output of the students' interactions was analyzed qualitatively to uncover the main linguistic and interactional features. It was observed that the students' discussions contained a large number of spelling, usage, and grammatical errors, an almost…

A discussion of classroom techniques and activities useful in teaching English to monolingual Arab students begins with a review of cultural factors significant in the second language learning patterns of this population. These factors include historical and traditional influences, North American perceptions of Arabs, the teaching of English in…