The present study takes a variationist perspective to explore the varietal repertoires of adult learners of German as a second language (L2), that is, their variable use of standard German, Austro-Bavarian dialect, and mixture varieties. Forty L2 learners completed a virtual reality task involving interactions with dialect-speaking and…

As an international phenomenon, standardization has become increasingly prominent, and language has been curricularized through learning progressions, curricula, and high-stakes assessments. Curricularized systems exist in tension with what we know about how individuals develop language. As scholars have asserted, language development is mediated…

This study investigates the case of 7 female heritage learners of Spanish who have chosen, as adults, to enroll in online Spanish language instruction at the postsecondary level. Drawing on symbolic convergence theory, it identifies a cultural fantasy metanarrative that participants collectively constructed as they made sense of their language…

Problems encountered in the teaching of Spanish to bilingual Spanish-speaking students are discussed. The implications of teaching the standard dialect of Spanish are considered, and a normative approach to language instruction is compared to a comprehensive language development program. (CLK)

Discusses the belief that meaning is primary to a child learning language and concludes that teachers should develop language programs in which the use of language would be essential rather than incidental. (RL)

Describes the research literature on diglossia, presents the practicality of Formal Spoken Arabic (FSA) from the training point of view, and gives a brief overview of features of FSA as taught at the Foreign Service Institute that have popularized it for teaching spoken proficiency skills to students of Arabic as a foreign language. (30…

Critical review and discussion of John Macnamara's "Nurseries, Streets and Classrooms," Modern Language Journal, v57 n5-6 p250-4 Sep-Oct 1973. (RL)

This article discusses comprehension problems encountered by students of French as a second language as a result of the mismatch between the standard language they learn in classrooms and the language used by native speakers. (CLK)

A study was conducted to determine the extent to which listening comprehension is impaired when students are confronted with the colloquial use of French, as opposed to its formal use. It was found that amoung 128 prospective French teachers who participated in the study, there existed a low comprehension level of colloquial French, a discrepancy…