Task-based teaching is a popular topic in education field, since there is an increasing numbers of learners trying to learn their second language. However, by using the traditional drill practice, learners can only learn the rules, rather than using the language in the reality. Therefore some scholars have come up with a more communicative and…

This study investigates the relationship in L2 writing between raters' judgments of communicative adequacy and linguistic complexity by means of six-point Likert scales, and general measures of linguistic performance. The participants were 39 learners of Italian and 32 of Dutch, who wrote two short argumentative essays. The same writing tasks…

Despite the growing popularity of paired format speaking assessments, the effects of pre-task planning time on performance in these formats are not yet well understood. For example, some studies have revealed the benefits of planning but others have not. Using a multifaceted approach including analysis of the process of speaking performance, the…

By the end of their studies, non-native speakers of English studying at English-medium universities have had several years of exposure to English in that setting. Do non-native students, particularly those enrolled in non-language related programs, show different levels of second language (L2) speaking ability in their final semester of studies…

This article discusses the use of ethnographic interviews as a resource for developing intercultural understanding by students of French. Language teaching has traditionally viewed languages as discrete systems disconnected from the speakers' understanding of themselves and from native speakers of the target language. This poses a problem for…

The use of the term "strategy" in second language communication is discussed, and a typology of communication strategies is presented. Communication strategies are those systematic devices a second language learner uses in attempting to express precise meaning in the target language. Definitions of learning strategies and communication strategies…

Discusses the three main approaches to defining language knowledge and use: (1) the structural approach, (2) the functional approach, and (3) the general proficiency approach. Asserts that each approach has specific consequences for language testing and that no one approach can claim to be the only way of representing that knowledge. (Author/SED)

Argues for giving precedence to the development of listening and reading skills, while postponing speaking and writing, in order to acquire a solid foundation for later speaking. Emphasizes bilingual exercises comprised of listening, supported by written texts. This method also preferable for adult learners because of inhibitions and anxiety about…

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…

Adult native speakers of Hebrew, English-speaking learners of Hebrew, and an additional group of native English speakers were administered a discourse-completion test. Results indicate that to some extent speech-act realization in interlanguage benefits from the activation of a non language-specific pragmatic competence. Conformity to the…

Analyzes a group of children who had been matched for English proficiency and socioeconomic status at the beginning of a school year but who differed in their school achievement at the end of that year. Considers competence in morphology, syntax, and vocabulary; verbosity; patterns of social interaction; first language performance; and personality…

Rejects the assumptions which underlie the audiolingual method and offers two alternative propositions: (1) successful use of language requires the acquisition of communicative as well as linguistic competence and (2) first and second language learning are analogous processes. (Author/FB)

A study of non-native children's acquisition of communicative competence examined the child's construction of rules of conversation in the second language. The linguistic devices that children use to link up their utterances with those of another speaker, i.e., cohesion-creating devices that create textual unity, were focused upon. Repetition, one…

Speech performance data, including hesitations in the stream of speech, fragmented words or phrases, retracings, and the use of intonation contours for noncommunicative purposes, are examined. It is proposed that these types of speech phenomena are indicative of underlying hypothesis testing and utterance planning strategies. Data produced by 48…