Research published in recent years that deals with the Comprehension (Input) Hypothesis is reviewed, and evidence supporting the hypothesis is underlined. The research is from the areas of literacy development, second-language learning, and foreign-language learning and confirms the claim that development of language and literacy operate in much…

A retrospective of over one hundred years reveals the evolution of different policies, approaches, and methodology for teaching foreign languages to young children and shows pivotal points in events and policies. Three periods are distinguished: 1898 to 1958; the growth period of 1958 to 1978; and development since 1978. Details concerning Spanish…

Investigated how 30 tertiary English-as-a-Second-Language learners, at advanced and intermediate levels, engaged in a text reconstruction task. The study examined the types of grammatical items that caused the students most concern, and the reasoning they used to arrive at grammatical decisions. (Author/JL)

Journals devoted to language learning and instruction are filled with articles describing new methods, reporting research, and making recommendations. This article looks at two articles published in the late 1980s to determine whether suggestions made nearly a decade ago are reflected in recent textbooks. (Author/JL)

Four classes of bilingual children from Grades 3 and 5, speakers of Spanish and Nahuatl, participated in a study of literacy development focused on interlinguistic transfer and the application of narrative schemata as seen in writing samples produced in both languages. Reports on a methodological approach seen to be effective in eliciting…

Examines the metacognitive knowledge of two groups of teachers from Mainland China. One group had 6 months of intensive English language teaching (ELT) instruction involving communicative methodology in Singapore; the other was subject to a more traditional approach to ELT methodology on the Mainland. Results show that while there are differences…

Reports on a study that examined the extent to which learners can make explicit first language rules that appear to influence their second language performance. The learners were 11- and 12-year-old francophone students learning English in intensive communicative English-as-a-Second-Language classes in Quebec. (Author/VWL)

Discusses research on English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers' collaborative reflection on individual teaching procedures. Analyzed the collaborative efforts of two EFL teachers to explore teaching with a view to solving problems in their respective classes. Examined whether this process of collaborative reflection would lead to a change in…

Focused on the role of subject-matter in second language (L2) learning. Sought to identify ways in which teachers modified classroom interaction about subject-matter content in order to assist the input, feedback, and production needs of L2 learners and to promote their attention to developmentally difficult relationships of L2 form and meaning…

Research has commented on the lack of uptake by teachers in Asia of communicative language teaching principles, as introduced during teacher education programs. Quotes are included from journals written by Vietnamese teachers of English during an inservice course. The journals reveal that teachers do implement new ideas at the same time they are…

A pair of qualitative case studies looks at the pedagogical practices of two teachers, and the role they played in the development of print literacy of young anglophone children who were immersed in French as a second language. Results suggest that teachers who provide a structured instructional scaffold for their students offer a richer literacy…

Language departments in Britain have responded to the need for finding less costly alternatives for delivering instruction, by introducing autonomous language learning into the curriculum. This article warns that it is neither a cheap nor easy alternative, and that there are important economic, psychological, pedagogical, and practical issues to…

Focuses on the connections goal of the national standards for foreign language learning--that is, on the integration of interdisciplinary content and language skills. Proposes a developmental model for content-oriented instruction that moves students from familiar to unfamiliar academic and cultural content while taking into account their language…

Considers various theoretical and practical issues in language teaching that could help bridge the current methodological divide and proposes several reforms to the way that languages are currently taught in secondary schools and higher education. The paper emphasizes contemporary approaches to grammar, use of the first and second language in the…

Argues that despite the decline in enrollments in German at elementary and secondary schools and colleges and universities, there is reason to hope that interest can be invigorated. Suggests that there are easy instructional methods and materials for developing a new motivation in learning the language. (Author/VWL)