Intermediate level students of English as a second language reach a critical stage in their language learning after which motivation wanes if no specific attainable goals are offered as encouragement to progress. The ability to enjoy recreational reading can provide those goals, but students must make the transition from dependence on the teacher…

A collection of papers on language testing addresses these topics: language tests seen from a communicative viewpoint; microcomputers and testing; productive second language skills; developing teachers' assessment skills; content validity of holistic tests; statistical regression in group conversation tests; reading comprehension; unique…

This article reports on observations made during an intensive course in French organized by a business firm for its immigrant Portuguese workers. The principal aim of this project was to study course materials as they are actually used. Special attention was therefore paid to: (1) teacher discourse, which, although an essential component of…

A thirty-hour skills-based reading program was designed for beginning-level ESL (English as a second language) students in the intensive English language program at Boston University. Reading was included as an essential component in the low-level college-preparatory ESL class for several reasons: (1) reading instruction and practice begin to…

This study compared three reading skill areas (recalling details, understanding a main idea not explicitly stated, and making inferences) in Spanish, the subjects' native language, and American English, their second language. The sample consisted of 47 adults from nine Latin American countries and Puerto Rico who were completing an intensive ESOL…

This study investigates the role of inferencing in cloze test performance and the factors that facilitate that inferencing. Four groups of high school students learning French as a second language completed sets of cloze passages under four treatment conditions. Three conditions provided a potential cue to inferencing, while the fourth was a…

A general model for second language learning is proposed in this paper. First, this model aims to describe different components (input, intake, integration, output) of the learning process in terms of the information (explicit/implicit, linguistic/sociolinguistic) to which the learner is exposed. Secondly, the model serves to identify the stages,…

This phrasebook is intended to help Americans coming into contact with Vietnamese overcome the communication barrier. It is not intended as a pedagogical aid for those wishing to learn Vietnamese. The vocabulary items used in the sentences cover only the most common and basic situations. An additional 1500-word English-Vietnamese glossary is…

This basic textbook for Dutch contains 10 units. The text is adaptable for use in an academic institution (anticipated completion time is one academic year), in an intensive program (completion time is 90-120 hours), or in independent study. The vocabulary is limited, and only basic and essential grammar is included. A brief introduction contains…

Oriya, a language spoken by approximately 14 million Indians who live along the coast of the Bay of Bengal, is the subject of this introductory language text. The basic, grammatical framework of Oriya is developed in this volume. Presentation of the orthographic system is achieved through the Romanization of the Oriya alphabet. Short dialogues…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate French programs in Alberta. Evaluation teams visited schools in four jurisdictions; each school jurisdiction provided a representative sample of 50 non-Francophone students at each of the grades 6, 9, and 11, and a sample of 25 dropouts from the program in each of the grades 6 and 11. Tests and…

This book integrates current second language teaching and learning theories and instructional strategies, helping to make mainstream educators aware that language minority students, especially those who are not totally proficient in English, need special attention, appropriate assessment, an appropriate language environment, and a challenging…

This project involves the collaboration of researchers with 24 teachers in a study aimed at investigating and improving the vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension of 4th and 5th grade students for whom English is a second language. Cross sectional and longitudinal data were collected on various aspects of vocabulary knowledge, vocabulary…

Reports on an experimental investigation of the effects of a systematic, story-reading-aloud program on some language variables in preschool and first-grade children. Results indicate that both age groups significantly increased their language comprehension and expressions when listening to stories read aloud, either at home or at school. (25…

Explores the effects of the attitudes and culture of Israeli-Jewish English-language students on their reading comprehension. Eighth-grade students read stories in Hebrew and English and answered questions both about the stories and their own attitudes. Reveals that culturally familiar texts boost reading comprehension scores. (MJP)