Explores the ways in which academic literature engages linear and nonlinear texts. Focuses on the future of the technology of the book and contrasts student experiences drawn from their insights into writing essays and constructing Web pages. Concludes that teachers and students must recognize that language learners are engaging with texts in new…

Focuses on testing writing in the English-as-a-Foreign-Language classroom. Describes a study comparing students' expectations of grades with their actual grades earned for essays assigned in freshman English classes at the Lebanese American University. (Author/VWL)

Compared the effectiveness of three different learning strategies on Korean English-as-a-Foreign-Language learners' vocabulary comprehension: context, semantic mapping, and word lists. University students were randomly assigned to one of three treatments of vocabulary instruction and examined on various levels of vocabulary knowledge using three…

A study compared students' orientations toward learning Spanish to their orientations toward learning English or French as a second language, and examined other variables, including interethnic attitudes and contact, motivation, self-confidence, and Spanish competence. Results do not permit a clear delineation of a sociomotivational basis for…

The patterns of second grade French immersion students' spontaneous reading in English during the first and second year of their immersion program are reported and compared with their French reading performance. (MSE)

The effects of attendance at linguistically and ethnically homogeneous schools on language motivation and ethnic attitude among preuniversity students learning English and Chinese in Singapore were investigated. Contrary to expectation, students from homogeneous secondary schools tended to be more positive in their ethnic attitude. (Contains 17…

This study compared the exam performance of 65 foreign students of Dutch whose homework had been regularly checked by a computer program with 62 students whose homework had been randomly checked. On a 100-item proficiency test the former group obtained an average score of 77.2, while the latter group obtained an average score of 65.4. (Contains 21…

To study the adequacy of the brief oral examination format as a basis for assessing oral skills, the study compared samples of 15-minute oral exams with 3-hour written exam results by the same students. The resultant average size of oral samples was about 77% of that of written samples, with good comparability, leading to useful conclusions about…

Compared the reactions of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers and nonteachers to nonnative communication. The study focused on two questions: Are ESL teacher and nonteacher perceptions of advanced ESL students' communication skills multidimensional? and Are there differences in ESL teacher and nonteacher perceptions of this communication?…

Investigated whether there were differences in retention of language when both visual and auditory stimuli were employed as opposed to just a visual stimulus. It was found that reading-only resulted in higher scores on tests taken immediately, whereas combined listening and reading resulted in higher tests when tests were delayed. (12 references)…

The syllogistic reasoning performance of Puerto Rican children in grades three through five was assessed in English and Spanish. The difference in formal reasoning in favor of Spanish was attributed to the additional processing demands imposed on children when they solve problems in their second language. (34 references) (Author/LB)

Advanced adult nonnative speakers of English were taped in advising sessions to analyze two speech acts, suggestions, and rejections according to their frequency, form, and success. They were compared with native speakers. Results are explained by the availability of positive and negative feedback. (30 references) (Author/LB)

The oral performance of a sample of 87 undergraduates was evaluated first in a face-to-face setting and then through audio recordings of that same performance. Results confirm that effectiveness in oral communication clearly is not dependent on words and sounds alone but that paralinguistic and extralinguistic data also play a significant role.…

The first part of a larger planned investigation, this study examines the use of "por" and "para" by nine Peace Corps volunteers in oral interviews at the end of training and roughly one year later, to trace their acquisition over time, in two learning contexts. (24 references) (LB)

Argues for a critical language awareness (LA) and for LA to be closely linked to the development of learners' practical language capabilities. The paper offers a critical evaluation of three major programmatic statements about LA: Committee for Linguistics in Education (1985); National Congress on Languages in Education (1985); and Hawkins (1984).…