The first part of these findings is a report on a study of the characteristics of 120 Spanish-English bilingual children's speech over a two-year period in the classroom, on the playground, and at home. Three types of language measures were used as well as audiotaped speech samples taken in the three communication settings. Preliminary findings…

This workbook is designed for second level students of Spanish and contains thirty units, each unit focusing on a selected topic and the Spanish idioms relevant to that topic. Each unit includes a list of the idioms, a dialogue containing the idioms, completion exercises, paraphrase exercises, and suggestions of activities to help students learn…

The recent tendency in language instruction is toward the functional approach which shifts focus away from structure and internal semantics toward communicative competence and the external uses to which language is put. The implications of this trend for methodology, materials production, educational technology, and in particular for the language…

This paper reports on a study done at the University of Texas at San Antonio to examine the extent of compoundness or coordinateness with respect to the language use of Spanish-English speaking bilinguals in the Southwest. The long-range purpose was to delve into the more theoretical issue of the kinds of bilingual functioning. The discussion is…

In summer 1974, an intensive English language program on the Lubumbashi campus of the National University of Zaire was organized, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation which is committed to supporting higher education in Zaire. The need for such a program arises from the determination of newly independent countries to achieve wider multilateral…

This article describes a project-oriented approach to teaching language awareness at the college freshman level. It is emphasized that it is important for students to realize that language is dynamic and that it changes because people change. The study of slang can make the student aware of the changeableness of a living language. Students were…

The sensitive area of language attitude as it relates to cultural and educational stereotyping should be explored openly and frankly in the classroom to erase false ideas and misbeliefs about language usage. The "Corrective Approach" in English-as-a-second-language instruction, which assumes that Standard English exists, is necessary for improved…

In Czechoslovakia and other Eastern European countries, where native English speakers are rare and only limited quantities of English-language literature are available, the English for specific purposes teacher has to be more versatile and be able to accommodate the varying levels of English mastery of students. (CB)

This article reports the results of an investigation into Iranian EFL learners' perceived use of language learning strategies (LLSs) overall, the six strategy categories (memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective, and social) as well as the 50 individual strategies appearing in Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language…

A program designed to improve the oral second language skills of high school students in second-year Spanish is reported. Initial analysis attributed the students' low level of oral Spanish skills to lack of motivation and insufficient practice of oral language. Three major interventions were implemented: incorporation of more oral practice of…

This study explores the different meanings of "ahora" (now) and "ahorita" (right now) in Spanish usage by a migrant community of mushroom pickers in Mexico and the United States. Both terms are used as temporal expressions in Mexican Spanish spoken on both sides of the border. They are discourse markers. After studying groups…

Investigated the effect of grammatical and discourse features on rater perceptions of writing quality in evaluating foreign language writing samples. Also investigated differences in rating profiles between native and nonnative speaking raters. (Author/VWL)

Uses a detailed qualitative case study to explore the implementation of task-based teaching in three primary school classrooms in Hong Kong. Reviews six issues that were found to impact how teachers approached the implementation of communicative tasks in their classroom. Themes addressed are teacher beliefs, teacher understandings, the syllabus…

Examines indigenous language use in schools in Fiji, where English is the language of instruction in secondary schools but where indigenous Fijian has a strong presence. Explores attitudes of indigenous Fijian secondary school students on English-language usage among peers and suggests that an indigenous group can define group authenticity…

Presents findings from case studies of adult Canadians who successfully maintained the French second-language skills they first learned at school. Results suggested that higher initial proficiency and amount of second-language use were both positively related to the level of retained proficiency. Subjects were virtually unanimous on seeing regular…