Describes the design of multimedia computer programming for personal computers that uses moving video to assist in the development of business English listening skills for learners of English as a Second Language. Reviews the aims of the project, the basic technological requirements, and the application's key features. (12 references) (MDM)

Discusses the use of "free conversation" in oral examinations. The use of "free conversation" to describe structured interviews where the teacher does most of the questioning and the candidate supplies most of the information is inaccurate unless the format of tasks can genuinely allow the exchange of previously unknown information. (CK)

This article reports the results of a pilot study of the characteristics and motivation for studying of a group of 20 part-time students who enrolled in a new "Diploma in German Studies and Business and Commercial German." Students were given a questionnaire relating to background, motivation, and attitudes regarding difficulties in the…

This paper presents the educational method of role taking as a means of teaching communicative competence in a second language. The method calls for encouragement of student "creative work" and "coping with" the learning material. A sample lesson used in South Africa with students (ages 11-13) learning English as a Second…

Discusses some aspects of the Japanese language that look inexplicable at first but that turn out to be explainable by pragmatic principles shared with English. Focus is placed on how the Japanese choose a particular word to use in a sentence involving indirect quotations, when the words would be synonyms in other languages. (20 references) (GLR)

The degree to which television conversations follow the rules of naturally occurring conversation is investigated. The occurrences of 1 type of pragmatic behavior (the dispreferred behavior of refusing social invitations) in 25 television conversations are compared with a theoretical description of such conversational strategies. (seven…

Key definitions, assumptions, and research concerning learning styles related to culture are presented with six case study examples of cross-cultural conflicts in tertiary education settings. The optimal management of teacher-student style disparities in the multicultural classroom is discussed. (38 references) (Author/LB)

Defines English phrasal verbs (EPVs) and analyzes Italian students problems when studying them. Through contrastive analysis of English and Italian syntax and study of student errors, important insights are offered. (over 100 references) (LET)

Discusses the administration of the Test di Attitudine Linguistica per Bambini (TALB) to students 7-9 years of age. Correlations between the TALB and achievement tests administered at the end of the course were very high. It is concluded that aptitude is a main factor in successful learning of a second language. (16 references) (LET)

Based on a literacy interdependence theory, uses findings from the Ramirez et al. study on programs for Spanish-speaking, limited-English-proficient students to refute theories opposing bilingual education. Expresses concern that all three program types in the Ramirez study reflect transmission models of pedagogy in which students have little…

Reviews the reported findings and implications of the Ramirez et al. study. Examines the validity of the operational definitions of the program types and the degree of implementation of the models. Discusses the seven major findings of the study, and some possibly misleading conclusions. (KS)

An investigation of native language influence on second-language (English) reading processed indicated that, when essential phonological information was inaccessible, Arabic and Spanish phonographic readers were seriously impaired, although Japanese morphographic readers were not affected. (83 references) (Author/CB)

Examines evidence for the presence or absence of one Universal Grammar principle, subjacency, in the grammars of groups of proficient nonnative (Korean, Chinese, Indonesian, Dutch) speakers of English. Results found that, although all subjects were able to correctly judge grammatical sentences, only the Dutch subjects were able to correctly judge…

Reports on a four-month study of deaf education programs conducted in Sweden and Denmark in March of 1990, and discusses three aspects of language learning involving deaf children's learning sign language as a first language, Swedish as a second language, and hearing parents' and teachers' learning of Swedish Sign Language. (14 references)

Comparison of university students' scores on the University of Illinois' English Placement Test revealed that English-as-a-Second-Language students scored much higher on the dictation section and English-as-a-Foreign-Language students scored much higher on the structure (grammar) section, suggesting a need for cautious interpretation of such…