Presents a quasi-experimental study conducted among younger immersion students that focused on determining whether an area of French vocabulary identified as problematic for these students can be successfully learned via increased exposure to such vocabulary in interesting reading material supplemented with associated analytic language activities.…

Discusses the notion of personal response, which is a method in English-language teaching that aims to elicit learner production of discourse in the target language. The article distinguishes between reader-response and personal response approaches and demonstrates how the inclusion of reader response in literature-based communicative language…

Describes the implementation and evaluation of the second year of a three-year pilot project to teach Japanese to students at a Pittsburgh elementary school. Analyses of students' performance indicate that they progressed considerably in developing proficiency in Japanese and that their teachers believed that more could be done to incorporate the…

Illustrates how to use ethnographic techniques to acquire a better understanding of classroom dynamics. The article focuses on the characterization of "success" in an Italian class through analysis of interaction patterns and purposes of the participants. Findings reveal the need for a continuity of teacher and students' goals, methods, and forms…

Studies involving teachers of both Spanish and English as a foreign language reveal that metaphors provide teachers with a useful image to represent their views and the elusiveness of cultural concepts. It is suggested that teachers become ethnographers investigating their own beliefs as well as those of others while developing sociolinguistic…

Argues that teaching about Italian dialects ought to form an integral part of the Italian curriculum and offers ideas on what could be included in such a course. Points out that the study of these dialects can teach students about the history and synchronic structures of standard Italian as well as the role of Italian sociolinguistics as it…

Examines the conflict between students' focus on learning the grammar and vocabulary of a foreign language instead of considering the culture that lies beneath the target language, in this case, Italian. Suggestions are made for overcoming the practical difficulty of imposing a language as a cultural entity upon the students. (25 references) (CK)

Overviews recent developments in immersion language programs in Australia, contrasting the Australian experience with that of other countries. Findings indicate that the most promising developments at the tertiary level are teacher education programs with content-based instruction in the target language and an emerging focus on combining intensive…

Overviews the numbers and kinds of students taking college-level Japanese courses currently, their motivations and challenges, and some of the ways in which Japanese is different from the more commonly taught languages. Notes that for the first time in United States history the study of a language outside the Indo-European family, i.e., Japanese…

Addresses, from a neurobiological perspective, the input-intake distinction commonly made in applied linguistics and the role of selective attention in transforming input to intake. The study places primary emphasis upon a neural structure (the nucleus reticularis thalami) that appears to be essential for selective attention. (79 references)…

Discusses the role connectionism plays in the development of cognitive theories and in the explanation of linguistic phenomena inherent in second language acquisition (SLA). Presents a critical look at some existing connectionist models of language functions with a focus on the need for a general cognitive model of SLA that integrates research in…

The seven chapters of this theme issue on second-language instruction illustrate the pedagogical shift from measuring language achievement to emphasizing language proficiency. The issue explores empirical and theoretical investigations into second-language acquisition research in both affective and cognitive domains. (SLD)

Reviews current approaches to second-language syllabus design in the United Kingdom and proposes a model for planning a five-year course of study within the national curriculum framework that will take account of both the meanings a learner may wish to express and the grammatical knowledge needed, i.e., a model reconciling the semantic and…

This article discusses alternative language assessment approaches with children for whom English is a second language. Advantages and disadvantages of each approach are noted. Also, results of a preliminary investigation with 28 bilingual Latino children using modifications of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals are presented.…

Provides a summary of a discussion of the implications of these perspectives for the theory and practice of teaching English for academic purposes at the university level. Presents an example of a critical thinking discussion activity. (Author/VWL)