Addresses two issues within a general theory of cross-cultural adaption. One concerns the extent to which cross-cultural adaption is activated by the ability to make meaning in Japanese as a foreign language; the second investigated the phenomenon of identity slippage. Six life histories of informants who had learned Japanese after age 11 are used…

Assesses the role of the World Wide Web as a provider of suitable source materials for specialist foreign language learners for whom cultural competence also involves workplace-related skills. (Author/VWL)

Examines gender-related patterns of behavior in the second-language classroom and argues that these patterns dovetail with all the other dynamics of language behavior. The article concludes that drawing on the theoretical foundations of frames theory will ensure that research into gender-related patterns of classroom discourse will reflect the…

Poses questions highlighting tensions needing management in the gendered practice of research. The article maintains that gender is one of the major social relations continually negotiated in social practices and affects the research questions asked, methods used, and data interpretation and implications. (six references) (CK)

Suggests that in applied linguistics there has been a collective ignorance of the social constraints operating on exchanges between research interviews and informant interviewees. The article discusses literature from sociology and social psychology that has dealt with this aspect of research interviews. (Author/CK)

Examines the relationship between lexical and grammatical knowledge to reading and listening comprehension. University students learning Spanish participated in the study. All participants performed the tests of lexical knowledge and grammatical knowledge respectively. Results suggest both similarities and differences between reading and listening…

Discusses the cultural and language diversity of young adolescents. Outlines 10 steps to foster a multicultural (or macro cultural) perspective in all students at the middle school level, strategies that build on students' diversity to create a positive and cooperative learning environment. Describes a cooperative activity that promotes…

Describes a project designed to make second language reading more pleasurable, noting how computers can help students achieve this goal. The researcher used HyperCard to create reading software with translations appearing in pop-up windows, allowing students to read text with minimal interruption. Students reacted positively to the software, and…

The World Wide Web makes available language learning activities that are ready-made by language teachers, are freely available, and can immediately serve educators as instructional, enrichment, and/or review tools. Describes one site that was created by a foreign language educator in Canada that includes a myriad of activities for use in high…

Administers a phonological task to 34 English-speaking grade 2 children (attending a bilingual English-Hebrew elementary school) to tap sensitivity to a phonemic contrast that occurs productively in Hebrew but is phonotactically constrained in English. Concludes a general level of phonological ability is required for reading to develop but that…

Discusses the literacy of public discourses 20 years after Graff's exploration of the literacy myths that dominate community and research discussion. Illustrates the fundamental interconectedness of literacy with social practice and with the moral and political organization of contemporary cultures through examination of interview materials…

This investigation assessed whether L2 readers' sensitivity towards a new lexical form is heightened if they are repeatedly pushed to produce output and are immediately provided with relevant input in input-output cycles. In addition, the study sought to assess how these interventions influence text comprehension. Fourth-semester learners read…

While a growing number of diverse children are entering U.S. schools, misconceptions remain regarding language acquisition. Analysis of weekly interactions in an urban children's playgroup in the South reveals how the concept of language diversity as a deficit is still widespread. Mothers of young children still believed that efforts to learn…

This article provides an empirically based perspective on the contribution of conversation analysis (CA) and sociocultural theory to our understanding of learners' second language (L2) practices within what we call a strong socio-interactionist perspective. It explores the interactive (re)configuration of tasks in French second language…

Tertiary institutions increasingly offer language advisory sessions for second language students and staff. Advisers help students to identify language and learning needs, they recommend resources and strategies and they provide feedback and encouragement. Especially in the first few sessions, identifying and prioritising needs are arguably among…