Argues that English-speaking learners of French as a second language start with a major asset in that these two languages share a sizeable vocabulary. The article describes a seven-lesson program designed to exploit the lexical similarities between the two languages with beginning university-level learners of French. (21 references) (Author/CK)

Compared student performance in listening comprehension in German as a second language classes when three advance organizers plus video- and audiotapes were used, as opposed to when neither advance organizers nor video- and audiotapes were used. Findings indicate that students in the group using the organizers and tapes developed superior…

Identifies three types of translation blunders found in international business communication: those due to carelessness, those due to words having multiple meanings, and those due to idioms. A number of mistakes from actual advertising mistranslations are included as examples. (Author/CK)

Investigates the relationships between the process of encoding and the resulting comprehension and representation of second-language (L2) sentences that are causally related. Results suggest that integration and elaboration had a critical effect on L2 readers' comprehension and memory of the sentences. (37 references) (Author/CK)

Presents information regarding how North American teachers of Spanish can use authentic texts in Spanish to introduce some measure of cultural authenticity to their students. The article suggests that instructors need to use strategic orientation to reading tasks in order to overcome any possible cultural mismatches. (seven references) (Author/CK)

Reports on a study that assigned Japanese students retrospective self-reporting tasks in which they were led to reflect upon their classroom second-language learning through self-analysis by reference to diaries, and by structured questionnaires and interviews on learning strategies, learner beliefs, and attitudes. (21 references) (Author/CK)

Challenges the established view that European schools are elitist institutions. The article argues that through their reported success in language teaching and the Europeanising effect of their structure, a new model has been created for the education of linguistic minorities in Europe in the late 20th century. (43 references) (Author/CK)

Focuses on listening activities in the second-language classroom. After discussing problems related to listening and listening as a test versus listening as a learning experience, the article suggests that the teacher exploit what is known about the language and the world to make listening part of a learning whole as opposed to a distinct…

Discusses instructional strategies to: promote language and literacy development; enhance comprehension of content area material; and make informed decisions that effectively meet the individual needs of each second language student. Reviews six instructional principles in the area of second language learning and a lesson incorporating the…

Studied secondary language learning and literacy practices for Swedish deaf bilingual students for whom Swedish Sign Language is the primary language and written Swedish is the secondary language. Observations in schools for the deaf over 3 years show how everyday classroom interaction makes available and restricts opportunities for students to…

A study examined the strategies used by a fourth-grade teacher in a two-way bilingual immersion program (English/Spanish) that contributed to students' development of academic language in Spanish. Analysis of a science lesson highlighted the use of an appropriate Spanish-language textbook and the teacher's use of visual elements, repetition,…

In this study, non-French participants learned gender-appropriate adjectives for 24 French nouns. Findings indicate that learning the same set of feminine French nouns could be made more or less difficult when the nouns in the masculine category created more or less competition. (45 references) (Author/CK)

Challenges the assumption that a student's attempts at writing in another language are a product of his primary language background and that a student's native cultural and linguistic background will be limiting. Also challenges the pedagogical implications of this perspective, which views students, particularly those from Asia, as fixed by their…

This article attempts to clarify issues that were discussed in a previous article, which was written in response to an article that focused on connectionism and language transfer. (33 references) (CK)

Details the design of a hypertext decision-making activity located on the Internet for business English students wishing to review exponents and vocabulary associated with conducting business meetings. Discusses statistical data from students who contacted the activity worldwide and offers recommendations for future development of Internet…