Explores the relationship between group interaction and interlanguage development, specifically listening comprehension and the production of target grammar forms. Two groups of first-semester Spanish students at an American University took notes on a mini-lecture, then completed a text reconstruction and listening comprehension test. Results…

A study investigated the potential benefits of sound field amplification for 20 Inuit first and second language learners in Quebec. Ten of the students (ages 7-17) had hearing loss. Results showed significant improvements in speech intelligibility scores for students with hearing impairment and normal hearing in the amplified condition. (Contains…

Describes an experience of introducing a "Records of Achievement" scheme in university extramural language courses. The article discusses the effectiveness of existing teaching/learning styles and examines the way in which records of achievement could foster autonomous learning. Student reaction to recording progress as a means of sustaining…

Discusses the application of pragmatic and discoursal principles to second-language acquisition (SLA). After critical examination of more traditionally oriented approaches, the article reanalyzes the process of SLA in an interactively oriented setting and applies the principle of "adjacency pair" to the context of SLA. The principle of…

Describes work carried out as part of a remote language teaching research investigation, which is looking into the use of multicast, multimedia conferencing over SuperJANET. The fundamental idea is to investigate the feasibility of sharing language teaching resources among universities within the United Kingdom by using the broadband SuperJANET…

Reports on a study of video use by learners in a multimedia language course, their perceptions of the contribution of video to learning, and the affective evaluations they ascribe to video versus print sources. The subjects for the study were university distance learning students enrolled in a beginning Spanish course. (Contains 14 references.)…

Reviews Web sites for current events news that are appropriate for students of various ages. Discusses the possibilities for second language learning and curriculum connections and lists television sites, news magazines, classroom magazines, newspapers, and lesson plans. (LRW)

This study evaluated the role of music in acquiring foreign language vocabulary using suggestopedia techniques with 40 technically gifted students. The study found that the effectiveness of different types of music depended on student characteristics including gender, musical ability, foreign language learning ability, and feeling states. (DB)

Describes steps taken to lower the defense mechanism that acted as a barrier to second language learning for a 5-year-old English-speaking Puerto Rican child. Utilized three key principles: (1) getting to know the student as an individual; (2) changing oneself to adapt to the student; and (3) giving the student a chance to experience comfort and…

Swiss-German language and culture rarely form the core focus in basic German language instruction. This article examines Swiss-German culture, focusing on geography and history, language, sports, world organizations, legendary figures, literature, music, art, holidays, and food. It points out online resources that touch upon aspects of Swiss…

Contrasts and compares experience in mainstream schools and in bilingual initiatives, in particular the Vienna Bilingual Schooling Middle School. Bilingual schooling is seen as potentially offering a more supportive environment although local contexts may create problems of implementation and integration. (Author/VWL)

Outlines a way of dealing with vocabulary in English for academic purposes instruction in light of insights provided by empirical observation. Focusing on collocation in the context of English for special purposes (ESP), and more specifically, English for information science and technology, shows how the results of the contrastive study of lexical…

Surveyed Soviet Jewish adolescents and parents regarding language, behavior, and identity acculturation. Acculturation occurred in a linear pattern over time for most dimensions of acculturation, with acculturation to the American culture increasing and to the Russian culture decreasing. There were acculturation gaps between parents and children…

Discusses important characteristics of the new communication order, providing a context for an overview of research in the field of literacy and technology studies consistent with the New Literacy Studies view of literacy as a set of social practices. Particular attention is given to theoretical and empirical aspects of the Australian Digital…

With 104 advanced second language (L2) readers, this investigation seeks to construct a multicomponent model of interest and L2 reading. Sources of interest (SI) refer to variables that induce feelings of interest in a text. Perceived interest (PI) refers to the feeling of interest itself (Schraw, Bruning, & Svoboda, 1995). A factor analysis…