Describes social behaviors of preschool children in relation to second-language development observed in a multicultural preschool program. The discussion includes examples of behaviors observed early in the year and of early stages of cooperative and sociodramatic play, and observations on the children's cultural adjustments and individual…

The research effort reported in this document addresses the important national need for determining the validity of large-scale content assessments in English with students who are in the process of acquiring English as a second language. Often these students have been excluded from such assessments, but there have been recent, growing efforts to…

Questions the plausibility of the unitary competence hypothesis, which assumes a universal structure of second language competence. New evidence, showing divergent structures in language ability subgroups and different influences of teaching styles on different language components, better supports a multidimensional model of foreign language…

The term "ethno-lingual relativity" is a perspective that is not limited by one's own cultural and linguistic experiences, but rather is open to the contrasting cultural and linguistic patterns of other peoples. This article explores the hypothesis that having such a perspective might facilitate second language acquisition. (19 references)…

Tested the hypothesis that individual differences in immediate-verbal-memory span predict success in second-language vocabulary acquisition. In the two-session study, adult subjects learned 56 English-Finnish translations. Tested one week later, subjects were less likely to remember those words they had difficulty learning, even though they had…

This article reports findings from a study that investigated math achievement differences between English language learners (ELLs) and fully English proficient (FEP) students on a literacy-based performance assessment (LBPA). It has been assumed that LBPAs are superior to standardized multiple-choice assessments, but it has not been determined if…

A study used the think-aloud method to determine how adult learners beginning to learn a second language through oral input construct meanings, and what processing behaviors they engage in to help them construct future meanings more effectively. The subjects, 5 adult undergraduate and graduate students aged 23-55, were taught 20 Hindi lessons…

This study examined learning style differences in samples of the native Spanish-speaking population of the Texas-Mexico border region, focusing on possible culture- and gender-related variation. Subjects were 187 students at six universities in Texas, who were administered a Spanish translated version of the Gregorc Style Delineator. Results…

Describes features of Harry Reinert's "ELSIE"; Joseph Hill's "Cognitive Style Interest Inventory"; Anthony Papalia's "Learning Modalities and Individual Difference Inventories"; David Hunt's "Paragraph Completion Method"; and the Dunn, Dunn, and Price "Learning Style Inventory." Although dissimilar in scope and emphases, these instruments…

Discusses the three-year Spanish program in a mixed ability environment at a Western Australia university. In order to capitalize on the wealth of the instructor's linguistic and cultural knowledge, opportunity is given for group work where advanced students are de facto language tutors. Concludes that this unique learning environment is a…

Focuses on the need to consider linguistic differences when planning strategies for the school dropout population. Hypermedia, a technology tool for accessing information, provides support for the necessary conditions to be met for language acquisition to take place: providing a concrete task and emphasizing problem solving, critical thinking, and…

Interviews were conducted with a small group of multilingual students in an adult literacy class to examine how, at the individual student level, everyday literacy practices differ and intersect with a number of linguistic, cultural, and situational variables, and thus, how students' literacy needs differ in terms of a literacy program. (39…

An analysis of 100 Flemish high-school students' attitudes towards French and English (both "foreign" languages) revealed complex links between personality factors, gender, politicocultural identity, communicative behaviour and foreign language attitudes. Attitudes towards English were found to be much more positive than those towards French,…

The term "ethno-lingual relativity" is defined as a perspective that is not limited by one's own cultural and linguistic experiences, but rather is open to the contrasting cultural and linguistic patterns of other peoples. It is hypothesized that having an ethno-lingually relative perspective can facilitate one's ability to learn a new language.…

A large number of factors are considered in their role in second language learning. Individual factors include language aptitude, personality, attitudes and motivation, and the role of the speaker's native language. Teacher factors involve the method of instruction, the sex of the teacher, and a teacher's training and competence, while…