Examined the influence of 4 variables (supplementary mother-tongue instruction, length of residence in the host country, self-esteem, and schools) on the French oral comprehension and expression of 137 minority language immigrant children in 4 Montreal elementary schools. Results found that supplementary mother-tongue instruction did not…

In this study, native speakers assessed 30 students' gain in Spanish skills over a seven-week period of study in Mexico. Results indicate that 22 improved significantly in some aspect of Spanish. Students, especially beginners, who reported more informal interactive contact showed greater gain; beginning and advanced students reporting more…

Uses recorded data from a recent classroom research project by an English-for-Academic-Purposes class in South Australia to describe an interview process that allows nonnative-speaking learners to experience authentic oral interaction with native speakers. The interview process also provides opportunities for reflecting on the linguistic and…

This review of research on second-language oral testing outlines the nature of early research in interview-format proficiency testing, then reports on new directions in investigation of construct validity of interview-format and other oral skills tests through examination of examinee, interviewer, and rater performance. Research on empirically…

This study examined the relationship between language learning strategies and factors such as proficiency, teacher perceptions, gender, aptitude, learning style, personality, and motivation among 520 adults studying various languages at the Foreign Service Institute. It found a low but significant relationship between cognitive strategy use and…

Following publication of the National Languages Strategy on 18 December 2002 the teaching of foreign languages (FL) in the primary school is again high on the agenda in England as in other parts of Europe. Research has shown in the past (Burstall "et al.," 1974) that an early start in FL does not necessarily result in any long-term…

This paper considers speakers' differing degrees of self-confidence in their bilingual abilities and their effects on reported language use and observed patterns of language choice. One hundred and twenty individuals from New Zealand's four largest Pasifika communities--Samoan, Cook Islands, Tongan and Niuean--reported on their self-confidence in…

The present study examines pragmatic production of monolingual (L1 Castilian) and bilingual (L1 Catalan, L2 Castilian) learners of English in a foreign language learning context, that of the Valencian Community in Spain. We particularly focused on proficiency-level effects and on the role of the task type in the use of request acts peripheral…

This paper considers the issue of non-target language representations analysing data from the acquisition of novel English synthetic compounds by bilingual (Basque-Spanish) speakers. Past research indicated that English L1 acquirers do not include regular -s inflection within compounds, whereas they do include irregulars (*"clawsmarks" versus…

The growing presence of Latino students in U.S. colleges and universities is evident in foreign language (FL) classrooms. Latino students with a high proficiency level in Spanish are usually placed in advanced language or content-based courses along with other non-Latino students. This paper examines university instructors' beliefs and practices…

Context of learning, such as whether a learner studies a second language (L2) in a formal classroom--"at home" or abroad--may be a key factor in developing grammatical and lexical abilities. Yet, little empirical data is available comparing the effects of study abroad (SA) and formal instruction "at home" (AH) experiences on…

The purpose of this article is to highlight ways in which middle school content area teachers can more effectively assess English Language Learners (ELLs) in their classrooms. This article poses five questions to guide middle school content teachers in making adaptations and accommodations when using traditional classroom tests. The objective of…

This article reports on an exploratory qualitative study on 37 students' acquisition of language and literacy. The study closely analyzes a linguistics assignment written in English, the dominant language, given to students at University of the Western Cape belonging to groups speaking English, Afrikaans, or an African language. The study…

When non-native English-speaking elementary school students, exposed to English in the school environment only, were given high-interest, well-illustrated reading materials in English, measures of reading comprehension, English structures, word recognition, oral sentence repetition, and composition writing indicated that second-language…

The Australian Second Language Proficiency Ratings (ASLPR) is a scale that describes how second language proficiency develops on a scale from zero to native-like proficiency, providing performance descriptions in terms of practical tasks. Initially developed for English second language teaching, it has been adapted for English dialects in…