The first two stages of a research project on the teaching of second languages in Scotland using the communicative approach are reported. In the first stage, 59 language teachers in 20 schools were interviewed concerning their understanding of the notion of communicative competence and its development in the classroom. In the second stage, French…

Compares Queensland teachers' conceptions of communicative language teaching with those held by 11 Japanese junior high school teachers of English, interviewed in 1997 as part of a s part study on the development of language teaching in Japan. (Author/VWL)

Elementary teachers Fay and Whaley share anecdotes of how carefully listening to English language learners read--and discussing with them their errors and confusions--helps teachers better analyze such students' true language and reading abilities. They discuss the importance of spending time talking individually with each child learning to read…

This paper investigates the impact that a teacher's virtual presence--or lack thereof--has on students' chat behavior with regard to error correction, uptake, target language use, and on-task behavior. The data come from beginning German students engaged in pair and small-group chatting activities at a major American university. Transcripts from…

In the rapidly changing environment of language learning and teaching, electronic literacies have an increasingly important role to play. While much research on new literacies focuses on the World Wide Web, the aim in this study is to investigate the importance of corpus consultation as a new type of literacy which is of particular relevance in…

This journal issue presents works in progress by students and professors on topics ranging from speech act analysis and classroom discourse to language planning and second language acquisition. Papers are generally based on research carried out for courses offered in the Language in Education Division of the Graduate School of Education at the…

Three papers written by graduate students on educational linguistics are included. These papers represent works in progress by students and professors on topics ranging from speech act analysis and classroom discourse to language planning and second language acquisition. The papers are generally based on research carried out for courses offered in…

This report describes instructional strategies to decrease anxiety and frustration in the Spanish classroom. Participants were five 7th grade Spanish classes in two suburban middle schools. Student interventions included a study skills guide; partner and group presentations, skits, and activities; and group oral reading. Teacher interventions…

English for Academic Purposes (EAP Writing) is a compulsory course for English literature and language students at Obirin University. The first semester focuses on expository writing, typical of the TOEFL[R] writing exam. The second semester focuses on writing about literature. To facilitate their writing all students are provided with a user…

Describes the dynamics of problem solving through spoken discourse in one-to-one tutoring of second-language writing in order to determine whether these processes vary with either instructional approach or language used. Tutors' and students' cooperative efforts to solve problems in the students' draft compositions focused primarily on local…

The purpose of this study was to investigate ESL instructors' feedback techniques and the rationales behind these techniques, to explore ESL students' beliefs about the relative effectiveness of various types of feedback, and to compare students' beliefs with those of their instructors. A university-level ESL instructor and two of her students…

The purpose of this manual, which accompanies a video program, is to provide general background information for foreign language teachers who are, or soon will be, teaching in total, partial, or two-way immersion classrooms. Part of a series of video programs, this manual highlights current theories, issues, and questions about second language…

A discussion of the relationship between second language acquisition (SLA) and foreign language learning (FLL) focuses on how theory influences language teaching. It is noted that SLA research has brought new interest in teaching materials and methodologies to many in the foreign language profession, but that there are also many who, impatient…

Some university English as a foreign language (EFL) composition teachers in Taiwan have experimented with audiotaping their commentary on students' writing to help students revise. However, there has been little research on how effective this is for Chinese students. Therefore, a study was designed to shed light on this issue by comparing…

Provides a detailed analysis of techniques used for second language vocabulary assessment and the implied assumptions about the underlying construct of vocabulary knowledge. The article notes that existing measures of vocabulary size are uninformative as to the depth of knowledge that learners have about particular words. (56 references)…