Examines individual differences in the rate of early lexical development with a specific interest in gender differences. Explored individual differences in developmental trajectories of vocabulary comprehension and production using two analytic approaches. Both techniques demonstrated that the lexical development of girls outpaced that of boys.…

Looks at how the learner variables of age, sex, language background, high school graduation status, and length of stay in the United States affect performance on six English as a second language tests: two cloze tests, a reading tests, a structure test, and two listening tests. Both test advantage and test favoritism/bias were found. (SED)

Describes the emergence and the content of what is referred to as "disability studies," an emerging field of critical inquiry in literary and language studies that is helping to forge a more tolerant academic community. (Author/VWL)

A study investigated whether, when second language learners engage in second-language interaction, opportunities to comprehend and produce the second language are conditioned by their gender and/or the correspondence between their gender and that of the interlocutor. The interactions of a native speaker (NS) and a non-native speaker (NNS) in same-…

INTELLIGENCE, SEX, AND AT LEAST TWO YEARS OF HIGH SCHOOL FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDY ARE EXAMINED AS FACTORS IN COLLEGE PERSISTENCE. STUDIES OF ACADEMIC SUSPENSIONS AND WITHDRAWALS AFTER THE FRESHMAN YEAR AT ALABAMA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE REVEAL THAT (1) THERE IS A HIGH DEGREE OF CORRELATION BETWEEN INTELLIGENCE AND COLLEGE PERSISTENCE, (2) WOMEN ARE…

Findings of a study conducted in the Palo Alto (California) Unified School District. (DS)

Addresses one aspect of individual differences and how socially learned cues may radically influence the verbal learning tasks performed by university students taking a foreign language. The nonuniversity studies reviewed provide the backdrop for a more in-depth study on four memorization modes and how these strategies are largely dependent on…

Investigated fourth-year university students perceptions of vocabulary learning strategies as affected by individual difference variables such as sex, Tawijihi grades, and accumulative average. The study consisted of English majors at Yarmouk University in Jordan. (Author/VWL)

Four studies were conducted in which subjects performed three sets of tasks tapping, in a standard format, progressively refined, non-linguistic processes in speech processing. The studies examined the following: (1) auditory versus phonetic processes in the discrimination of consonants; (2) auditory versus phonetic processes in loudness and pitch…

Investigated the effects of readers' gender, topic familiarity, enjoyment, and interest on second language reading. University students of Spanish completed a reading passage each day, a written recall comprehension task, and a questionnaire. Findings suggest that in addition to linguistic factors, other variables such as gender, passage content,…

Identified the acoustic features of the vowels produced by Hebrew speakers differing in age and sex. Ninety speakers were recorded. Vowels were presented in a nonword context that was placed in a meaningful Hebrew sentence. Results are discussed. (Author/VWL)

The focus of this highly quantitative investigation is the analysis of the differences observed, both in methodological approach and in language choice in the classroom, during five years of classroom visitations. The study reflects information collected from two very different institutions with radically distinct populations: a rural setting with…

Investigates how accurately learners can assess their understanding of words and whether this accuracy is influenced by the learners' culture, gender, and lexical knowledge. Subjects were university students of English in China, Israel, and Japan. A mismatch between the objective and perceived understanding of a reading task was related to the…

Discusses the linguistic and cultural challenges faced by Japanese students who are receiving their education in U.S. schools. Provides a historical perspective on education in Japan and discusses parent involvement, the culture of Japanese schools, differences in the teacher/student relationship, group identity, gender distinctions, personal…

Evaluates the commonly held idea that girls are better language learners than boys. Results indicate that boys are not weaker in any of the language skill areas tested. Recommends that future research concentrate on the sex and image of the teacher. (EKN)