Focuses on foreign language teaching in higher education in China. Topics include political difficulties resulting from the Cultural Revolution, the return of the first group of foreign teachers to China in 1977, and current foreign language programs. Although foreign language teaching in China is advancing, better teachers and equipment are…

Focuses on strategies of second-language learners who communicate among themselves. Pairs of students were left alone in a room with a sound recorder and instructions to describe a specific object. The communication strategy they selected to describe an object with no common referent was to paraphrase the object's function. (11 references) (CK)

Reports on a study that monitored and corrected the writing of bilingual Fransaskois students and immersion graduates in the same class. The study's objectives were to determine whether francophones and anglophones made similar or different mistakes and whether the two groups could be taught together without prejudice. Both groups made similar…

Examined the beliefs and practices of special education, credentialed bilingual, and bilingual-waivered teachers of Latino language-minority students. Found that no group supported a single view of literacy instruction or assessment. Differences between groups (primarily bilingual and special education teachers) were evident in beliefs about…

Reports on three studies of the learning strategies of adult students of second languages. The research identified two distinct approaches to vocabulary learning that differed in aspects relating to independent study, self-initiated learning activities, recording of lexical items studied, review of these records, and practice of vocabulary outside…

Advocates that language anxiety can play a significant causal role in creating individual differences in both language learning and communication. This paper studies the role of anxiety in the language learning process and concludes that the linguistic coding deficit hypothesis errs in assigning epiphenomenal status to language anxiety. (57…

Examines the assumptions and values of Chinese learners of English, focusing on the cultural, historical, philosophical, linguistic, social, and educational attitudes held by such learners that influence the way they learn English. The appropriateness and effectiveness of specific teaching methods with Chinese students is discussed. (21…

Discusses teaching methods and techniques for use in English for Special Purposes classrooms, focusing on conversation and speaking exercises for medical students and professionals that combine medical terminology and everyday usage. Examples include doctor-patient dialogues and group discussions of general interest topics. (15 references) (MDM)

Surveys United Kingdom local twinning links with the aim of obtaining a detailed picture of the extent and scope of twinning activity and its perceived benefits. Twinning can bring an increasing awareness to the public at large of the benefits and delights which can result from acquiring foreign language skills. (CK)

Discusses a summer program conducted to retrain North Wales French teachers. It is suggested that French teaching in North Wales will be enriched by the enthusiasm of the teachers who took this course. (three references) (CK)

Discusses Krashen's monitor model and input hypothesis of language acquisition, focusing on the implications of this hypothesis among Hispanic bilinguals in an English speaking-teaching-reading-problem-solving environment. The hypothesis maintains that individuals acquire more language only when they are exposed to comprehensible input that is a…

With the appropriate software, it is possible to create a pedagogical environment where children can learn to read and write at their own pace; by using the software Fairy-Tale-World, children can print their drawings and texts and learn foreign words easily. (AEF)

Discusses a project to implement an alternative system for university admission based on clearly defined competencies in several subject areas, i.e., culture, writing, speaking, listening, reading and transferable skills (provisional). Developing national standards will inform this project, assisting in the creation of common goals in foreign…

Presents an update on a university's articulation work. The university aimed at collaboration in specifying the skills and knowledge expected of elementary and secondary students, motivating these students for higher education, setting standards and providing feedback to school districts. Progress in articulation is slow but discernible. (seven…

Reflects the experience of teachers who attended a course on managing change. They used their new knowledge to introduce change in their own teaching or their own departments. Successful change implementation requires agreement on the change target(s), starting with a small, manageable target, and monitoring of the resulting change. (one…