Recommends "collective speaking" as a means of giving students as much opportunity as possible to practice speaking in the foreign language classroom. (FWB)

Analyzes data from natural settings and controlled experiments in order to describe native speakers' responses to questions asked by nonnatives and discusses what variables of a nonnative's speech might elicit these responses. (EKN)

To offset uncertainty about using the language they have to teach, nonnative teachers of English adopt either a deeply pessimistic or an aggressive attitude toward their work. The latter type is more common. These teachers would gain confidence by admitting that they are also students of the language. (Author/MSE)

Discusses the amount of influence that a learner's native language has on the acquisition of a second language. Suggests that some important properties of a learner's interlanguage (IL) can be predicted, as shown by the different IL rules that Cantonese and Japanese use in dealing with English word-final voice contrasts. (Author/MES)

Reports on an experiment that investigated whether third graders designated as good readers were significantly better than poor readers at hypothesis testing when decoding words. (HOD)

Contrasts current pronunciation of some Spanish consonants with the teachings and theory of pronunciation manuals, advocating more realistic standards of instruction. Gives a detailed phonetic description of common variants of the sounds discussed, covering both Spanish and Latin American dialects. (MES)

Examines the role played by voiced stop spirantization in the acquisition of English "b, d, g," and "d" by native Spanish speakers. Results reveal that accuracy in English pronunciation is hindered by native language transfer, including the transfer of spirantization and native language syllable structure constraints, and that…

Addresses the help that heritage speakers and other native Spanish speaking students can provide in a Spanish phonetics class. These students can improve the pronunciation of Spanish learners while enhancing their own self esteem, and can also make learners aware of different dialects of Spanish. (Author/VWL)

This study examined attitudes toward nonnative English speakers in the United States. Examined reactions of university students to Korean-accented English. A verbal guise task was used to elicit evaluations of Korean English with an additional component that asks listeners to attempt to identify the ethnicity and native speaker status of the…

Questions about language classroom life are addressed that can be illuminated by current research findings on second-language learning and teaching, including first language and cultural adjustment; practices that emphasize learner comprehension; strengths/limitations of classroom management strategies; pronunciation accuracy; and class…

A method for examining intelligibility is studied that involves recording undergraduates' immediate feedback on communication breakdowns, and then analyzing those breakdowns with English-as-a-Second-Language specialists. Pronunciation was found to be the major cause of unintelligibility. (10 references) (Author/LB)

Emphasizes the importance of pronunciation in the teaching of Italian as a second language and discusses a course in phonetics and phonology taught at the University for Foreigners in Perugia, Italy. Common difficulties are highlighted, and lab exercises to overcome these difficulties are provided. (27 references) (CFM)

A 12-lesson college-level French unit using the same recorded text to teach three aspects of oral language (pronunciation, comprehension, and production) is described and documented. The activity attempts to use the unit vocabulary as much as possible in a variety of exercises to develop communicative competence. (13 references) (MSE)

A study of adults learning French as a second language showed that enhancing the pedagogical environment through development of a French phonetic training program resulted in improved discrimination and production ability among the students. (39 references) (LB)

Explores ring games--where participants form a circle, sing, dance, and take turns entering the circle--and how they can be used in the second-language classroom. The playful integration of vocalization and rhythmic body movement can have a powerful influence on speech fluency. (Author/VWL)