A study investigated how non-native speakers of English used linguistic and non-linguistic skills to manage interaction in an interview-style verbal test of English proficiency. Subjects were eight international teaching assistants, four native speakers of Spanish and four native speakers of Chinese, who took a standardized oral interview…

An American instructor taught a 5-week course on the family in American drama to a group of graduate English majors on the campus of Hebei Teachers' University in the People's Republic of China. The instructor learned as much about Chinese culture as the students learned about American culture. Lecture is the standard pedagogy even in graduate…

This paper discusses the use of storytelling as a pedagogic tool in Malaysian kindergartens. By listening to stories, the children learn to tell stories that involve communicating meaning. This is an effective learning technique, because stories and storytelling feed the children's imaginations, hone their listening skills, extend their…

The basic task of the National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools (NALSAS) strategy has been to resource and promote the teaching and learning of Asian languages and studies of Asia in Australian schools. NALSAS focuses on four Asian languages: Chinese (Mandarin), Indonesian, Japanese, and Korean. The studies of Asia are broader,…

This compact disc (CD) offers 20 lessons based on selected Chinese language video clips. Filmed on location in Beijing, these naturalistic video clips consist mainly of unrehearsed interviews with ordinary people. The learner is lead through a series of activities aiding comprehension and learning that sharpen communication strategies and…

This compact disc offers several lessons in Chinese, including a photo feature from a Chinese newspaper, the service directory from a Chinese hotel room, a pamphlet for travelers from Taiwan, a family letter, an introduction to Chinese cuisine, an article about a hijacking, a letter of agreement between institutions, an odyssey of a teenaged boy,…

This compact disc includes video clips covering six topics for the learner of Chinese: personal information, commercial transactions, travel and leisure, health and sports, food and school. Filmed on location in Beijing, these naturalistic video clips consist mainly of unrehearsed interviews of ordinary people. The learner is lead through a series…

This study investigated over a 3-year period the learning strategies high school students reported using for learning a second language. The learning strategies used across languages and modalities are described. The report is organized by instrument--questionnaires, small group interviews, individual think-aloud interviews--and presents the data…

Featuring the findings of a 5-year study on independent schools as well as stories by teachers and students of color, this book offers testimony by independent school faculty of color, including the individual stories of African American, Chinese American, Native American, Cuban American, and Hispanic American educators. It discusses how important…

Presents the impressions of the 13-member American science education delegation to the People's Republic of China. Describes the precollege education in terms of quality, practices, extracurricular opportunities, and the new unified national curriculum. (SA)

Questions the current thesis that people from "collectivist" cultures are less likely to make character inferences based on physical attractiveness. Presents the results of a study that revealed Taiwanese undergraduates assigning positive character attributes to people based on their physical attractiveness. Discusses related literature…

Focuses on the importance of developing the native language (L1), i.e., "Bahasa Melayu," as a firm foundation for the learning of a second language (L2) in Brunei and analyzes problems facing learners of "Bahasa Melayu" and English in Brunei classrooms. Saravanan's response focuses on the structure of the Brunesian bilingual…

Examines the research needs relative to the use of foreign languages in tourism activities in Australia and New Zealand. Findings indicate a lack of precise information on the ways in which the tourism industry in these countries provides appropriate language assistance to non-English speaking inbound visitors. Suggestions for future research are…

Shows that underlying first language (L1) and second language (L2) lexical similarities between typologically unrelated languages can benefit L2 vocabulary learning. The article's comparison of the use of motion verbs in English by Chinese- and Japanese-speaking learners indicates an advantage for Chinese speakers, whose L1 lexicalizes motion in a…

Exploration of the views of 24 Chinese teachers of English on the effectiveness of "western" language-teaching methods revealed their beliefs that the communicative approach was applicable to students planning to visit an English-speaking country. Suggestions are presented for helping teachers overcome sociolinguistic limitations in…