An applied linguistic framework is presented within which specific applications of media technologies may be applied to language learning. The first two parts of the paper focus on the impact of media on linguistic communication and the possibilities offered by media technologies such as newspapers, radio, television, telephone/telex, computer…

The role of the language laboratory in current language teaching and learning is discussed. Four main aspects of audio technology and its relationship to language learning are covered: (1) the technological aspect: what a language lab is and what kinds of labs are available in Ireland; (2) the research aspect: what kind of research is being…

This document consists of the premier issue of an annual international journal on the acquisition and teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL). Its six articles and their contributors are as follows: "Adapting and Applying Levinson's Concept of the 'Dispreferred Second' to the Review of the ESL Materials" (Lawrence F. Bouton);…

After more than a decade of intensive experimentation and development, the field of interdisciplinary language and business studies is firmly established in U.S. higher education. Academia has responded to national needs, as evidenced by such programs as the Language and International Trade program at Eastern Michigan University. Various…

In an expansion of an earlier National Workplace Literacy Program project, this document reports on a workplace literacy model operated by the Arlington Education and Employment Program (REEP) that includes the Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia Public Schools, the chambers of commerce of both cities, and 14 local hotels. The project provided…

Learner diaries, or dialogue journals, are popular in second language teaching. Numerous teaching, learning, evaluative, and research-related uses for them have evolved. Pedagogically, they are used to identify and allay anxiety, offer advice on specific difficulties, provide study skill and individual feedback, encourage student self-assessment,…

A review of the literature of second language teaching suggests that a significant gap exists between linguistic theory and language teaching practice. However, psycholinguistics has influenced development of language teaching policies to the extent that many language teachers have advanced a more semantic, social, and communicative view of…

This paper reports on a study of the efficiency of interactive tasks at eliciting targeted morpho-syntactic structures from child speakers of English as a Second Language (ESL). Two groups of subjects between 7 and 10 years of age were examined, one group with various first language backgrounds, and a second which used Spanish as their first…

Recent research in second language acquisition (SLA) suggests that cultural pluralism can be an effective approach to assisting immigrants blend into the majority society. This handbook was designed to assist educators to be responsive and sensitive to the needs of a group of Kurdish political refugees who recently resettled in Idaho. It provides…

The key role that language and language policy play in relation to education, culture, and multiculturalism was emphasized throughout the plenary and workshop discussions of the 43rd Session of the International Conference on Education, convened by UNESCO in September, 1992. This paper reports the roundtable discussions of this meeting. The…

This work is one in a series that focuses on nine languages representing the bulk of the second language learning effort in Australian education (Arabic, Modern Standard Chinese, French, German, Modern Greek, Indonesian/Malay, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish). These languages were categorized as the Languages of Wider Teaching. This particular…

A 3-year study on Japanese language instruction is reported. The project included the following: investigation of the feasibility of teaching high school and college second language students learning strategies for developing language proficiency; development of related instructional materials; and description of the impact of instruction on…

This study sought to address three questions related to the pronunciation of Spanish by non-native speakers: (1) does the pronunciation of upper-intermediate become "fossilized?"; (2) is their a relationship between quality of pronunciation and amount of improvement?; and (3) when judging degrees of "foreignness," are…

The academic achievement of limited-English-speaking (LEP) students has long been a major national educational concern. This digest focuses on: (1) factors that promote or inhibit academic achievement in a second language; (2) the length of time needed for LEP students to achieve at comparable levels in school with their native English-speaking…

French teachers need to realize and convince their supervisors that more time must be given to development of acceptable pronunciation and comprehension skills in the initial stages of French language study. Phonetics offers the technique and tools for perfecting pronunciation. The method for college French instruction described is adapted from…