A group of 21 hard-of-hearing and deaf children attending primary school were trained by their teachers on the production of selected consonants and on the meanings of selected words. Speech production, vocabulary knowledge, reading aloud, and speech perception measures were obtained before and after each type of training. The speech production…

To explore the impact of the communication medium on building common ground, this article presents research comparing learner use of reception strategies in traditional face-to-face (FTF) and in synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC). Reception strategies, such as reprises, hypothesis testing and forward inferencing provide evidence of…

The effectiveness of an optimal item selection method in designing parallel test forms was studied during the development of two forms that were parallel to an existing form for each of three language arts tests for fourth graders used in the Connecticut Mastery Test. Two listening comprehension forms, two reading comprehension forms, and two…

An approach to teaching top-down comprehension of spoken language in business Spanish instruction is presented. The approach is based on a model of reading comprehension using successful reading strategies that use-top-down processing, and relies on development of learners' understanding of certain important concepts they will encounter in…

Listening is a critical element in the competent language performance of adult second language learners. Listening is a demanding process, because of both the process itself and factors that characterize the listener, speaker, message content, and any accompanying visual support. The speaker's use of colloquial language and reduced forms,…

This book presents training activities for special education or regular teachers to use with children having auditory processing disorders. Each chapter begins with a discussion of theory and general intervention guidelines and then presents remedial activities. The first chapter looks at auditory processes overall, lists the normal sequence of…

An experimental study investigated the effectiveness of multimedia instruction in improving listening comprehension of high school students studying second-year Spanish. Specific comprehension difficulties were found in recognizing linguistic and cultural implications, making guesses based on key words and phrases, and understanding and responding…

This study examined the effect of an English intervention program on Singaporan pupils' proficiency in listening and spoken language skills in English and their native language. In 1966, the Singapore Ministry of Education instituted a bilingual school program to ensure that children developed a command of English and one native language. In 1983,…

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);…

An evaluation of Manitoba's French immersion programs at the levels of grades 3, 6, and 9 focused on program effectiveness in teaching listening comprehension and speech skills. The results for grade 6 are presented here. The first section describes the framework of the immersion curriculum and the listening and oral skills targeted in it. The…

This instructional guide for Alberta's (Canada) secondary school program in French second language instruction presents instructional plans and describes specific classroom techniques and activities for listening comprehension and oral production. Section 1 outlines the overall objectives and structure of the program. Section 2 addresses the…

To help students develop needed skills in listening, teachers need to (1) encourage improved listening through interesting learning activities, (2) involve students in presenting ideas as well as listening to content, (3) vary kinds of learning experiences, (4) provide direct training in listening skills, (5) recognize differences in students'…

The Language Profile of Bilingual Students in California was undertaken to determine: (1) students' range of performance on specific language tasks across four age groups in both Spanish and English; (2) the relationship of this performance to proficiency on two tests currently used in California; (3) how the development of the two languages…

Most information is still conveyed to university students through lectures. This necessitates that students have sophisticated listening and note-taking skills, and poses additional difficulties for non-native students. To identify areas for improvement, science lectures in English in the Sultanate of Oman were analyzed. The relationship between…

A study of the listening strategies of college students for whom English is a second language analyzed their oral and written responses to listening selections. The analysis resulted in 17 individual strategies classified in six broad categories. More and less proficient listeners were distinguishable by the frequency of the strategies they used…