Measures of linguistic competence for limited-English-proficient students are discussed. The results for 134 students in grades 3 through 6 from a study of the reliability and validity of the Sentence Verification Technique tests as measures of listening and reading comprehension performance in native languages and English are reported. (TJH)

Reports on research done in collaboration with classroom teachers in Arab language kindergartens to demonstrate the educational values of storybook reading. (MG)

Describes the Voice Interactive Training System (VILTS), a language-training prototype developed to help improve comprehension and speaking skills. The system incorporates two related technologies: speech recognition and pronunciation scoring. Discusses the motivation for the program, the interdisciplinary efforts involved, and the resulting…

Illustrates the advantages and difficulties of using multimedia in the second language French classroom from the point of view of both the teacher and the learners. (Author/VWL)

Reports on a study that investigated the effects of the presence or absence of lyrics in children's musical selections on young children's responses to music. The children responded to either recorded lullabies performed by a women singing, or a solo instrument, or separate pieces with and without lyrics. (MJP)

East Asian students, the largest international student group in US higher education, are as a group typically known to be silent or reticent in class. This survey examined views of East Asian international graduate students concerning required academic listening and speaking skill levels in their university courses, their own difficulties in…

In this paper, different means of assessing cognitive development in children with severe impairments in "both" their expressive language and their motor skills are reviewed. A range of techniques are considered, including traditional cognitive tests and behavioral and physiological measures, but these techniques are generally impractical and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether naming speed makes a contribution to the prediction of reading comprehension, after taking into account the product of word decoding and listening comprehension (i.e., the Simple View of Reading; [Gough, P.B. & Tunmer, W.E. (1986). "Remedial and Special Education 7," 6-10]), and…

This article makes a methodological contribution to investigating the policy-practice nexus in the English classroom. It looks beyond language to offer a multimodal case study analysis of English classrooms in three cities: Delhi, Johannesburg, and London. The article shows how policies mediated by the agencies of the state, the school, the…

This set of instructional materials is designed to provide beginning and intermediate learners of Haitian Creole with a foundation in the phonology, grammar, and vocabulary of the language. It is intended for use by individuals wanting to communicate with monolingual Haitians. A revision of earlier materials, this set emphasizes authentic…

A 1987 project to develop materials for computer-assisted instruction in Thai and Indonesian and to train teachers in their use is described. Three different sets of Thai materials based on authentic materials were developed and field tested. One concerned the layout and function of a Thai monastery compound, another was an advanced exercise in…

This study sought to determine what a group of first-year English as a Second Language (ESL) university students learned from a series of lectures in English, how the students learned what they appeared to learn, and what features of the lecturer's presentation most affected the learning of the students. Twelve international ESL business students…

A study examined second language learners' interaction in the interaction stage of dictogloss to see how it might facilitate language learning. Dictogloss, a class activity, involves the teacher reading a passage aloud in class at natural speed, students taking notes for reconstruction, and students producing, in pairs or small groups, their own…

This project developed computer-based language teaching software to assist beginning second language learners develop listening comprehension skills. Students interact with computer-based simulations of real world problems, which require their understanding of oral language provided by the computer system. The project embraced a communicative…

To investigate the differences between an instructional program that explicitly emphasized both decoding and comprehension and one that emphasized only comprehension, a study engaged two groups of first grade children identified as being at risk for learning to read in both effective decoding instruction and meaningful comprehension and thinking…