Speech act theory-based, second language pragmatics testing (SLPT) raises test-validation issues owing to a lack of correspondence with empirical conversational data. On the assumption that conversation analysis (CA) provides a more accurate account of language use, it is suggested that CA serve as a more empirically valid basis for SLPT…

This paper is a systematic review of research investigating help options in the different language skills in computer-assisted language learning (CALL). In this review, emerging themes along with is-sues affecting help option research are identified and discussed. We argue that help options in CALL are application resources that do not only seem…

The simple view of reading (SVR) provides a conceptual framework for describing the processes involved when readers comprehend text. Strong evidence for the SVR comes from factor-analytic studies showing dissociations between decoding and comprehension skills. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether predecoding and comprehension…

In this article, the author reviews the TOEFL iBT which is the latest version of the TOEFL, whose history stretches back to 1961. The TOEFL iBT was introduced in the USA, Canada, France, Germany and Italy in late 2005. Currently the TOEFL test is offered in two testing formats: (1) Internet-based testing (iBT); and (2) paper-based testing (PBT).…

This article reviews the multimedia instructional design literature based on cognitive load theory (CLT) in the context of foreign language learning. Multimedia are of particular importance in language learning materials because they incorporate text, image, and sound, thus offering an integrated learning experience of the four language skills…

In the authors' experience, most instructors have dealt with a student "crisis" in some form. When a paper is late, an assignment incomplete, an exam missed, or a lecture skipped, students seeking special accommodations from instructors frequently share (often unsolicited) intimate details about their personal lives. College instructors…

Purpose: In a landmark study, B. A. Wright et al. (1997) reported an apparent backward-masking deficit in language-learning-impaired children. Subsequently, the controversial interpretation of those results has been influential in guiding treatments for childhood language problems. This study revisited the temporal-masking paradigm reported by B.…

A common challenge for choral teachers is teaching students to listen. Too often, students focus on their own singing and do not hear the other parts around them, thus creating a less unified, even disharmonious sound. Robert Russell, director of choral studies at the University of Southern Maine, has observed that confident singers often sing…

Music commonly induces the feeling of a regular beat (i.e., a metrical structure) in listeners. However, musicians can also intentionally impose a beat (i.e., a metrical interpretation) on a metrically ambiguous passage. The present study aimed to provide objective evidence for this little-studied mental ability. Participants were prompted with…

Too much thinking and research views learner autonomy in an instruction-centred way, with a focus on equipping the learner to function better in the classroom or learning centre. This article argues that true learner empowerment consists of the freedom to learn outside the teaching context and the ability to continue learning after instruction has…

Noting that listening is a major concern of basic skills teachers, counselors, and employers, this annotated bibliography cites references for current behavioral research and methodology in teaching listening skills. Forty-nine references are included, as well as information on how to order those citations drawn from the ERIC database. (JC)

A REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH ON THE COMPREHENSION OF RAPID SPEECH BY THE BLIND IDENTIFIES FIVE METHODS OF SPEECH COMPRESSION--SPEECH CHANGING, ELECTROMECHANICAL SAMPLING, COMPUTER SAMPLING, SPEECH SYNTHESIS, AND FREQUENCY DIVIDING WITH THE HARMONIC COMPRESSOR. THE SPEECH CHANGING AND ELECTROMECHANICAL SAMPLING METHODS AND THE NECESSARY APPARATUS HAVE…

This volume offers a set of listening activities at three levels of proficiency on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages proficiency scale: Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced. It has been designed to accompany any type of textbook with any type of instruction. Its purpose is to provide learners with the opportunity to hear…

Empathic listening is a specific category of listening in which people actively engage in dialogue at the affective level, with the listener attempting to understand and acknowledge the present feelings being experienced by the speaker. Since empathic listening is central to human communication processes, any speech communication curriculum which…

In order to include listening training as part of a one credit, one-year study skills course, freshmen students in the college of basic studies of the University of Hartford (Connecticut) are given 12 weeks of listening exercises. The focus of each of the 12 weeks is as follows: Week 1--interviews about studying; Week 2--identifying good and poor…