This article will describe research done at the National Institute of Multimedia in Education, Japan and the University of North Texas on the creation of a distributed Internet-based spoken language learning system that would provide more interactive and motivating learning than current multimedia and audiotape-based systems. The project combined…

This article reports on findings obtained from an online survey answered by 97 foreign language department chairs. The Web survey was pilot tested for validity and reliability and obtained a Cronbach's reliability coefficient of .80. The results suggest that student learning outcomes assessment in American undergraduate foreign language education…

This paper discusses a micro-study within an intervention project, conducted in four London primary schools, to enhance the spoken language skills of reception children. There were 60 children in each of the intervention and comparison groups. The focus here is to explore a classroom assessment of young children's oral narrative skills. Effective…

Recently, a promising topic in computer-assisted language learning is the application of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology for assisting learners to engage in meaningful speech interactions. Simulated real-life conversation supported by the application of ASR has been suggested as helpful for speaking. In this study, a web-based…

While interaction in online language learning in the area of written computer-mediated communication is well researched, studies focusing on interaction in synchronous online audio environments remain scarce. For this reason, this paper seeks to map the nature and level of interpersonal interaction in both online and the face-to-face language…

Children's communicative competence is essential and predictive of their success in school. However, in England in recent years we have faced particular challenges inculcating this understanding into primary and early years teachers' practice. Furthermore, some studies have raised concerns about children's communicative competence on school entry.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the language ideologies--the assumptions about the nature of language, language variation, and language learning--reflected in a widespread daily editing activity often known as Daily Oral Language or Daily Language Practice. Through a yearlong ethnographic study of grammar instruction in three urban,…

This study examined the roles of speech perception and phonological processing in reading and spelling acquisition for native and nonnative speakers of English in the 1st grade. The performance of 50 children (23 native English speakers and 27 native Korean speakers) was examined on tasks assessing reading and spelling, phonological processing,…

Historically, Taiwanese students began learning English in middle school. However, due to the importance of English as an international language, the Taiwanese government now requires children in third grade to begin learning English. In order to meet the great demand for qualified elementary EFL teachers, English Education Departments were…

Success for All (SFA) is a comprehensive reading, writing, and oral language development program for students in pre-K through eighth grade. Its underlying premise is that all children, including those with limited English proficiency, can and should be reading in English at grade level by the end of third grade. (SFA can impact Spanish literacy…

This volume examines the ramifications of individual differences in therapy outcomes for a wide variety of communication disorders. In an era where evidence-based practice is the clinical profession's watchword, each chapter attacks this highly relevant issue from a somewhat different perspective. In some areas of communication disorders,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the short-term effects of a music education intervention on the receptive language skills of students in an at-risk early childhood program. The target population was nine students ages 3, 4, and 5 in an at-risk, inclusive classroom in a Chicago public school. The problem of language delay is indicated in…

"Dialogic Reading" is an interactive shared picture book reading practice designed to enhance young children's language and literacy skills. During the shared reading practice, the adult and the child switch roles so that the child learns to become the storyteller with the assistance of the adult who functions as an active listener and…

If you ever have students who are reluctant to tell you when they don't understand something--or worse, tell you they understand when they really don't--then here's a book that gives you lots of ways to check for understanding. Learn why typical methods to check for understanding are usually ineffective. And explore formative assessment techniques…

This study's aim was to understand the relationship of the component skills of reading, such as word recognition, vocabulary, and spelling, to large-scale measures of literacy, such as the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) (Kirsch, Jungleblut, Jenkins, & Kolstad, 1993) and the closely related International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS)…