Investigates the influence of the familiarity of the setting/interlocuter factors on the oral task performance of adult intermediate second-language learners. Findings indicate that the unfamiliar setting elicited a significant proportion of language transfer errors than the same task performed in a familiar environment. (23 references) (Author/CK)

Twelve children (mean age 4;1) interacted with their mothers in 2 conversational settings to explore the percentage of topic incorporation and collaboration processes used by mothers and children in play and help settings. Although the help setting appeared to support collaborative action, the play setting permitted the dyads to be informative…

Investigation of the developing oral English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) skills of native French speaking elementary students in a five-month intensive ESL course found that teachers' use of form-focused instruction and corrective feedback influenced students' correct use of "-ing" structures and adjective-noun order. (47 references) (Author/CB)

Examines differences among three levels of third grade second-language (L2) readers on four oral variables: grammatical complexity; well-formedness; informativeness; and comprehension. Kruskal-Wallis tests indicate significant differences on all variables between low and high readers. Differences between intermediate and high groups were…

Results of interviews with 13 British teachers of children with speech and/or language difficulties are summarized to illustrate teacher views on the National Curriculum, including appreciation of the oral emphasis; too broad definitions for speaking and listening; and concerns about assessment of children's attainments, which too often reflects…

A Swedish university program in which French language students played parts in a series of Moliere plays is described. The activity integrated linguistic, cultural, and literary objectives, and included text analyses, pronunciation instruction, and development of oral expression. (MSE)

Argues that, although the "at-risk" label when applied to African-American students is often appropriate, assumptions of intellectual deficiency attached to the phrase are mistaken. Socioeconomic factors are more likely determinants of the early reading difficulties encountered disproportionately by these students. Suggests strategies…

A study in two high school language programs investigated students' oral proficiency (OPI) interview ratings after a typical four-year sequence, degree to which teachers could accurately predict students' ratings, and relationship between classroom achievement and OP ratings. Results provide valuable information for states and school districts as…

Discusses children's concept development and exploratory talk in the primary years of early French immersion (K-3). Data from a case study of a primary program is related to personal teaching experience and research in language and learning and developmental psychology. Suggests possible approaches to enhancing concept development and exploratory…

Provides an effective way for enhancing high schools students' listening skills in the English-as-a-Second-Language classroom in Korea. Students were taught English pronunciation focused on the combinative changes, a sound change as the change restricted to certain environments. (Author/VWL)

Discusses why many girls relative to boys experience difficulties when required to speak in formal, public, or unfamiliar contexts. While girls are recognized as good at using collaborative talk in small groups, the public voice is valorized in the world outside school. Reviews current debate in Britain on underachieving boys in light of the…

The speech-production skills of 38 school-aged siblings and 94 parents of children with phonology disorders were assessed by administering tasks involving the repetition of multisyllabic real and nonsense words, and "difficult-to-articulate" phrases and sentences. Results demonstrated that speech production, as measured by these tasks,…

Cantonese tertiary-level students taking a general education course taught in English at the Chinese University of Hong Kong were asked to rate their own English language skills development in relation to six specific areas. They were asked to identify what they had learned in relation to other aspects of the course. Responses indicated that…

To find out more about bilingual children's narrative discourse acquisition, study analyzes and compares the oral narrative discourse of bilingual and monolingual 5- to 10-year-olds in two ways. Uses Labov's taxonomy to measure evaluation, and shema theory to do an episodic analysis of elicited narratives. Argues that these frameworks serve to…

An oral testing method used in an intensive high school Spanish program is based on a model of communicative competence positing four forms of competence: strategic; sociolinguistic; discourse; and linguistic. All oral domains but linguistic are tested in the first and second years. In the first year, benchmark testing occurs. The rubric used has…