Suggests that Hong Kong English, as it varies from standard English, has not achieved wide acceptance in the community. Approaches this issue by investigating the attitudes of Hong Kong's English language teachers. Analyzed over 1000 messages on language issues on a computer network for English teachers, focusing on discourse and sources of…

Reports on an examination of books written by children who are English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners. Compares the books with criteria for meritorious literature. Discusses implications of the results relevant to process-writing instruction with second-language learners. Indicates an unexpected adherence to criteria for literary genres.…

Examines similarities and differences in loss of grammatical systems across languages, investigating structural changes in six attrited languages as compared to nonattrited languages and demonstrating significant parallelism in structural changes across languages. Correlation between levels of grammatical and lexical loss are discussed, noting a…

Examines the position of Tamil as the language of an ethnic minority in Malaysia and Singapore, placing the issue of Tamil and language maintenance within the larger sociolinguistic milieu in the two countries and drawing conclusions about the role of language policy and planning in the determination of linguistic outcomes. (SM)

Compares the 1996 Canadian Language Benchmarks for describing English-language proficiency among second-language-learners with the International Adult Literacy Survey. Points to the potential for aligning the Benchmarks with other systems for describing adult competencies to enable more systematic integration of immigrants' experiences, skills,…

Presents an upper-division Spanish class combining theoretical readings on literacy and hands-on tutoring at reading programs for Spanish-speaking adults as a model for a course with service learning. Undergraduates gain both theoretical and practical knowledge of key issues concerning literacy while providing a needed service to a neglected…

Interest in and support for language study has been strengthened in the United States in recent years. This article suggests specific ways that parents, teachers, school administrators, policymakers, and members of the business community can foster the learning of languages among children and adults. (Author/VWL)

Investigated the pronunciation training component of a Teaching English as a Second Language program. Focuses on teaching pronunciation in a specific context in Malaysia but raises issues of interest to English-as-a-Second-Language practitioners in other contexts. Describes the pronunciation training and, based on students' responses to a…

Discusses educational concerns of Roma, or Gypsy, children in Canada. Provides background information on this minority group and discusses Roma attitudes toward education and Romani children's experiences in Eastern European schools. Provides suggestions for welcoming Romani children into new schools, including developing children's first and…

Discusses heritage language students enrolled in Spanish as a foreign language courses. Students and teaching assistants answered questionnaires about course experiences and decisions. Results illustrate student perceptions about their level of expertise in Spanish, the advantages and disadvantages of having heritage fluency in a class of native…

Shows positive and negative aspects of the interference of the Polish voicing system on the learner's attempt to master the pronunciation of English. Argues that visual feedback can help foreign learners acquire the nuances of English pronunciation. (Author/VWL)

Focuses on complementarity between cognitive and social aspects of writing. Shows that second language (L2) composing processes are constructed in particular social and historical circumstances. Analyzes three areas of L2 composing that are socially mediated: task environment; situated nature of the skilled/unskilled distinction; and the role…

Examines the degree to which gender differences manifest themselves in a literature class for international students. Results of the study about gender differences in writing assignments in a multicultural classroom are explored as they relate to the gender preferences in reading materials. (Author/VWL)

Focused on the role of subject-matter in second language (L2) learning. Sought to identify ways in which teachers modified classroom interaction about subject-matter content in order to assist the input, feedback, and production needs of L2 learners and to promote their attention to developmentally difficult relationships of L2 form and meaning…

Discusses the design, results, and implications from a study involving beginning college-level language students who read a 142-page romance novel in their first semester of German. A treatment group followed the same standard first-semester syllabus as the comparison group, but replaced all standard reading assignments in the textbook with daily…