The renovation of the Language Lab at the University of Notre Dame and the creation of the Language Resource Center are described. Challenges related to poor facility design and limited equipment are recounted, along with the role played by the university's director of foundation and corporate relations. (LB)

Questions regarding reasons students select or decline to study German are examined, based on the results of a survey conducted among students of German in 127 U.S. high schools. Student responses are discussed in the light of academic, demographic, social, and familial considerations, and a profile of the 1990s student of German is constructed.…

A rationale is presented for improving the curricular design of intermediate- or advanced-level writing classes for foreign language majors. Seven practical guidelines include the following: the writing course should have its own place in the curriculum but should not stand alone as the sole undergraduate writing experience in the second language.…

France's cultural policy since the 1950s is criticized as having more of a leisure and recreational focus than being truly encouraging of French culture and intellect. Politics and economics are seen as inappropriate policy motivators. (MSE)

Describes a summer school English-as-a-Second-Language classroom that uses a content-rich whole language curriculum. Highlights experiences that were successful in facilitating literacy development, including reading experiences, writing experiences, talking and reading, and talking and writing. Discusses the effectiveness of the instructional…

Compared the reactions of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers and nonteachers to nonnative communication. The study focused on two questions: Are ESL teacher and nonteacher perceptions of advanced ESL students' communication skills multidimensional? and Are there differences in ESL teacher and nonteacher perceptions of this communication?…

This paper summarizes and comments on recommendations of the Modern Foreign Languages Working Group concerning attainment targets, programs of study, and statements of attainment in Great Britain's National Curriculum. Strategies used in modern language instruction in Berkshire's special schools are described. (JDD)

Analysis of "tutor talk" occurring between native or proficient nonnative speakers of English and limited- or non-English-speaking elementary students found that, although tutors used little sentence-level simplification, they made extensive use of conversational and tutorial strategies similar to those used by native and nonnative adults. (59…

Observation of a maintenance bilingual (Spanish-English) program to determine its effects on majority language students found that fully English-proficient students enrolled in the program did achieve competency in Spanish and that their attitudes toward Spanish, second-language learning, and Mexican-American culture and community were strongly…

Emphasizes the importance of pronunciation in the teaching of Italian as a second language and discusses a course in phonetics and phonology taught at the University for Foreigners in Perugia, Italy. Common difficulties are highlighted, and lab exercises to overcome these difficulties are provided. (27 references) (CFM)

Examination of examples of "Nigerian English" in novels by two prominent Nigerian authors reveals such linguistic behavior as translating directly from Nigerian languages, stressing least effort and economy of expression, incorporating sociocultural logic and imperatives of the Nigerian environment, and displaying "hypercorrected…

Applies a functional perspective to examine aspects of lexical style in English-language Indian newspapers and to explore the dynamics of Indian nativization of English. Findings reveal that the sociocultural constraints of the native situation significantly affect lexicology, with variations influenced more by situations than by language…

This study is a continuation of an ethnographic study of a six-year-old Japanese child learning English as a Second Language. It is concluded that language transfer, overgeneralization, and simplification combined with natural development all worked together in the development of the subject's interlanguage, irrespective of the overwhelming input…

Investigated whether there were differences in retention of language when both visual and auditory stimuli were employed as opposed to just a visual stimulus. It was found that reading-only resulted in higher scores on tests taken immediately, whereas combined listening and reading resulted in higher tests when tests were delayed. (12 references)…

Development of a course in French for tourism and the hotel industry in Sweden is chronicled, focusing on the process of functional analysis used to determine appropriate language content. A general functional outline of touristic French and an outline of language functions specific to a restaurant situation are presented. (MSE)