Offers specific suggestions to teachers of elementary and middle school English-as-a-Second-Language students for helping their students develop a positive attitude toward reading. Teachers can help students become readers by developing their sense of control and competence in tasks, materials, and the environment. (Author/VWL)

Presents the results of two groups of Spanish compositions from fifth-semester students. The purpose of the study was to assess the students' ability to observe cultural differences between the target culture and the native culture as presented in a commercial and to assess how the procedures to view the commercial affected the quality of their…

Provides a description of a new Reading-English-for-Specific-Purposes (RESP) course in the present Chinese context and an evaluation of its impact on the students' learning interests and learning strategies. (Author/VWL)

Examines the role of output, especially of speaking, in a foreign-language-learning environment. While speaking English, Japanese high school students' performances were videotaped, and they were asked to reflect on their cognitive processes. Students' think-aloud protocols were then classified according to their cognitive processes. (Author/VWL)

Argues that the current English program at the Korean primary level is so closely related to the middle and high school programs that the success of the former cannot be ensured without solving the problems of the latter. Examines what problems have been pointed out in middle and high school programs, whether they are real problems, and how a…

Analyzes the seventh draft of Korea's national curriculum, compares it to the sixth curriculum, and makes suggestions regarding syllabus design that focus on limitations of the sixth and a multisyllabus model. (Author/VWL)

Focuses on African-American students' math and reading achievement in a Spanish-English two-way immersion program, from grade 1 to grade 4. Shows African-American students perform significantly lower than do majority White students on achievement tests at all grades. There is no significant difference between the two ethnic groups in Spanish…

Describes one teacher's experience in using the whole-language approach to teach English as a second language to kindergartners in Lebanon.(Author/VWL)

To garner student perceptions, a questionnaire listing questions for math, science, and foreign language was sent to the 1997, 1996, and 1995 graduates of two Pennsylvania high schools that had implemented the 4X4 semester-block-scheduling model. Overall, students felt their block-scheduled high school prepared them adequately for college. (MLH)

Reviews variations in levels of English-language proficiency among immigrants from non-English-speaking countries to Australia. Data on 27 of the largest birthplace groups are used from the 1996 census. Discusses immigrants' motivation to learn English and be included in Australian society and Australian policies regarding immigration-selection…

Clarifies the nature of second-language (L2) self-instruction involving the use of self-instructional broadcast materials, with particular reference to Japan, where such materials are widely used. Analysis of responses to an open-ended questionnaire administered to 138 university students reveals benefits and problems associated with this mode of…

Conducted a survey of college French as a foreign language students' reactions to narrow listening, the repeated listening of tape-recorded interviews of proficient speakers discussing a topic both familiar and interesting to the acquirers, and their assessment of its impact on their language development. Students found narrow listening to be…

Reports on a study where tertiary English-as-a-Second-Language learners of intermediate and advanced proficiency were required to complete three types of grammar-focused exercises commonly used in the classroom: a cloze exercise, a text reconstruction, and a short composition. Comparison of exercises completed individually with those completed by…

Considers whether it is possible to account for the phenomenon of uptake by looking at some of the discoursal features of the interactive work that goes on between an instructor and his students in biology lessons in the context of nonnative English-speaking instructors working with nonnative English-speaking students in a tertiary-level…

Examines the relationship between optimal listening rate and reading rate of 56 Japanese college students of English at different proficiency levels. (Author/VWL)