Reports on an experiment in which high school and college students were tested to ascertain: (1) to what extent students learning French as a foreign language treat sentences with negative elements as native French speakers do and (2) to what extent students perform similarly in French and English. Offers two suggestions for teaching French…

Recounts how the author planned one computer-based language lesson, which she describes as a "disaster," and how she combined her own analysis with feedback from the students to plan a more successful second lesson. Discusses student failure, purpose and motivation, appropriateness of materials, process-oriented learning, and openness between…

To make it easier for Chinese children to learn how to read, the Chinese writing system is being changed. The experimental approach of combining Chinese characters and pinyin is currently being carried out in Chinese primary schools. How this approach works in teaching children to read is described. (RM)

Deals with lexical derivation as it is manifested in the oral and written production of anglophone learners of Italian. Assumes that lexical derivation belongs to that linguistic competence which is based on creativity and that no essential differences exist between the ability of native and nonnative speakers to utilize this competence. (SED)

Discusses and criticizes the monolingual view of bilingualism, which holds that the bilingual is two monolinguals in one person. Proposes, instead, a view which holds that a bilingual has a unique, specific linguistic configuration. Examines a number of areas in bilingual research that are affected by this different view. (SED)

Examines the initial training of the foreign language teachers in Great Britain and outlines a course for certification in foreign language teaching in the light of changes in the educational service, society at large, and government policy following the establishment in 1984 of the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. (Author/SED)

Analyzes some salient features of nontraditional methodologies in foreign language teaching focusing on four areas: (1) the provision of as stress-free a learning environment as possible, (2) the emerging role of silence in foreign language learning and teaching, (3) the role of grammar, and (4) the development of students' speaking skills. (SED)

Describes a study of two Polish speakers learning English, which investigated whether modifications of complex syllable structures in the interlanguage were attributable to transfer and whether they showed movement toward an open syllable pattern. Of the modifications not attributable to transfer, only half showed movement toward an open syllable…

Describes a study of the role of confidence in the performance of English as a second language learners on a listening test. Some analytic procedures from the Theory of Signal Detection were applied. Results show the possibility of substantial differences in individual performance in terms of self-monitoring ability and confidence. (Author/SED)

Discusses the entrance examination used by Georgetown University's Division of Interpretation and Translation, which follows the American Association of Language Specialists system. The skills tested are comprehension of content and purpose of discourse, expression in the target language, and speed of work. The condidates' general background is…

Presents a study of how well a set of language proficiency self-ratings fit the predictions of a probabilistic measurement model known as the Rasch Model. Applies the principles of the model to scalar rather than binary item response data. Concludes that scalar analysis of this kind is feasible with self-rating data. (Author/SED)

Considers the acquisition of language by deaf children of deaf parents and by deaf children of hearing parents in the light of such linguistic theories as Andersen's "nativization-denativization" and Bickerton's "bioprograms." Findings both support the theories and bring to light complexities that the theories do not exactly explain. (SED)

Investigates the notion of communicative strategies as it has been treated in the literature and then attempts a more precise and explanatory redefinition. Provides an overview of the Vygotskyan psycholinguistic research model which this study uses as a theoretical framework. Also presents a new typology of interlanguage. (SED)

Two unresolved issues in first language and second language research on the role of background knowledge in comprehension are discussed: (1) the theoretical distinction between "content" and "formal" schemata and their interrelationship in texts and (2) the relationship of effects measured in cross-cultural research to background knowledge that…

Explains the techniques and benefits of using a language laboratory which is arranged so that each of several groups can be programed and monitored individually from the console when teaching languages for specific purposes to groups of mixed-ability adults. (Author/MBR)