Provides a critical analysis of the language-in-education situation in Tanzania, documenting how teachers and learners perceive English as a resource for personal development. Argues that knowing English is viewed by Tanzanians as an essential symbolic attribute of being an educated person. (Author/VWL)

Examines Philippine bilingual education policy, which emphasizes the need to develop literacy in Filipino as a linguistic symbol of national unity and identity and in English as a language of wider communication. Contends that a technical model of literacy acquisition that emphasizes literacy primarily as an economic skill for use in the workplace…

Examines how much heritage language material is available for language minority students in the libraries of a large elementary school district in Phoenix, Arizona. Determines whether there is any relationship between a school's instructional approach for its English language learners and the quantity of heritage language reading material offered.…

Explores the relationship between responses to literature and the complex world views of four bicultural students, three Asian American and one of Jewish and European descent. The focal literary work of the study was the cross-cultural text, "Homesick," by Jean Fritz. Participants were interviewed about their experiences with the text. (Author/VWL)

Draws on Bakhtin's work on dialogism and research with a group of non-traditional student writers and their specific experiences of academic writing within a number of academic disciplines. Maps out different levels of dialogism in Bahktin's work and illustrates the way these are and are not to be the center of an academic literacies stance.…

Describes the basis for the evaluational practices of the field geology community, through a qualitative analysis of geologists' implicit strategies coupled with the situated analysis of the field account part-genre, its past and present disciplinary practices. (Author/VWL)

Examines the relation between background knowledge and second language (L2) proficiency in L2 reading performance in two groups of university learners of English, one from mainland China and one from Hong Kong. Results show a strong cultural effect on reading comprehension, but not on post-intermediate readers. Findings have implications for…

This article introduces the concept of a multi-component working memory. Emphasis is placed on the phonological loop component, its fractionation into a storage and processing component, and implications for native and second language learning. An overview of the visual spatial sketchpad and its possible role in language is provided. (Contains…

Explores conception of foreign language learning of a group of 28 university students in the Caribbean. Data were drawn from learner journals kept during an undergraduate French program at a local university. Looks at the metaphors used by the learners in their autobiographical accounts of their language learning. (Author/VWL)

Examined self-determination theory (SDT) in the language learning context. Involved the development of a valid and reliable instrument to assess different subtypes of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and explored the link between these motivational sub-types and various orientations to language learning. Showed instrumental orientation and the…

Investigated effects of first language (L1) orthographic features on second language (L2) reading. Three groups of fluent (L2) readers with different L1 backgrounds were given English passages printed in either alternated case or a normal manner and asked to read them for comprehension. Results suggest that because of L1 effects on basic…

Interviews with Australian university students returning from study in France indicate that problems in accessing crucial information are common experiences and frequently lead to students reproducing stereotypes of French administrative inefficiency. Argues that the issue is not one of information per se, but of cultural differences in the…

Discusses distance learning with a focus on online learning, which is growing in popularity at a faster rate than other types of programs. Looks at the advantages and disadvantages of online learning, the future of online learning, and specifically TESOL training online. (Author/VWL)

Explores the relationship between teacher feedback and student revision in two academic writing classes. Adopts a case study approach and looks at all the feedback given to six students over a complete course. Examines the extent to which teachers focused on formal language concerns when they gave feedback and the use that students made of this…

Examines English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) undergraduate students' experiences with communicative language teaching (CLT), supported by in-class tasks and after-class newsgroup discussion. Presents students' perceptions of and their feelings about their learning experiences with this teaching approach, as well the frames of reference within which…