A study examined the occurrence of specific grammatical structures (double object pronouns, nominalization with "lo," demonstrative adjectives/pronouns, and possessive adjectives/pronouns) in oral samples of native speaker Spanish and compared the results with the treatment of the structures in six beginning-level college Spanish textbooks.…

The controversial oral English Bagrut examination is seen as a means to prepare students for their written Bagrut exam, specifically to encourage the active use of the English language. (LB)

Describes strategy for teaching culture and conversation at the third- and fourth-year undergraduate level using authentic documents as the primary materials. The medium chosen for this course was the French chanson, but similar strategies may be applicable to any modern language using the culturally appropriate materials. (eight references) (LET)

After noting limited interest in the teaching and/or testing of paralinguistic features of spoken English, this article describes a test that includes a number of items uttered differently, which students are asked to interpret. Suggestions are offered regarding test administration, test items, and student evaluation. (five references) (LB)

Researchers at the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom) have built a large database of every-day English and dictionary (COBUILD) for producing better English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language teaching and learning materials. The lexical syllabus and the English course that has evolved from is are discussed. (23 references) (Author/LB)

Ways that dictation helps students learn English as a Foreign Language are discussed. Varieties of dictation are included along with one teacher's experience using it in a Chinese university. (one reference) (LB)

Argues that translation can be an effective learning tool for English speakers learning Chinese if semantic and discourse analysis are incorporated. Examples are given to illustrate various problems in such translation, including the division between state and action verbs, and the nonuse of -LE with verbs in past meaning. (15 references) (JL)

Suggests that the powerful role of the single character in the establishment of a memory network for reading skills be an inherent part of nonnative Chinese Mandarin reading programs. Through this technique, students come to understand lexical relationships between characters in words and will develop their powers of memorability. (nine…

Reports on a two-phase study of second-language learner use of listener feedback, particularly their use of clarification questions in native speaker-nonnative speaker discourse. (29 references) (JL)

A review of data collection methods used in 39 studies of interlanguage pragmatics, focusing on the validity of different types of data resulting from discourse completion, role play, observation of authentic speech, and multiple approaches, concludes that caution is needed in determining the true validity of the collected data. (72 references)…

The objective of this study is to identify potential sources contributing to any mismatch between teacher intention and learner interpretation by explaining learners' and teachers' perceptions of the nature, the goals, and the demands of selected language-learning tasks, and by analyzing classroom events. (three references) (JL)

Discusses the theoretical implications of an experimental pilot study on the acquisition of word order properties in the French spoken by Dutch native speakers. Results provide support for the universal grammar approach to second-language acquisition. (Author/CB)

Examination of the oral errors produced by advanced learners of English as a Second Language found that, in spite of many years of classroom instruction and ongoing exposure, errors were still frequent and found to be highly concentrated in specific categories such as lexis and preposition choice. (10 references) (CB)

Describes an alternative approach to traditional English-as-a-Second-Language presentation of the (Z) and (D) morphemes. Learners from different backgrounds and proficiency levels who used orthography-based approaches improved their oral accuracy to the extent that performance differences resulting from disparate language backgrounds disappeared.…

Native speaking learners of English were compared with foreign learners with regard to confusion of "synforms" (similar lexical forms). Synform-induced errors were similar in native speaking learners and foreign learners indicating that all learners, native and foreign, follow coinciding developmental sequences. (24 references)…