This study compares the relative effects of two types of instruction, processing instruction and traditional instruction, on the acquisition of the verbs "ser" and "estar" with adjectives and past participles. (Author/VWL)

Examined the extent to which foreign student families view attrition of the first language (L1) and academic skills as a serious issue for their children, and what steps they take to maintain these skills. Suggests foreign-student parents are concerned their children are losing L1 literacy and academic ability and are supplementing their…

Assessed attitudes of elementary and middle school students toward foreign language study via a questionnaire. Results show students with home languages other than English demonstrated more positive attitudes toward foreign languages and a higher degree of perceived parental support for their foreign language program. No gender difference emerged.…

Reports partial findings of a large-scale investigation into the English language needs of students at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Focuses on students' perceptions of their language needs and wants, how students rated their competence in particular skills in academic, professional, and social domains, and the extent to which students'…

Reflects on the evolution of the professional careers of teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), specifically focusing on the difficulties experienced by native speaker teachers when they move from a period of teacher education into the private sector workplace. (Author/VWL)

Focuses on the impact of cooperative writing response groups and self-evaluation on the learners, other faculty, and the institution (a university in Argentina). Argues that cooperative writing response groups and self-evaluation are worth pursuing in constrained educational environments because of how beneficial the approach was perceived to be…

Examines five factors that may impact the use of second language emotion vocabulary. Considers the impact of language proficiency, gender, and extroversion on the use of emotion words in the advanced French interlanguage of 29 native Dutch speakers, and examines influence of sociocultural competence, gender, and type of linguistic material on use…

Describes how some background factors influenced the way in which one experienced rater dealt with a number of operations involved in setting up and applying scoring criteria in the assessment of 60 Test of English as a Foreign Language essays. Implications are drawn for both future research into interrater variability and for rater training.…

Two cross-sectional studies used a replication design to investigate the degree to which adult Francophone English-as-a-Second-Language learners' use of tense/aspect markers in past contexts supported the predictions of the aspect hypothesis and the degree to which it showed first language influence. (Author/VWL)

Explores the developmental patterns observed when Japanese adult learners acquire the locality condition on English reflexives. Experimental tasks were designed specifically to deal with the methodological problems of earlier research and then administered to Japanese learners of English at five proficiency levels as well as English and Japanese…

Investigates an aspect of teacher talk--the teacher's provision of feedback or follow-up--and the role it plays in English-as-a-Second/Foreign Language classroom discourse. Draws on transcript data from a secondary school classroom in Tanzania to illustrate a teacher's follow-up moves, where these moves form the third part of a chain of…

Explores the loss and maintenance of Spanish in Hispanic children in Vancouver from the perspective of parents. Focuses on the experiences of Hispanic parents of children either developing bilingually (Spanish-English) or monolingually (English).(Author/VWL)

Discusses the P-12 Teacher Education Standards--a project of the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)--which have recently been completed. These new standards specify the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of effective English-as-a-Second-Language teachers and are part of a series of efforts by TESOL to provide…

To explore a daily grading system as a form of assessment, this study surveyed 16 teachers and 90 students in college-level Japanese language classrooms where daily grading is practiced. Results showed that both teachers and students had positive beliefs about daily grading. (Author/VWL)

An experienced foreign language methods instructor presents his "private history" about teaching Spanish to fifth-graders as part of an elementary school's afternoon enrichment program. (Author/VWL)