Investigated university English-as-a-Second-Language students abilities to self-edit texts across three feedback conditions: errors marked with codes from different categories; errors in the same five categories underlined but not otherwise marked or labeled; no feedback. Both feedback groups outperformed the no-feedback group in self-editing;…

Provides an overview of the English Language Fellows program at the University of Rhode island, which was created in response to increasing enrollments of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students, a shortage of ESL resources to meet their individual needs, and a tendency toward segregation between ethnic groups on campus. (Author/VWL)

This plenary address reviews a number of recent Australian-based research studies and suggests that these studies lead to the inference that students learning English as a Second or Foreign Language need to be given room to communicate. Argues that teachers should give due regard to individual student differences, authenticity, cultural congruence…

Proposes a variety of ways to help novice English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language teachers be better prepared to teach pronunciation and develop as professionals, including education; self-studying; membership in professional organizations; attending and presenting at conferences; reflecting on classroom pedagogical and theoretical issues; and…

Spelling errors of 215 Grade 6 English-as-a-Second-Language learners were examined with a view to gaining an understanding of how these children construe and misconstrue the structure of their second language. It was found that unstressed grammatical function words proved particularly difficult for the learners to render in writing. They had…

Investigates 529 Hong Kong students' beliefs and strategies in learning English using a questionnaire to discover whether a relationship exists among belief and strategy and language proficiency in English. Reveals positive correlations with English proficiency for: (1) management and meaning-focus beliefs; and (2) form-focus and meaning-focus…

Language is easiest to learn before age 5. The Cherokee Nation supported production of a toy that teaches young children basic Cherokee words. When figures that come with the toy are placed into it, a computer chip activates a voice speaking the name of the figure in Cherokee. Learning takes place on visual, auditory, and tactile levels. (TD)

Explores the extent to which published advice on the organization and structure of theses and dissertations concurs with what happens in actual practice. Examines guides and handbooks that focus on thesis and dissertation writing and postgraduate research. Found that only a few books devoted a substantial amount of space to this topic. Discusses…

Examines interaction and feedback in mixed peer response groups by inspecting participants' turn-taking behaviors, language functions performed during peer response, and written feedback on each other's writing. Data were collected from three mixed peer response groups, each with a nonnative speaker and two or three native speakers. (Author/VWL)

Emphasizes kinship systems and language choice among academics in a multilingual capital in India. Interviews with 17 faculty members reveal reasons why some parents use English with their children at home. (Author/VWL)

Considers the development and assessment of oral communication skills in an undergraduate business and commerce curriculum. Drawing on the results of a survey into the workplace oral communication needs and uses of business graduate employees, it is argued that undergraduate experience in formal presentation only is inadequate preparation for oral…

Focuses on error correction strategies employed by learners of Japanese when revising their written work. Investigates the effectiveness of the coding system employed by a university entrance assessment in Australia; types of code symbols that lead to successful self-correction; strategies used for self-correction; and successful and unsuccessful…

A questionnaire on the attitudes of school children on both sides of the border between Aragon and Catalonia in Spain was administered to detect any attitudinal differences towards Catalan and Spanish between the two communities and any attitudinal effect of attending optional Catalan classes on the Aragonese side. Responses are classified into…

Describes theoretical and practical considerations related to the provision of feedback in the written compositions of advanced foreign language learners of French. Discusses the approach taken to teaching and assessing writing skills of students and considers how using a computer-based composition annotation program can contribute to reduction of…

Identified issues for change in the national foreign language (FL) education agenda: evaluating language competency; articulating instruction across educational levels; increasing the range of languages taught and studied; achieving higher levels of language skills; promoting language competency and use among adults; expanding research and…