Explores the most visible expression of a writer's presence in a text: the use of exclusive first person pronouns. Shows that not all disciplines follow the same conventions of impersonality, and that there is considerable scope for negotiation of identity in academic writing. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the use of teacher-generated biographical material as a vehicle for introducing culture-based content into the classroom. The rationale behind the concept of teacher-generated biography is described with reference to adult general English students in Japan. (Author/VWL)

Investigates self- and peer evaluation of writing in the English-as-a-Second-Language classroom. The investigation is examined in two parts: (1) adapting and implementing an appropriate evaluation scale, and (2) studying the various end-of-term effects use of the scale had on students. (17 references) (GLR)

Describes the differences between majority- and minority-language learners learning a second language in a publicly funded schooling environment in England, highlighting the difficulties faced by minority language speakers and the need for the development of a more rigorous and informed pedagogical practice in a multilingual classroom. (24…

Explains the Monitor Model of adult second-language development. Describes a study conducted at Queens College to assess the value of mandatory reading laboratory attendance for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. (DMM)

A survey-interview exercise is described as it evolved through English-as-a-second-language students' efforts to develop better spoken language skills. The exercise provided students with experience in using spoken English in interaction, learning first-hand about local ideas and attitudes, and reflecting on and discussing the experience in the…

Explores the few studies that compare the psycholinguistic processes characterizing second language acquisition in the classroom and native-speaking environments. A description of a study that found that, although intermediate Spanish students extensively monitored language usage in both environments, their monitored knowledge was still quite…

A study compared students' orientations toward learning Spanish to their orientations toward learning English or French as a second language, and examined other variables, including interethnic attitudes and contact, motivation, self-confidence, and Spanish competence. Results do not permit a clear delineation of a sociomotivational basis for…

Summarizes findings of a Modern Language Association survey on employment of individuals holding doctorates in English or foreign languages and compares these findings with results of earlier surveys. Tabular information is provided regarding the number of degrees conferred and employment status. (CB)

Reviews multidisciplinary research on second culture and second language reading comprehension to support the claim that second language reading is an interactive process, involving the interrelationship of cultural schemata and discourse structure. Argues for the roles of cultural schemata and discourse structure in an interactive model of first…

An interview with Alan Decaux of the Academie Francaise focuses on his campaign for each European to know two languages in addition to the mother tongue, using early foreign language education to attain this goal. (MSE)

In a French study based on Spanish research, the communicative effectiveness and grammatical accuracy of foreign language students in generating appropriate classroom questions was investigated. Despite language differences, similarities were found in communication errors, especially incorrect interrogative words and structures, verb tenses and…

Reports on research into the interactive roles played in the verbal comprehension processes by the sequence of textual elements, text-specific prior knowledge, and levels of language proficiency. Four cloze tests were administered to undergraduate and graduate native speakers of English and to undergraduate non-native speakers of English at three…

A study of college students' motivation for learning, and other social-psychological aspects of second language learning, found students learn German for instrumental, friendship, travel, identification/influence, and knowledge reasons. Fluency was related to motivation, and students of German heritage had higher self-confidence in the German…

Assessment of the English writing proficiency of 23 native French speaking students on 3 composition tasks found variance in the qualities of written texts and problem-solving behaviors. Writing expertise was found to affect discourse organization and content, writing complexity, heuristic strategies, and control strategies, while second-language…