Computer-assisted studies (CAS) attract foreign language professionals' attention due to the reliability of personal computers, the decreasing cost of available technology, and the new generation of students for whom electronic media are a familiar habitat. This article focuses on a project of the Defense Language Institute that produced over…

Illustrates one approach to presenting language as a reflection of culture, taking as a topic the marked tendency in French to use negative terms to express positive concepts. Negation in French becomes a fertile source of pedagogical activities since it allows reflection upon at least three points to help students go beyond the grammatical…

Presents various learning activities and instructional materials for helping students learn French or Spanish grammar and culture. These materials include flash cards and lists of items to be used on labels. Activities include using the flash cards, writing newspaper ads in the foreign language, and naming the different items in a house. (CK)

Presents an academic achievement assessment program undertaken at an English comprehensive school. The assessment had three functions: (1) to ascertain the extent to which teaching and learning objectives are being met; (2) to identify pupils' strengths and weaknesses; and (3) to motivate pupils by giving them a regular sense of achievement. (CK)

The effects of attendance at linguistically and ethnically homogeneous schools on language motivation and ethnic attitude among preuniversity students learning English and Chinese in Singapore were investigated. Contrary to expectation, students from homogeneous secondary schools tended to be more positive in their ethnic attitude. (Contains 17…

Teenage foreign language learners can better benefit from reading target-language literature if the works include real teenage books instead of abridged canonical classics. Teenage pupils like and want to understand these works because they provide access to the colloquial language used by native-speaking teenagers and because they have themes and…

Questions about language classroom life are addressed that can be illuminated by current research findings on second-language learning and teaching, including first language and cultural adjustment; practices that emphasize learner comprehension; strengths/limitations of classroom management strategies; pronunciation accuracy; and class…

Addresses the need for a more balanced approach in teaching observable culture (music, letters, and arts) and nonobservable culture (belief, behavior, and values) associated with the second language learning process by looking at the celebration of the Chinese New Year. Topics discussed include the Chinese Zodiac, household preparations and social…

Preterite/Imperfect (PI) usage is one of the hardest grammatical features of Spanish to learn. Some of the blame lies with misleading textbook explanations. A discussion of problematic P/I textbook explanations shows why the presentation of a more reliable set of principles is a preferable alternative to questionable rules of thumb. (18…

Integrating debate on controversial topics into the syllabus enriches learners' interaction with the Spanish language and stimulates intermediate students to express themselves in Spanish. This article lists some practical suggestions for setting up debates as well as criteria for evaluating them. (Author/CK)

Reviews recent literature concerning what to do to help foreign learners of Italian develop communicative competence, i.e., a functional knowledge of the uses of the language. This literature shows that to be conceptually fluent in a language is to know how that language encodes concepts on the basis of metaphorical reasoning. (33 references) (CK)

One teacher's experiences with second-language instructional technology are recounted, including language labs, computer-assisted instruction, videotapes, personal computers, laser discs, and compact discs. The value of and potential uses for interactive multimedia are outlined. (LB)

Cognitive development research can be applied to the learning of a second language, resulting in a view of language learning as the acquisition and development of expertise. From this framework, two processes are viewed from within this framework for learners of English: learning vocabulary and learning discourse and story. (Contains 10…

This study compared the exam performance of 65 foreign students of Dutch whose homework had been regularly checked by a computer program with 62 students whose homework had been randomly checked. On a 100-item proficiency test the former group obtained an average score of 77.2, while the latter group obtained an average score of 65.4. (Contains 21…

Examined how well first-year English majors at the University of Nijmegen, Netherlands, performed on a relative clause test, with students retested after receiving instruction in relative clauses. Results found that 78% of the students scored better on the second test. The results are discussed in relation to accessibility hierarchy and the…