An ethnographic approach to the study of second-language lecture comprehension was used to study 30 first-year Hong Kong Chinese students in a Teaching-English-as-a-Second-Language course. Results indicate student attitudes, problems, and their approaches to overcoming the problems. (17 references) (Author/LB)

Brief reviews and descriptions cover USENET (for those interested in exploring language and culture on-line); expansion of MINITEL service through interconnection with services in Spain, England, Holland, Germany, and Italy; CTLINK, which allows access to many networks; and EUDORA, an Internet-compatible mail program for MacIntosh computers. (CNP)

A workshop for primary school teachers of English as a foreign language emphasized knowledge of language learning principles to equip teachers for the classroom. Description of the workshop touches on theory, methods, learner styles and expectations, and textbook selection. (eight references) (CNP)

ALICE, a multimedia framework for intelligent computer-assisted language instruction (ICALI) at Carnegie Mellon University (PA), consists of a set of tools for building a number of different types of ICALI programs in any language. Its Natural Language Processing tools for syntactic error detection, morphological analysis, and generation of…

The effects of a French tutorial with spoken feedback, written feedback, written/spoken feedback, and no feedback were examined with 56 undergraduates using a Macintosh computer. Results supported the hypothesis that students receiving written/spoken feedback perform better than those in the other three feedback categories. (eight references)…

Sixty Korean speakers of English who had lived in the United States were tested for their ability to judge the grammaticality of English sentences in 12 grammatical categories in a reaction-time task. Findings suggest that a sensitive period exists in second-language (L2) acquisition as evidenced by faster performance by early-learner L2 groups.…

Relationships among individuals' foreign language learning experiences, their beliefs about the effectiveness of language learning strategies, and their definitions of the learning task were studied for 194 college students. Results confirm that language learning experience is related to strategy beliefs. Implications for educational practice are…

"Abra Cadabra," a new computer program for second-language learning for fourth- and fifth-grade students, is described that is based on the whole language approach to language acquisition. (two references) (LB)

Contrasts systems of address used between professors and students in German departments in the United States and at universities in Germany. It is shown that the two systems differ in several important ways. These differences are discussed and guidelines are provided for instructors on how to deal with them. (31 references) (LET)

Queensland, Australia, is embarking on a massive limited bilingual second-language learning program for all students in the first eight years of school. Potential implementation problems and implications for the wider society are discussed, including the effect of the emphasis on studying Asian languages. (Contains 40 references.) (Author/LB)

Two sociocultural value clusters that predict an English-as-a-Second-language and an English-as-a-Foreign-Language approach are juxtaposed, respectively, to English language acquisition management. The two approaches are described in educational terms and related to the changing functions of English in the world and to national language…

Attempts to help teachers deal with English articles causing problems with English-as-a-Second-Language learners, particularly when the mother tongue of the learner has no equivalents. The discussion focuses on whether "a" and "the" should be taught and then looks at a description that may provide a relevant starting point for a reappraisal. (14…

Discusses the use of computers for teaching foreign languages and for research purposes. Highlights include the ability of computers to analyze data and transactions with or without interacting with the learner; the learner's acquisition of grammatical concepts; and changes in the discipline and in curriculum development that may result from…

Reviews and annotates two professional books and two instructional materials which are likely to be valuable to teachers and students in multicultural and multilingual classrooms. Notes that these materials are useful in bringing a multicultural perspective to mainstream settings. (MG)

Addresses one aspect of individual differences and how socially learned cues may radically influence the verbal learning tasks performed by university students taking a foreign language. The nonuniversity studies reviewed provide the backdrop for a more in-depth study on four memorization modes and how these strategies are largely dependent on…