Abstract: liefs about how languages are learned.1 Definite viewpoints on the best techniques for learning a language, the "right" age to begin language study, and the nature of the language learning process are the subject of airline magazine articles, Sunday supplement advertisements, and cocktail party small-talk. Many people apparently believe, for example, that second language fluency can be obtained with relatively little effort. In the course of a review of the time

Abstract: Foreign language teaching and education foreign language teaching in a multi-ethnic society cultural studies within foreign language teaching contemporary views on cultural studies analyzing, describing and understanding a foreign culture psychological dimensions of cultural studies cultural knowledge and cultural information - some empirical evidence a model for language and cultural teaching.

Abstract: Some basic definitional and theoretical issues concerning the role of cultural studies in foreign language teaching are discussed. The paper is critical of the tourist‐consumer model of intercultural contact and of the agnostic or minimalist approaches to cultural studies often associated with allegedly culture‐free classifications of language functions. Assumptions of some existing approaches to cultural studies are examined. Four key areas for further work on cultural studies are identified, (1) definition, (2) didactics, (3) teaching methodology, and (4) assessment. Three needs of cultural studies are discussed, (1) an adequate conceptualisation of human culture in social and psychological terms, for which the paper proposes a social anthropological approach, (2) guidelines for research, and (3) a programme of teacher training. The paper concludes with a theoretical model of cultural studies.

Abstract: Creating a strong link between up-to-date research findings and classroom practice, this book analyzes, compares, and critiques prevalent classroom strategies in light of expertise available in other countries. The theme of the volume, that form and meaning can be united from an early point in the reading curriculum, is clearly developed and reinforced from different perspectives. The book is a distinctive blend of assimilated research results and cogently argued teaching recommendations. It provides solutions to common problems that have proved successful in other countries, and opens up alternatives that presently are not described in the literature.

Abstract: FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, THE STUDY OF SECond language reading has received much attention in recent years. ' Three of these reasons are of particular interest to this study. First, communicative language teaching with its incumbent emphasis on functional materials recognizes the importance of reading. Byrnes contends, for example, that "authentic texts are still the most preferable resource. Only by helping learners deal with authentic texts can we rees-

Abstract: This study examines sex differences in English language acculturation and learning strategies among older Vietnamese in the United States in a nationwide probability sample. Data of this study came from the Southeast Asian Refugee Self-Sufficient Study (1982). The results reveal that older Vietnamese women had more problems with their English language than older Vietnamese men. In addition, the Vietnamese men were more likely to use various learning strategies to improve their English skills than the women.

Abstract: The faculty of the University of Hawaii at Manoa has decided to require one year of a foreign language for all students beginning in 1988. Those entering in 1989 will be required to complete two years before graduation. "All students" includes not only those of arts and sciences but also those of the professional schools, including business, education, engineering, nursing, social work, and tropical agriculture. None of these professional schools has ever required a foreign language. This paper reports a preliminary analysis of data aimed at finding out what new learning and teaching strategies these new students will require. The primary focus is on personality, the characteristic ways in which people respond to the world and the ways they prefer to learn. Although some relationships between personality and language learning have been explored, apparently no previous study has sought to compare the approaches of language learners with those of other disciplines. The effect of personality on language learning has been studied a number of times.2 For example, Rossier found a positive correlation between extraversion and oral fluency in English. Outgoing people get higher ratings. Such announcements, while interesting, do not tell the teacher who stands in front of a classroom

Abstract: Monolingual American and Mexican 2- and 3-year-old children were exposed to a foreign language in a naturalistic but controlled environment Children were randomly assigned to 2 groups 1 group was differentially reinforced throughout the study for the use of foreign vocabulary The control group was first reinforced nondifferentially for use of the native language or the foreign language and later was switched to differential reinforcement for the foreign language Frequencies of spontaneous foreign word production and other verbal responses were computed, and formal assessments of comprehension and production of the foreign words were conducted Differential reinforcement resulted in accelerating frequencies of spontaneous foreign language use and better performance on both comprehension and production tests Under nondifferential reinforcement, rates of spontaneous foreign language use were low and static Results are interpreted as evidence that the acquisition of expressive vocabulary is a function of socially mediated reinforcement

Abstract: to describe the target language performance abilities of foreign language learners.' The proficiency movement is spearheaded by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) which over the last several years has promoted the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, proficiency-based curricula, syllabi, and, in general, are behind proficiency-based teaching. In the proficiency context, foreign language professionals are probably most familiar with the Oral Proficiency Interview, especially with the large scale training undertaken and the widespread implementation of oral proficiency requirements. Now gaining increasing attention is reading proficiency, which is the concern of the present paper. The ACTFL definition of reading proficiency is given in terms of a trisection between content, function, and accuracy which translate more specifically to reading as: text type, reading skill, and task-based performance (Galloway). The proficiency construct, as shown in Figure I, is characterized by two parallel hierarchies, one of text types and the other of reading skills, which are cross-sectioned to define developmental levels. In other words, a specific developmental level is associated with a particular text type and particular reading skills. By the definition of hierarchy, high level skills and text types subsume low ones so that readers demonstrating high levels of reading proficiency should be able to interact with texts and be able to demonstrate the reading skills characteristic of low levels of reading proficiency. Conversely, readers at low levels of the proficiency scale should neither be able to demonstrate high level skills nor interact with high level texts.

Abstract: Within the proposed framework, oral tests consist of several different speech interactions, each of which encompasses a variety of contextual variables that affect its output. These interactions are performed as simulations in order to tap unmonitored language, which approximates the most stable discourse style, namely, the vernacular. The sample of speech interactions included on an oral test is randomly selected from specifications of those interactions most relevant to the specific context and purpose of the assessment. The language samples are then assessed with rating scales, whose criteria vary according to the intended use of the test results. The accuracy of the scores, the quality of the test as a whole, and the assumptions made about oral language are examined through the relevant types of reliability and validity as well as through extensive research.

Abstract: t lection of school board members, taxation for school district budgets, collective bargaining and tenure for teachers, vaccination and suspension of pupils, instruction in the Darwinian theory and in foreign language. School prayers, loyalty oaths, flag salutes, pro test armbands, maternity leaves, race discrimination.... The list of topics dealt with in U.S. Supreme Court cases goes on and on, extending to virtually all aspects of school operation. Are school leaders aware of the do's and don'ts of these

Abstract: This article presents the results of a comparative study of two Hispanic communities in New York City: Washington Heights and Elmhurst/Corona Our data on language proficiency, language use, and attitudes were gathered using a sociolinguistic questionnaire However, the study benefited from the interactive process established between the researchers and the communities which they studied and in which they live and work Our data are analyzed along three dimensions First, we compare data for the two Spanish-speaking communities We discuss how the social status and the ethnic configuration of the community affect linguistic and attitudinal behaviors Then, we analyze the data according to national origin We discuss how the five nationality groups included in our study - Central Americans, Cubans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and South Americans differ in language proficiency, language use, and language attitudes Finally, we compare the data for Dominicans in Washington Heights to that of Dominicans in Elmhurst/Corona We examine how national origin and the language surround of the ethnic community interact in order to determine language use and attitudes Some of the findings here differ from what may be supposed of such cases We suggest socioeducational and language policies for Hispanics in the United States based on the results of this study (Sociology of language, sociolinguistics, language planning, ethnic studies, sociology, education of

Abstract: This paper discusses several patterns of incorrect production and perception of a foreign language, and offers accounts of these error patterns in terms of a particular theory of the representation of phonological structure. All the errors discussed involve some aspect of prosody, and are argued to result from differences in constraints on prosodic structure in the native language and the foreign language. These error patterns are interesting from two perspectives. First, the cases discussed provide justification for the claim that linguistic theory is relevant to second language (L2) acquisition by presenting evidence that the errors of language learners can be seen as perfectly comprehensible and even predictable given particular theoretical constructs. Second, the patterns discussed provide evidence for the relevance of data from L2 acquisition to the concerns of linguistic theory. Specifically, I argue that error patterns may provide evidence for particular analyses of the native language grammar, evidence that may not be available from the study of the native language alone.

Abstract: Apres une precision du concept de 'poütesse' une analyse est entreprise dans cet article des types de conversation realisee dans Fenseignement. II se trouve que les formules de politesse y sont mal representees. Les auteurs attirent l'attention sur la necessite de mettre des moyens verbaux adequats a l'expression de la politesse ä la disposition des eleves d'une langue etrangere, en creant des situations communicatives qui s'y pretent.

Abstract: In this study, the politeness strategies of Australians and Japanese speakers of English are compared in two tasks in­ volving polite requests. Four Australians and four Japanese were ''video-taped'' making the requests. Their language and the strategies they used are analyzed using the concepts of face, notice and small-talk (Brown & Levinson, 1978). Initial and fmal salutations and the language of the request are also discussed. The Japanese speakers were more direct, and did not appear to be as appropriately polite as the Australians. The weaknesses in the performance of the Japa­ nese are traced to inadequacies in the teaching of English in Japan. Some recommendations are made for the teaqhing of English for communication in Japan. Aim of the Study Japanese people are often said to be polite, and many of them believe it themselves. While this may be true on many occasions, they may well fail to express the intended polite­ ness when speaking English. Expressing politeness is not easy in a foreign language. The difficulty may be caused by a lack of linguistic competence. For example, not knowing the appropriate expression for a certain situation, a non-native speaker might speak too abruptly and sound arrogant or im­ polite. Saying I want to go now instead of I have to go now could surprise the other person. Another cause for the diffiNorum Tanaka has an M.A. in English literature from Waseda Univer­ sity, an M.Ed. in TESOL from Temple University, and an M.A. in TESOL from Canberra College of Advanced Education. She has taught English in senior high schools in Japan for ten years.

Abstract: The Committee of Inquiry into the Teaching of English Language recommends that a substantial part of the initial training of primary teachers should involve a systematic study of language. The study described here predates publication of this report, but investigates the current levels of some aspects of student knowledge and awareness about language. The measures include: knowledge of grammatical terminology, the ability to perceive and articulate patterns in language and awareness of concepts such as language variation and change. Students’ attitudes towards the use of grammatical terminology in the classroom are also investigated. Results indicate that levels of knowledge and awareness may be somewhat higher than pessimists might suppose, although there are considerable gaps. The most significant determinant of students’ structural knowledge (though not general awareness), would appear to be their background in foreign languages, although the teacher training itself appears to make a contribut...

Abstract: A telephone answering device wherein an outgoing message translated from an original language into each of several different foreign languages is sent out in a predetermined order to a calling party of any foreign country when he pushes ten-keys on a push-button telephone in a predetermined order, so that the calling party can get the most understandable outgoing message. The outgoing messages translated into major foreign languages are previously stored depending on the country's language situation, or otherwise the prerecorded original outgoing message is translated into one of the foreign languages by a built-in translating device each time the calling party pushes a ten-key, to be delivered to the calling party.

Abstract: The Center for Language Education and Research (CLEAR), through funding from the U.S. Department of Education, sought to address the issue of the status of foreign language instruction by conducting a national survey of elementary and secondary schools. This article presents the results of questionnaires completed by principals and foreign language teachers at 1,416 elementary schools and 1,349 secondary schools. The respondents represented public and private schools, ranging from nursery school through grade 12, throughout the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The main purpose of the survey was to provide a national picture of foreign language education at the elementary and secondary levels in terms of specific categories, such as public and private schools. The survey questions covered six main areas: background demographics, amount of foreign language instruction, foreign language offerings, foreign language curriculum, teacher qualifications and training, and major problems. The results revealed that more than one-fifth (22 percent) of the responding elementary schools and 87 percent of the responding secondary schools taught foreign languages in the 1986–87 school year.

Abstract: Dartmouth College, a highly selective Ivy League college with 4100 undergraduates, has a small but significant number of dyslexic/learning-disabled students, two-thirds of whom were identified through diagnostic testing at Dartmouth. Close advising relationships and intensive interviews with Dartmouth learning-disabled students reveal a profile of a particular category of learning-disabled college students. In spite of experiencing difficulty in a specific content area or with an information-processing task, learning-disabled Dartmouth students achieve well academically, socially, and extracurricularly, get high scores on timed SAT and IQ tests, and rely when necessary on accommodations, rather than remedial courses or specialized tutorial assistance.