TL;DR: Between 9 and 10 mo of age, infants show phonetic learning from live, but not prerecorded, exposure to a foreign language, suggesting a learning process that does not require long-term listening and is enhanced by social interaction.
Abstract: Infants acquire language with remarkable speed, although little is known about the mechanisms that underlie the acquisition process. Studies of the phonetic units of language have shown that early in life, infants are capable of discerning differences among the phonetic units of all languages, including native- and foreign-language sounds. Between 6 and 12 mo of age, the ability to discriminate foreign-language phonetic units sharply declines. In two studies, we investigate the necessary and sufficient conditions for reversing this decline in foreign-language phonetic perception. In Experiment 1, 9-mo-old American infants were exposed to native Mandarin Chinese speakers in 12 laboratory sessions. A control group also participated in 12 language sessions but heard only English. Subsequent tests of Mandarin speech perception demonstrated that exposure to Mandarin reversed the decline seen in the English control group. In Experiment 2, infants were exposed to the same foreign-language speakers and materials via audiovisual or audio-only recordings. The results demonstrated that exposure to recorded Mandarin, without interpersonal interaction, had no effect. Between 9 and 10 mo of age, infants show phonetic learning from live, but not prerecorded, exposure to a foreign language, suggesting a learning process that does not require long-term listening and is enhanced by social interaction.
TL;DR: The role of instruction in learning second language pragmatics is discussed in this article, where the authors compare L2 Pragmatic Learning in Foreign and Second Language (L2PL) settings.
Abstract: 1. Introduction: Interlanguage Pragmatics in Developmental Perspective. 2. Theories of Second Language. Pragmatic Development. Descriptive Studies. Theories and Constructs. Explaining Pragmatic Development. Chapter Summary. 3. Methods in Pragmatics Research. Approaches to Pragmatics across the Social Sciences. Spoken Interaction. Questionnaires. Oral and Narrative Self-reports. Chapter Summary. 4. Patterns of Second Language Pragmatic Development. Pragmatic Comprehension. Pragmatic and Discourse Ability. Speech Acts. Pragmatic Transfer and Development. Chapter Summary. 5. The Development of Pragmatics and Grammar. Re-opening the Research Agenda. Pragmatics Precedes Grammar. Grammar Precedes Pragmatics. Pragmatics and Grammar in Developmental Perspective. Chapter Summary. 6. Learning Context and Learning Opportunities. Length of Residence as a Factor in Pragmatic Development: The Longer the Better?. Input and Interaction in Non-instructional Settings. Input in Instructional Settings. Comparing L2 Pragmatic Learning in Foreign and Second Language Settings. Chapter Summary. 7. The Role of Instruction in Learning Second Language Pragmatics. Research on Instructed Second Language Acquisition. Learning Targets. Learner Characteristics and Learning Contexts. Teachability. Instruction versus Exposure. Different Teaching Approaches. Theories and Research Methods. Chapter Summary. 8. Individual Differences in the Acquisition of Second Language Pragmatics. Age. Gender. Motivation. Teachability. Social and Psychological Distance. Beyond Individual Differences: Social Identity in Learning L2 Pragmatics. Chapter Summary. 9. Prospects
TL;DR: English is the global language as discussed by the authors, and it is the first global lingua franca and the most widely used language in the world, according to the authors of this paper.
Abstract: ‘English is the global language.’ A headline of this kind must have appeared in a thousand news-papers and magazines in recent years. ‘English Rules’ is an actual example, presenting to the world an uncomplicated scenario suggesting the universality of the language's spread and the likelihood of its continuation. A statement prominently displayed in the body of the associated article, memorable chiefly for its alliterative ingenuity, reinforces the initial impression: ‘The British Empire may be in full retreat with the handover of Hong Kong. But from Bengal to Belize and Las Vegas to Lahore, the language of the sceptred isle is rapidly becoming the first global lingua franca.’ Millennial retrospectives and prognostications continued in the same vein, with several major newspapers and magazines finding in the subject of the English language an apt symbol for the themes of globalization, diversification, progress and identity addressed in their special editions. Television programmes and series, too, addressed the issue, and achieved world-wide audiences. Certainly, by the turn of the century, the topic must have made contact with millions of popular intuitions at a level which had simply not existed a decade before. These are the kinds of statement which seem so obvious that most people would give them hardly a second thought. Of course English is a global language, they would say. You hear it on television spoken by politicians from all over the world. Wherever you travel, you see English signs and advertisements.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the impact of telecollaborative language study on the development of foreign language (FL) linguistic competence and the facilitation of intercultural competence (e.g., Bausch, Christ, & Krumm, 1997; Bredella & Delanoy, 1999; Byram, 1997, Harden & Witte, 2000).
Abstract: It is widely reported (e.g., Belz & Muller-Hartmann, 2002; Kern, 1996; Kinginger, in press; Warschauer & Kern, 2000) that the goals of telecollaborative language study are the development of foreign language (FL) linguistic competence and the facilitation of intercultural competence (e.g., Bausch, Christ, & Krumm, 1997; Bredella & Delanoy, 1999; Byram, 1997; Harden & Witte, 2000). Whereas evaluations of the impact of telecollaboration on FL linguistic competence have been based on structural descriptions of learner discourse from the earliest days of research in this field (e.g., Beauvois, 1992; Chun, 1994; Kelm, 1992; Kern, 1995; Pelletieri, 2000; Sotillo, 2000; Warschauer, 1996), discussions of intercultural competence in the same configuration have been characterized primarily in alinguistic terms. These have included analyst-sensitive content analyses of learner interaction in telecollaboration, post-semester interviews with learners who have participated in telecollaborative projects, and attitudinal surveys of these same learners (e.g., Fischer, 1998; Furstenberg, Levet, English, & Maillet, 2001; Lomicka, 2001; Muller-Hartmann, 1999; von der Emde, Schneider, & Kotter, 2001; Warschauer, 1998; see, however, Belz, 2001; Belz & Muller-Hartmann, 2003). In general, the fields of foreign language learning and teaching (FLLT Martin, 2000; White, 1998), a Hallidayian-inspired linguistic approach to the investigation of evaluative language. The quality of conversation may well be one of the most significant measures of civilization, and when people converse, the interlocutors inevitably realize that civilizations do not clash, contrary to some academic reductionists, the media, and politicians... (Kadir, 2003, p. 9; emphasis added)
TL;DR: This paper conducted an anonymous, Internet-based questionnaire study on target language (TL) and first language (L1) use in university-level foreign language (FL) classes and found a negative relationship between reported amounts of TL use and reported TL-use anxiety.
Abstract: This article presents the results of an anonymous, Internet-based questionnaire study on target language (TL) and first language (L1) use in university-level foreign language (FL) classes. The participants were 600 FL students and 163 FL instructors. The goals of the study were to develop preliminary components of a descriptive model of TL and L1 use and explore the relationships between TL use and student anxiety about TL use. It was hypothesized that (a) amounts of TL use would vary according to constellation of interlocutors and communicative contexts, and (b) the amount of TL use overall would correlate positively with student anxiety about it. The results support the first hypothesis. The second hypothesis was not supported. Analysis of the data revealed a negative relationship between reported amounts of TL use and reported TL-use anxiety. Tenets are offered for maximizing TL use while at the same time granting to L1 pedagogically sound functions.
TL;DR: In this article, the development and role of standard languages in the construction of national communities and identities is discussed. But language policy and planning is rarely just about language; it always has political, social and ethical dimensions.
Abstract: Language allows humans to act cooperatively, to plan, and to remember. It is the prime factor in the constitution of groups as well as a major barrier between groups. Language policy and planning is rarely just about language; it always has political, social and ethical dimensions. This is a comprehensive advanced textbook, covering not only language learning imposed by economic or political agendas but also language choices entered into freely for reasons of social mobility, economic advantage or group identity. The first part of the book reviews the development and role of standard languages in the construction of national communities and identities. The second part examines the linguistic accommodation of groups in contact, major lingua francas and the case of 'International English'. The third section explores reactions to nationalism and globalization, with some attention to language rights. The book further deals with methodological problems of working in this interdisciplinary area, and provides detailed illustrations from a range of countries and communities.
TL;DR: It is suggested that cross-writing system differences in L1s and L1 reading skills transfer could be responsible for these ESL performance differences.
TL;DR: This article used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor cortical activations while the Korean adoptees and native French listeners to sentences spoken in Korean, French and other, unknown, foreign languages.
Abstract: Do the neural circuits that subserve language acquisition lose plasticity as they become tuned to the maternal language? We tested adult subjects born in Korea and adopted by French families in childhood; they have become fluent in their second language and report no conscious recollection of their native language. In behavioral tests assessing their memory for Korean, we found that they do not perform better than a control group of native French subjects who have never been exposed to Korean. We also used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor cortical activations while the Korean adoptees and native French listened to sentences spoken in Korean, French and other, unknown, foreign languages. The adopted subjects did not show any specific activations to Korean stimuli relative to unknown languages. The areas activated more by French stimuli than by foreign stimuli were similar in the Korean adoptees and in the French native subjects, but with relatively larger extents of activation in the latter group. We discuss these data in light of the critical period hypothesis for language acquisition.
TL;DR: The chapter ends with suggestions for future research deriving from recent developments in marketing, namely the emergence of the global super-brand.
Abstract: While the study of advertising discourse is a well-established research area in applied linguistics, language contact phenomena in advertising have often been neglected. This chapter reviews work on language contact phenomena in advertising. Recent work has shifted away from a long-standing focus on borrowings and loanwords. Currently, more emphasis is being placed on multilingual discourses in advertising and the ways in which these index identities, both of the products and services with which multiple codes are associated and of the consumers who peruse them. The chapter is also concerned with the various functions of different contact languages in advertising. Languages other than English imbue a product with an ethno-cultural stereotype about the group who speak the language. By contrast, English has largely become a nonnational language and has been appropriated by advertisers in non-English-speaking countries to index a social stereotype. English has become the language of modernity, progress, and globalization. The chapter ends with suggestions for future research deriving from recent developments in marketing, namely the emergence of the global super-brand.
TL;DR: English as a lingua franca (ELF) has been little described as a language form as discussed by the authors, despite the growing recognition of the widespread use of English, it is surprising that English as a lexicon has attracted little attention.
Abstract: political power of the United States, but the origins have ceased to be the prime motivation for the continued spread of the language. Most of its use today is by nonnative speakers (NNSs), and the number of people speaking it as a foreign or second language has surpassed the number of its native speakers (NSs) (about 80% of speakers of English are estimated to be bilingual users; see Crystal, 1997). As a consequence, voices in the English teaching profession and among scholars in the field (see, e.g., Kachru, 1996; Knapp, 2002; McArthur, 2001; Rampton, 1990; Seidlhofer, 2000; Widdowson, 1994) have questioned the NS's status as the most relevant model for teaching English and have called for the development of models for international speakers that are more appropriate to the changed role of English. In view of the growing recognition of the widespread use of English, it is surprising that English as a lingua franca (ELF) has been little described as a language form. Native or established world varieties of English (corresponding to the inner and outer circles of Kachru, 1985, but excluding the expanding circle) have attracted scholarly attention
TL;DR: The authors argued that the concepts of "heritage language" and 'heritage learner' need clarification and should be placed within a larger national policy perspective and examined the current heritage language debate from a crosscultural and historical perspective.
Abstract: Foreign language enrollments in the United States are experiencing a shift from the traditional European foreign languages toward the less commonly taught languages. Moreover, increasing numbers of students now have some degree of bilingual proficiency in the language that they are studying. As a result, much recent attention has been given to the issue of heritage language instruction by both researchers in applied linguistics and practitioners in language pedagogy. This article argues that the concepts of "heritage language" and "heritage learner" need clarification and should be placed within a larger national policy perspective. Pedagogical and sociopolitical issues surrounding the current heritage language debate are examined from a crosscultural and historical perspective. The article ends with some specific policy recommendations for the role of heritage languages and foreign languages within the current strategic context.
TL;DR: The Survey Of Reading Strategies (SORS) (Sheorey and Mokhtari, 2001) was adapted for use in this research project and consists of 38 items that measure metacognitive reading strategies.
Abstract: ______________ In spite of the importance of reading, strategy use, and technology, no research to date has reported on the online reading strategies of L2 readers. Two research questions are explored in this paper. (1) What are the online reading strategies used by second language readers? (2) Do the online reading strategies of English as a second language readers (ESL) differ from English as a foreign language readers (EFL)? Participants in this study consisted of 247 L2 readers. One hundred thirtyone (53%) of the learners were studying English as a foreign language at the Centro Cultural Costarricense Norteamericano (CCCN) in San Jose, Costa Rica. The remaining 116 (47%) were studying in an ESL environment at the English Language Center (ELC) at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah. The Survey Of Reading Strategies (SORS) (Sheorey and Mokhtari, 2001) was adapted for use in this research project. The adapted Online SORS (OSORS) consists of 38 items that measure metacognitive reading strategies. The items are subdivided into three categories: global reading strategies (18 items), problem solving strategies (11 items), and support strategies (9 items).
TL;DR: The Politics of Intolerance: U.S. Language Policy in Process as mentioned in this paper and European Discourses of Homogenization in the Discourse of Language Planning, and the Colonialism of English-Only
Abstract: Introduction Chapter 1: The Politics of Intolerance: U.S. Language Policy in Process Chapter 2: European Discourses of Homogenization in the Discourse of Language Planning Chapter 3: The Colonialism of English-Only Chapter 4: Linguoracism in European Foreign Language Education Discourse Chapter 5: Reclaiming the Language of Possibility: Beyond the Cynicism of Neoliberalism Notes About the Authors Index
TL;DR: The authors examined the reactions of anxious and nonanxious foreign language learners to their own errors and found that anxious learners made more errors, corrected themselves and codeswitched more frequently, overestimated the number of errors that they made, and recognized fewer errors in a stimulated recall situation.
Abstract: This interview study examined the reactions of anxious and nonanxious foreign language learners to their own errors. Native Spanish-speaking students were videotaped twice: first as they took part in an English-language conversation with the researcher and then as they watched themselves in the taped interview. An analysis of the participants' English interactions and responses to their own oral performances indicated that anxious and nonanxious students differed in their ability to recognize their errors and in their reactions to making errors. Specifically, anxious learners made more errors, corrected themselves and codeswitched more frequently, overestimated the number of errors that they made, and recognized fewer errors in a stimulated recall situation. The implications for choosing error-correction techniques are discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that when teaching English as an international language, educators should recognize the value of including topics that deal with the local culture, support the selection of a methodology that is appropriate to the local educational context, and recognize the strengths of bilingual teachers of English.
Abstract: In this paper, the author argues that when teaching English as an international language, educators should recognize the value of including topics that deal with the local culture, support the selection of a methodology that is appropriate to the local educational context, and recognize the strengths of bilingual teachers of English. Based on the results of a questionnaire given to Chilean teachers of English, the author maintains that in Chile there is growing support for such practices and attitudes. Nowadays many countries where English is a required subject are confronting similar questions regarding the use of the local culture in ELT.
TL;DR: The three-tiered error annotation system designed to annotate the French Interlanguage Database (FRIDA) corpus was described, which was used to focus the CALL exercises on learners' attested difficulties and to improve the error diagnosis system integrated in the CALL program.
Abstract: Learner corpora--electronic collections of foreign or second language learner data--constitute a new resource for second language acquisition (SLA) and foreign language teaching (FLT) specialists. They are especially useful when they are error-tagged, that is, when all errors in the corpus have been annotated with the help of a standardized system of error tags. This article describes the three-tiered error annotation system designed to annotate the French Interlanguage Database (FRIDA) corpus. The research took place within the framework of the FreeText project which aims to produce a learner corpus-informed CALL program for French as a Foreign Language. Once annotated, the FRIDA corpus was put through standard text retrieval software to extract detailed error statistics and to carry out concordance-based analyses of specific error types. The results were used to focus the CALL exercises on learners' attested difficulties and to improve the error diagnosis system integrated in the CALL program.
TL;DR: A computer-mediated communication environment could lower students' psychological barriers to enable them to express their opinions freely and to communicate actively on the Internet and it could also enhance their critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills through online activities or class homepage construction.
Abstract: This study investigated the potential impacts of integrating the Internet into an English as a second language class in a vocational senior high school in Taiwan. Twenty-nine students and a young male English teacher were involved. It was found that the students overall had a positive perception toward using Internet tools. This study indicated that the integration of information communication technology on the Internet with English facilitated the creation of a virtual environment that transformed learning from a traditional passive experience to one of discovery, exploration, and excitement in a less stressful setting. The study revealed that a computer-mediated communication environment could lower students' psychological barriers to enable them to express their opinions freely and to communicate actively on the Internet and that it could also enhance their critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills through online activities or class homepage construction. An individual case study further revealed that a task-oriented English tutoring strategy in association with email communication could motivate the student's writing competence but the student's language proficiency and grammatical accuracy did not improve. Finally, based on the findings, recommendations for future studies are made.
TL;DR: The National Center for Cultural Competence defines culture as an integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thoughts, communications, languages, practices, beliefs, values, customs, courtesies, rituals, manners of interacting and roles, relationships and expected behaviors of a racial, ethnic, religious or social group; and the ability to transmit the above to succeeding generations as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: CENTER FOR APPLIED LINGUISTICS • ERIC CLEARINGHOUSE ON LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS • 4646 40TH ST NW • WASHINGTON DC 20016-1859 • 202-362-0700 The National Center for Cultural Competence defines culture as an “integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thoughts, communications, languages, practices, beliefs, values, customs, courtesies, rituals, manners of interacting and roles, relationships and expected behaviors of a racial, ethnic, religious or social group; and the ability to transmit the above to succeeding generations” (Goode, Sockalingam, Brown, & Jones, 2000). This means that language is not only part of how we define culture, it also reflects culture. Thus, the culture associated with a language cannot be learned in a few lessons about celebrations, folk songs, or costumes of the area in which the language is spoken. Culture is a much broader concept that is inherently tied to many of the linguistic concepts taught in second language classes. Through initiatives such as the national standards for foreign language learning, language educators in the United States have made it a priority to incorporate the study of culture into their classroom curricula. Cultural knowledge is one of the five goal areas of the national standards: Through the study of other languages, students gain a knowledge and understanding of the cultures that use that language; in fact, students cannot truly master the language until they have also mastered the cultural contexts in which the language occurs. (National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project, 1996, p. 27) This Digest disc usses the importance of incorporating culture into second language teaching and recommends strategies for infusing cultural issues in classroom instruction.
TL;DR: This paper reviewed studies of teacher cognition in relation to the teaching of grammar in first, second, and foreign language classrooms, highlighting key findings from the research and suggesting directions for continuing inquiry in this field.
Abstract: This paper reviews studies of teacher cognition in relation to the teaching of grammar in first, second, and foreign language classrooms. Teacher cognition encompasses a range of psychological constructs and these are reflected in the research reviewed here. Thus, in turn, I discuss studies of teachers' declarative knowledge about grammar, of their beliefs about teaching grammar, and of their knowledge as expressed through their grammar teaching practices. In addition to highlighting these different perspectives on the study of teacher cognition in grammar teaching, this review highlights key findings from the research and suggests directions for continuing inquiry in this field.
TL;DR: This work has shown that the role of prior foreign language knowledge in the organization of the multilingual lexicon and the transfer-appropriate-processing approach and the trilingual's organisation of the lexicon are important factors in the development of effective multilingual learning.
Abstract: Acknowledgements. Contributors. 1. Why investigate the multilingual lexicon? J. Cenoz, B. Hufeisen 3. The transfer-appropriate-processing approach and the trilingual's organisation of the lexicon U. Schonpflug. 4. The nature of cross-linguistic interaction in the multilingual system U. Jessner. 5. Activation of lemmas in the multilingual mental lexicon and transfer in third language learning Longxing Wei. 6. Parasitism as a default mechanism in L3 vocabulary acquisition C.J. Hall, P. Ecke. 7. Investigating the role of prior foreign language knowledge M. Gibson, B. Hufeisen. 8. The role of typology in the organization of the multilingual lexicon J. Cenoz. 9. A strategy model of multilingual learning J. Muller-Lance. 10. Formulaic utterances in the multilingual context C. Spottl, M. McCarthy. 11. Lexicon in the brain: what neurobiology has to say about languages R. Franceschini, D. Zappatore, C. Nitsch. 12. Perspectives on the multilingual lexicon: a critical synthesis D. Singleton. References. Index.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors asked two educators to discuss the following question: At present, what are the major TESOL challenges in the Arabian Gulf region, and what are their solutions?
Abstract: TESOL Quarterly publishes brief commentaries on aspects of English language teaching. For this issue, we asked two educators to discuss the following question: At present, what are the major TESOL challenges in the Arabian Gulf region?
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on an aspect of traditional instruction, the form-only activities commonly called "drills", "mechanical practice", or "pattern practice", and conclude that these activities are not necessary or beneficial for foreign language acquisition or the development of fluency and should be discarded from instructional practice.
Abstract: This article focuses on an aspect of traditional instruction — the form-only activities commonly called “drills,” “mechanical practice,” or “pattern practice.” The authors first distinguish language as an internalized system from language as a productive skill and review the nature of mechanical pratice. They contend that despite claims made about communicative language teaching and its goals, drills and form-only foreign language activities are still widely used in today's classrooms. After reviewing research on the utility of drills, the authors conclude that these activities are not necessary or beneficial for foreign language acquisition or the development of fluency and should be discarded from instructional practice
TL;DR: This paper found that focused attention had a diminishing effect with the greatest effect in early periods of learning and the least in later stages on syntax, morphosyntax, and lexicon.
Abstract: This study questions the extent to which attention differentially affects different parts of language and how this differential effect interacts with increased linguistic knowledge (i.e., proficiency). Thirty-four English speakers enrolled in Italian 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-year foreign language courses in the United States were placed into one of two conditions ([+focused attention] and [-focused attention]) for each of three linguistic areas (syntax, morphosyntax, and lexicon). It was predicted that focused attention would have the greatest effect on the lexicon and the least on syntax. The results showed the opposite. For the non-focused-attention condition, the predicted results were borne out. With regard to proficiency, focused attention had a diminishing effect, with the greatest effect in early periods of learning and the least in later stages.
TL;DR: The Global Pop, Local Language (GPL) project as mentioned in this paper examines how performers and audiences from a wide range of cultures deal with the issue of language choice and dialect in popular music.
Abstract: Why would a punk band popular only in Indonesia cut songs in no other language than English? If you're rapping in Tanzania and Malawi, where hip hop has a growing audience, what do you rhyme in? Swahili? Chichewa? English? Some combination of these? Global Pop, Local Language examines how performers and audiences from a wide range of cultures deal with the issue of language choice and dialect in popular music. Related issues confront performers of Latin music in the U.S., drum and bass MCs in Toronto, and rappers, rockers, and traditional folk singers from England and Ireland to France, Germany, Belarus, Nepal, China, New Zealand, Hawaii, and beyond. For pop musicians, this issue brings up a number of complex questions. Which languages or dialects will best express my ideas? Which will get me a record contract or a bigger audience? What does it mean to sing or listen to music in a colonial language? A foreign language? A regional dialect? A "native" language? Examining popular music from a range of world cultures, the authors explore these questions and use them to address a number of broader issues, including the globalization of the music industry, the problem of authenticity in popular culture, the politics of identity, multiculturalism, and the emergence of English as a dominant world language. The chapters are written in a highly accessible style by scholars from a variety of fields, including ethnomusicology, popular music studies, anthropology, culture studies, literary studies, folklore, and linguistics. Harris M. Berger is associate professor of music at Texas A&M University. He is the author of Metal, Rock and Jazz: Perception and the Phenomenology of Musical Experience (1999). Michael Thomas Carroll is professor of English at New Mexico Highlands University. He is the author of Popular Modernity in America: Experience, Technology, Mythohistory (2000) and co-editor, with Eddie Tafoya, of Phenomenological Approaches to Popular Culture (2000).
TL;DR: The statistically significant results revealed that the English captions group performed at a considerably higher level than the SpanishCaptions group which in turn performed at at a substantially higherlevel than the no captions groups on the listening test.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using Spanish captions, English captions, or no captions with a Spanish language soundtrack on intermediate university-level Spanish as a Foreign Language students' listening/reading comprehension. A total of 213 intermediate (fourth semester) students participated as intact groups in the study. The passage material consisted of a DVD episode (seven minutes) presenting information concerning preparation for the Apollo 13 NASA space exploration mission. The students viewed only one of three passage treatment conditions: Spanish captions, English captions, or no captions. The Spanish language dependent measure consisted of a 20-item multiple-choice listening comprehension test. The statistically significant results revealed that the English captions group performed at a considerably higher level than the Spanish captions group which in turn performed at a substantially higher level than the no captions group on the listening test. The article concl...
TL;DR: The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines (ACTFL, 1982; 1986; Breiner-Sanders et al, 2000) and the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) derived from them have stimulated abundant and sustained professional engagement by foreign language teachers at all levels and in all languages, as well as intense and equally sustained criticism by specialists in foreign language testing as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines (ACTFL, 1982; 1986; Breiner-Sanders et al, 2000) and the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) derived from them have stimulated abundant and sustained professional engagement by foreign language teachers at all levels and in all languages, as well as intense and equally sustained criticism by specialists in foreign language testing. This paper presents (1) a brief history of the genesis of the Guidelines, (2) a summary of the criticisms leveled against them, and (3) an analysis of the reasons for the continued significance of the Guidelines in curricular and testing initiatives during the last two decades at both state and national levels.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the results of a questionnaire distributed to NNS EFL teachers working in all the primary and secondary education schools in the mid-size Catalan city of Lleida.
Abstract: The characteristics and particular problems faced by non-native speaking (NNS) teachers of foreign languages are being increasingly addressed. NNSs currently constitute the majority of language teachers in the world, but they have different needs and concerns from native speakers (NSs). Research is being conducted to uncover these needs and provide better teaching conditions for this group of teachers. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire distributed to NNS EFL teachers working in all the primary and secondary education schools in the mid-size Catalan city of Lleida. The questionnaire focused on their self-perception as NNS teachers, with particular attention to three aspects: language proficiency, teaching views, and the NS-NNS debate. Results indicate that primary and secondary teachers clearly differ in their self-awareness regarding each of the above three aspects.
TL;DR: This review of current published literature, which continues that advocacy of ethnic minority and immigrant languages, focuses on a narrow time frame (approximately 1998–2002) in order to provide broad, worldwide coverage of different language contact situations.
Abstract: From its beginnings to the present, research in the field of language maintenance and shift has advocated the preservation of ethnic minority and immigrant languages. This review of current published literature, which continues that advocacy, focuses on a narrow time frame (approximately 1998–2002) in order to provide broad, worldwide coverage of different language contact situations. The discussion largely excludes questions of language policy and planning, but includes studies that use traditional as well as newer methodologies to illuminate how educational institutions, the media, ethnic language literacy, family relationships, and friendship networks—to name the more significant factors in maintenance—can be employed to encourage maintenance and language revitalization. After considering recent theoretical and critical works, this review surveys various countries in which research within ethnic and minority language communities illuminates language maintenance, or shift, or revitalization for that group. Current research suggests that use of the ethnic language in the family and friendship networks and its transgenerational transmission are still of crucial importance, as are the conditions in the greater society that provide support for its linguistic viability as a means of communication within and outside the immediate community.
TL;DR: Language and the Media Language and Organisations Language and Gender Language and Youth Multilingualism, Identity and Ethnicity as discussed by the authors, which is also related to our work, is a good starting point.
Abstract: Language and the Media Language and Organisations Language and Gender Language and Youth Multilingualism, Identity and Ethnicity.