bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Le Revers de la Médaille
Authors: Peacock Vera L.
Published: October 2011

When a foreign language teacher attacks a new language as a student in a regular beginning class, he realizes afresh the importance of some fundamental aspects of language instruction which he has always accepted as axiomatic but which he will thereafter implement with renewed zeal because of this experience.
Translation Made Tolerable
Authors: Myron Herbert B.
Published: October 2011

This article attempts to show the necessity of careful and conscientious translation from French to English. It is a reaction against the “gist and drift” method of rapid reading or “reading for general content.” It gives concrete suggestions that the superior student may work out constantly and that the average student may aim at intermittently.
Concentration vs. Dispersion
Authors: Pargment M. S.
Published: October 2011

Arguments against a proposition made by a professor of education that teachers in training be discouraged from selecting modern foreign language as a major subject.
What Languages Are Our Soldiers Up Against?
Authors: Pei Mario A.
Published: October 2011

In an article appearing in the December 1943 issue of the National Geographic Magazine (“The World's Words”) mention is made of the languages that our troops are facing all over the world. A map that accompanies the article (this map was later reproduced in the New York Herald‐Tribune of January 16, 1944) purports to indicate: 1. the localities where American troops are stationed throughout the globe; 2. the world's “great language empires.” These are said to be six in number—English, Chinese dialects, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic. No mention is made in the map of French, with its seventy million native speakers, its vast colonial empire, in all of which French is current, or its even vaster intellectual empire, arising from the fact that the educated classes all over the world have some knowledge of French; or of German, with its one hundred million speakers on the European continent and its numerous emigrant and cultural speakers throughout the globe; or of Italian, with its sixty million speakers in Italy and abroad and its dominant position in the Mediterranean basin; or of Japanese, with its seventy‐five million native speakers and its control, even though temporary, over populations numbering another three hundred million. The present article is meant to restore the proper balance as to the strategic importance of the world's tongues, up to the time of writing.
Reading for Rate and Comprehension in the Foreign Languages
Authors: Moore Anne Z.
Published: October 2011

An experiment designed to determine to what extent a planned program of vocabulary study and weekly speed and comprehension tests will improve reading ability in a foreign language.
Foreign Language Student Publications
Authors: Fulton Renée Jeanne
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— A review of foreign language student publications shows that they provide a variety of opportunities for widening the students' cultural horizons as well as for developing power and creativeness in the written language.
Moerikes “Firerider” and an Interpretative Tale
Authors: Snow Frank E.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— Moerike's ballad depicts the last act of a strange human tragedy. An analysis of the poem and an interpretative tale.
Learning by the Linguist‐Informant Method
Authors: Nicholson Helen S.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— First‐hand observation gives convincing proof of the efficacy of this method. Practical considerations may stand in the way of its wide‐spread use, but its success should renew faith in the oral‐aural approach, and encourage efforts to modify existing programs to include all such features as are feasible in present circumstances.
A Neglected Point of Grammar The Passive Voice
Authors: Coq J. P. Le
Published: October 2011

The American student is constantly confronted with the difficult rendering of the Passive Voice. Grammars, as a rule, shed very little light on the subject. The following article is an attempt to bring the problem to the attention of teachers and an invitation to those willing and able to assume the preparation of grammar texts, to give the subject the treatment it deserves.)
The Dramatic Element in Spanish Literature and an English Dramatization of a Spanish Source
Authors: Snow Frank E.
Published: October 2011

The dramatization of suitable material as a form of creative and interpretative elaboration supplementary to the reading of literature. Examples of dramatized Spanish literature. Don Manuel's “El Escolar y el Nigromante” source of the one‐act play, “Ingratitude.”
Ends and Means in Language Teaching*
Authors: Morris M. C.
Published: October 2011

Our modus operandi will count as heavily in the immediate future as the job we are doing. A plea for intellectual honesty in defining objectives, and for a realistic attitude in facing the future.
A Study on the Practice of Guessing Word Meanings from a Context
Authors: Seibert Louise C.
Published: October 2011

Author's summary.— (Part I) The proportion of words whose meaning can be derived by inference in a context is much higher than is generally assumed. (Part II) The guessing of word meanings by inference involves a series of mental processes which can be analysed and classified so they can be used in teaching the technique to the students. (Part III) The author gives the reproduction verbatim of a lesson in which the students are shown some of the techniques by which word meanings can be guessed by inference.
The Investigation of the Teaching of a Second Language
Authors: Dunkel Harold B.
Published: October 2011

Author's summary.— The following article briefly sketches the work outlined by the Investigation of the Teaching of a Second Language, which is evaluating a number of recent experiments in language teaching.
The Navy Language School Program and Foreign Languages in Schools and Colleges: Aims and Techniques
Authors: Axelrod Joseph
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— A first‐hand description of an intensive language course with the traditional four‐fold aim given at the Navy Language School; the significance of the aims and techniques of this course for the teacher of civilian language classes.
Spoken German: Methods and Results
Authors: Jordan Emil L.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— The need for experimentation is stressed in the field of methods in Spoken German. The relative merits of imitation and intellectual initiative in oral training are discussed.
O, Bring Back My French Class To Me!
Authors: Smith M. Margaret
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— The alarming drop in language enrollment must be fought tooth and nail by all the ingenuity at the teacher's disposal. There is a slight trend upward, which may prove to be a deeper indication of an improved market.
The Place of German in the Post‐War Curriculum
Authors: Hewitt Theodore B.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— Acceleration not altogether practical after relaxation of war pressure. Courses will need adjustment to meet requirements of returning veterans. Lack of opportunity for foreign study will promote our own summer language schools. German destined to continue as proven medium of instruction. Caution necessary regarding future appointments to German staffs.
Spanish and, Not Versus, French
Authors: Withers A. M.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— A plea for care and sobriety, especially as regards Spanish and French, in assessment of comparative foreign‐language values for American students.
A Lesson Plan for Teaching French Pronunciation
Authors: Goddard Eunice R.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— In teaching French pronunciation, stress and intonation should be emphasized from the start. Sounds should be taught by ear, accompanied by physiological explanations, before the graphic equivalents are seen. An incubation period in which the student hears the language spoken in complete sentences will condition him to the new sounds, to stress and intonation and will build up a passive vocabulary.
Suggestions for the Practical Teaching of the Sounds of Many Languages
Authors: Pei Mario A.
Published: October 2011

This paper is rather a series of practical observations based upon my experience with courses in “The World's Chief Languages” than a set of suggestions to those who know the field of practical phonetics far better than I. It was read at the Practical Phonetics Section of the Modern Language Association Convention held December 29, 1944.
Just a Word About Just
Authors: Staubach Charles N.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— As a sample of words of many uses, which cause difficulties not accounted for by standard grammars, the adjective and adverb just is studied in relation to its various expressions in Spanish.
The Intensive Reading Lesson in Scientific German
Authors: Newmark Maxim
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— Language study in the high schools can be correlated with a science curriculum without losing its identity as language study. This can be done by scrupulously observing the major aims and techniques of foreign‐language instruction with appropriate adaptations required by the specialized scientific content.
Correlation of Latin and Spanish*
Authors: Vance Della G.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— A discussion of the conversational and grammatical approaches to language study with the Latin and non‐Latin students with special reference to the historical background and the influences of the French, Roman and Greek civilizations on the crystallization of the Spanish language.
The Place of Foreign Languages in Post‐War Education
Authors: Hutchinson Mark E.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— The author predicts three developments in foreign language study. First, Increased interest in regional studies of foreign cultures, both ancient and modern Second, The construction of courses in elementary linguistics in an effort to raise the nation's knowledge of language in general and English in particular. Third, An effort to make foreign language study and teaching a vital part of general education.
Clean Streets: A Plea for Broad Educational Horizons
Authors: De Vito Anthony J.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— The article presents certain reactions of American military personnel overseas toward various aspects of European life and culture. It seeks to emphasize a certain “intellectual blindness” or at least intolerance on the part of the American soldier. It calls for tolerance and eradication of provincialism on the part of teachers as means of broadening the educational horizons of our students.
Can the Hare Win?: A PLEA FOR LESS HASTE IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING
Authors: Balakian Anna
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— There are dangers facing the new intensive language course if students and administrators should take it to mean rapid fulfillment of language requirements rather than a sound foundation for serious, long range language study.
Some Observations on the Relationship Between Mental Ability and Achievement in French*
Authors: Bovée Arthur Gibbon , Froehlich Gustav J.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— The authors have compared the Binet I.Q. of 451 students with their achievement in French as indicated by the French Cooperative Test. The prognosis value of the Binet I.Q. is questioned. The resulting data indicate clearly that certain factors in the process of learning French—particularly in beginning classes—are not explored by the Binet intelligence quotient.
Use of Audio‐Visual Aids in Foreign Language Teaching
Authors: Johnson Laura B.
Published: October 2011

Author's summary. There is no academic subject in which all kinds of audio‐visual aids are so essential for the achievement of both linguistic and cultural objectives as in the field of foreign languages. Use of such material should be carefully planned and utilized as an integral part of the course; the use of audio‐visual aids does not interrupt the learning; it is a vital part of the learning process.
The Training of Foreign Language Teachers for Current Methods and Objectives
Authors: Tharp James B.
Published: October 2011

Author's summary.— Fashion‐cycles in methods of teaching. Seven alibis for failure to achieve objectives analyzed and discussed: previous preparation, pupil motivation, intelligence, length of study period, suitability of materials, scope of objectives, teacher training. Teacher preparation is the key to the situation. The oral approach in current vogue requires a teacher who is a skilled performer. To acquire such skills teachers need foreign residence or its equivalent in special summer language schools.
A Plea for Content
Authors: Hafkesbrink Hanna
Published: October 2011

Author's summary.— The author warns against a onesided emphasis on linguistic drill on the college level. English orientation lectures should supplement the linguistic training in order to provide thought‐provoking subject matter even at a stage when the student is not yet able to master mature foreign texts in the original. For it is not only linguistic drill which prepares for the mastery of relevant texts, but also interest in significant subject matter which stimulates the desire to conquer linguistic difficulties.
Foreign Languages for Singers
Authors: Wooley E. O.
Published: October 2011

Author's summary.— The author planned a course of foreign languages for singers. Objectives of the course: The teaching of vocabulary and pronunciation. Textbooks and their use. The music students showed greater achievement than the freshmen in acquiring vocabulary and skill in reading.
The Language Discothèque
Authors: Gaudin Lois S.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— The best results from the use of phonograph records in language study are obtained only if the records are carefully chosen and used in conjunction with a serious study of phonetics. The records should be made available to students through the creation of a language discothèque or library of records.)
Integration of High School Subjects with Special Reference to Foreign Languages
Authors: Mayo Catherine Grigsby
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— Foreign languages, even at the elementary level, can contribute to the general aims of the curriculum without sacrificing their specific linguistic aims. There are ways of integrating even the one‐year course of a foreign language with other subjects in the curriculum.)
Teaching the Spanish Verb Paradigm
Authors: Bull William E.
Published: October 2011

Author's Summary— The classical pattern of the verb paradigm has been disrupted by changes in both Spanish and English. The student's problems in learning the verb may be simplified by making a new arrangement of the paradigm.)
Beyond the Textbook
Authors: Parker William Riley
Published: October 2011

Every method has a saturation point and a point of diminishing returns. To go beyond both is to pass the point of no return.

Émile de Sauzé found that in promoting ability to remember vocabulary, writing a word five times is as effective as saying it twenty times or seeing it a hundred times.
Biography, the Criticism of Biography, and Comparative Literature
Authors: Aldridge Alfred Owen
Published: October 2011

Kendall, Paul Murray. The Art of Biography. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1965.

Altick, Richard D. Lives and Letters: A History of Literary Biography in England and America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965.

Davenport, William H. and Ben Siegel (editors). Biography Past and Present. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1965.
Review Essay
Authors: Morgan Bayard Quincy
Published: October 2011

Morgan, Bayard Quincy. German Literature in English Translation.
A Comparison Study of Two Advance Organizers for Introducing Beginning Foreign Language Students to Video
Authors: HERRON CAROL A. , HANLEY JULIA E. B. , COLE STEVEN P.
Published: October 2011

This research compared student retention of information in foreign language videos in two advance organizer conditions. The subjects were 39 English‐speaking college students enrolled in two sections of an introductory French course. In the Description Only advance organizer condition, the teacher read aloud six sentences that summarized major scenes in the upcoming video. In the Description + Pictures advance organizer condition, the teacher presented the identical six sentence description of major scenes in the video. The difference between conditions was that in the Description + Pictures condition, when the teacher read one of the six sentences aloud, she also showed a picture related in context to the sentence but not a pictorial translation of it. Student performance with 12 videos introduced in each of these two ways was tested. Results indicated that the visual support in the Description + Pictures condition significantly improved comprehension of the videos. The investigators interpreted these results as indicating that extensive listening is facilitated by the richness of context that visual organizers provide.
Adult Learners' Approaches to Learning Vocabulary in Second Languages
Authors: SANAOUI RAZIKA
Published: October 2011

How do adult second language (L2) learners approach the task of vocabulary learning and what mnemonic procedures do they use to help themselves retain the lexical items that they are learning in their L2? These questions were first investigated in an exploratory study with 50 beginning and advanced English as a Second Language (ESL) learners then through four case studies of ESL learners and eight case studies of French as a Second Language learners. The research identified two distinct approaches to vocabulary learning in an L2, a structured and an unstructured approach that differed in five aspects: (a) the extent to which learners engaged in independent study, (b) the range of self‐initiated learning activities in which learners engaged, (c) the extent to which learners recorded the lexical items they were learning, (d) the extent to which learners reviewed such records, and (e) the extent to which they practised using vocabulary items outside their L2 course.
Perceived Strategy Use During Performance On Three Authentic Listening Comprehension Tasks
Authors: VOGELY ANITA
Published: October 2011

In order for learners to acquire a foreign language they must be motivated and use strategies effectively to understand “authentic” aural input. This study offers some insight into the strategies students perceive they use while performing an authentic listening comprehension task and the relationship between their strategy use and listening ability. Eighty‐three university students registered for first‐, second‐, third‐, and fourth‐semester Spanish participated in two data gathering sessions. In the first session, they took the Listening Comprehension section of the Spanish Advanced Placement Exam (1984). In the second session, they executed recall tasks on three authentic video programs and then completed a strategy questionnaire. The first‐semester students perceived themselves to be the most strategic listeners and outperformed the second‐semester students on all three recall tasks; they were followed by the combined third‐ and‐fourth‐semester students and then by the second‐semester students, who perceived themselves to be the least strategic listeners and consistently produced the lowest scores on the recall tasks.
How Does Anxiety Affect Second Language Learning? A Reply to Sparks and Ganschow
Authors: MACINTYRE PETER D.
Published: October 2011

The linguistic coding deficit hypothesis, introduced by Sparks and Ganschow (1991, 1993a, 1993b), postulates that language aptitude is the primary source of individual differences in language achievement. This may be seen to reduce affective variables, such as language anxiety, to the role of unfortunate side effects, devoid of explanatory power. This paper advocates that language anxiety can play a significant causal role in creating individual differences in both language learning and communication. It reviews evidence from investigations of anxiety in general and studies of the role of anxiety in the language learning processes and concludes that the linguistic coding deficit hypothesis makes a significant omission by assigning mere epiphenomenal status to affective variables in general and language anxiety in particular.
A Sociolinguistic Perspective on Second Language Use in Immersion Classrooms
Authors: TARONE ELAINE , SWAIN MERRILL
Published: October 2011

This paper cites observational and interview evidence indicating that immersion students in the U.S. and Canada increasingly avoid using their second language in peer‐peer interactions as they move into higher primary grade levels. Systematic research is called for to explore this reported phenomenon. It is suggested that the phenomenon is actually predictable if one takes a sociolinguistic perspective on immersion classrooms, viewing them as speech communities that become increasingly diglossic over time. The paper ends with a summary of discussions with immersion teachers about possible implications for teaching in immersion settings.
Formal Instruction from a Processing Perspective: An Investigation into the Spanish Past Tense
Authors: CADIERNO TERESA
Published: October 2011

The present study extends previous research (VanPatten & Cadierno, 1993a, 1993b) and compares the relative effects of two types of instruction (i.e., traditional instruction and processing instruction) on the acquisition of Spanish past tense verb morphology. Traditional instruction involved grammar explanation and output‐based practice, while processing instruction involved grammar explanation and input‐based practice aimed at redirecting learners'strategies in processing input data. Sixty‐one classroom learners of Spanish were assigned to one of three instructional treatments: traditional instruction, processing instruction, and no instruction. Pretest and posttest measures consisting of one interpretation (comprehension) and one production task were submitted to a Multivariate Analysis of Variance. Results revealed significant gains in both comprehension and production for subjects in processing instruction, while subjects in traditional instruction had significant gains only in production.
Strong and Weak Students' Preferences for Error Feedback Options and Responses
Authors: BRANDL KLAUS K.
Published: October 2011

This study investigated whether level of achievement and difficulty of task influenced 21 low‐ (LA) and high‐achievement (HA) college students' preferences for feedback options when doing computerized grammar exercises. The feedback options were (a) “right” or “wrong” message (RW), (b) error location (SE), (c) grammatical description of correct response (F), and (c) correct answer (A). An analysis of variance of tallied choices showed that achievement and difficulty of task had no significant impact. All subjects preferred the RW option over SE, F, and A. An analysis of conditional probability of feedback choices revealed that the HA students chose the RW option more often as a follow‐up selection to RW, SE, F, and A than the LA students. The study argues that deficiencies in the LA learners' language skills may contribute to lowering their engagement in cognitive and motivational processing.
Error Gravity in Learners' Spoken Russian: A Preliminary Study
Authors: RIFKIN BENJAMIN
Published: October 2011

The present study was designed to begin the work to establish a hierarchy of error gravity for different types of common errors in American learners' spoken Russian. Respondents included native speakers of Russian and English, teachers and non‐teachers, and residents of Russia and the U. S. Respondents were asked to compare a series of paired sentences that were identical except for a particular error and to select which sentence they found to be less irritating. The sentences were selected from oral proficiency interviews conducted with intermediate‐level learners of Russian. Respondents' selections of the least irritating utterances of each pair were analyzed in order to establish a hierarchy of error gravity, and the hierarchies established for each respondent class were compared to determine if representatives of each respondent class had similar or different views of the severity of different error types.
Foreign Language Phonology: Field Independence, Attitude, and the Success of Formal Instruction in Spanish Pronunciation
Authors: ELLIOTT A. RAYMOND
Published: October 2011

The issue of teaching pronunciation has been severely neglected after the first year of most university foreign language (FL) courses. Moreover, research examining factors affecting the acquisition of the second language (L2) phonological system has been, in general, very scarce. In the present study I examine the acquisition of a nonnative phonological system by adult language learners studying Spanish at Indiana University, Bloomington. The objective of the study was to determine the success of supplementing intermediate Spanish courses with formal instruction in pronunciation. The instruction provided a multimodal methodology aimed to account specifically for individual differences and learning style variation. Variables such as field independence (FI), as measured by the Group Embedded Figures Test (Witkin, Oltman, Raskin, & Karp, 1971), and subject attitude or concern for pronunciation accuracy were examined in relation to improvement in pronunciation. The findings revealed that neither FI, nor subject concern for pronunciation accuracy, were significant predictors of improvement in pronunciation. In contrast, the multimodal methodology resulted in significant improvement of target language pronunciation for the subjects in the experimental group. The article ends with a classroom model of pronunciation instruction designed to enable teachers to incorporate this multimodal method into most second language (L2) curricula. There are also observations about pronunciation errors as they relate to contrastive analysis theory and several suggestions for future research.
Scope and Sequence: Rethinking Beginning Foreign Language Instruction
Authors: TSCHIRNER ERWIN
Published: October 2011

This essay presents an approach to developing a grammatical scope and sequence for elementary and intermediate foreign language (FL) instruction that is different from the standard model which bases the grammatical syllabus of a textbook on tradition, intuition, or both. It is argued that different descriptions of grammar are needed for each of the three skills of reading, writing, and speaking, and that a grammatical scope and sequence needs to take into account the fact that different grammatical structures are learned at different levels of development. Using the development of oral proficiency as an example, this essay then explores a research‐based approach to establishing a grammatical scope and sequence. It is argued that the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) forms a useful framework for interpreting findings from FL acquisition research within the context of teaching FLs in formal environments.
Grammaticality Judgment as a Function of Explicit and Implicit Instruction in Spanish
Authors: WINITZ HARRIS
Published: October 2011

This study investigated whether the methodologies of explicit and implicit language instruction account for differences in the identification of grammatically well‐formed sentences for college students who have completed one semester of college Spanish. Students in the explicit language classes were instructed in the grammar‐translation approach wherein explicit statements of the rules of grammar were taught. Students in the implicit language classes were instructed in the comprehension of Spanish sentences through the use of pictures and Total Physical Response activities. A grammaticality judgment test was used to compare the grammatical knowledge of these two instructional groups. The grammatical elements and the lexical items of the grammaticality judgment test were units that were common to both methods of instruction. Students in the implicit grammatical instruction classes achieved significantly higher scores than students in the explicit grammatical instruction classes. These results suggest that language instructional procedures result in the use of different language processes to judge the grammaticality of sentences.
Two‐Way Immersion Education: Students Learning Through Two Languages
Authors: CHRISTIAN DONNA
Published: October 2011

In a growing number of schools in the U.S., students are learning through two languages in programs that aim to develop dual language proficiency along with academic achievement. These two‐way immersion programs integrate language minority and language majority students and provide content area instruction and language development in two languages. This article provides a picture of the current state of two‐way immersion education in the U.S. based on a study (undertaken between 1991 and 1994) of over 160 schools. Two‐way programs typically share the goals of bilingual proficiency, academic achievement, and positive crosscultural attitudes and behaviors, but they vary a good deal in the approaches and strategies they use to work toward those goals. A host of local factors affect such issues as student enrollment, program design, and instructional features. Emerging results of studies of two‐way immersion programs point to their effectiveness in educating nonnative‐English‐speaking students, their promise of expanding our nation's language resources by conserving the native language (L1) skills of minority students and developing second language (L2) skills in English‐speaking students, and their hope of improving relationships between majority and minority groups by enhancing crosscultural understanding and appreciation.
The Emperor's New Clothes: Hyperreality and the Study of Latin
Authors: BALL ROBERT J. , ELLSWORTH J. D.
Published: October 2011

The movement to teach Latin by the four skills approach, exemplified by the New York State syllabus Latin for communication, falls within the context of bizarre attempts to convince the public that a dead language is a living language. The psychological factors fueling that movement arise from a perceived need by endangered Latin teachers to survive in a modern language world and from a romantic desire to re‐create the past—where reality is replaced by hyperreality. This obsession with the “real thing” has led to the creation of hyperreal Latin—a prominent feature of the New York State syllabus, which essentially claims to teach students to speak, hear, write, and read Latin like the ancient Romans. The purpose of this article is to refute that spurious and unattainable claim, while calling for a return to an honest and reasonable way of teaching the classical language, along lines that help preserve its uniqueness and traditional integrity.
Effects of Multimedia Annotations on Vocabulary Acquisition
Authors: CHUN DOROTHY M. , PLASS JAN L.
Published: October 2011

Research on second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition has revealed that words associated with actual objects or imagery techniques are learned more easily than those without. With multimedia applications, it is possible to provide, in addition to traditional definitions of words, different types of information, such as pictures and videos. Thus, one of the fundamental research questions posed in the use of multimedia systems is: How effective are annotations with different media types for vocabulary acquisition? This article discusses the results of three studies done with 160 university German students using CyberBuch, a hypermedia application for reading German texts that contains a variety of annotations for words in the form of text, pictures, and video. The issues examined are related to (a) how well vocabulary is learned incidentally when the goal is reading comprehension, (b) the effectiveness of different types of annotations for vocabulary acquisition, and (c) the relationship between look‐up behavior and performance on vocabulary tests. The results showed a higher rate of incidental learning than expected (25% accuracy on production tests, 77% on recognition tests), significantly higher scores for words that were annotated with pictures + text than for those with video + text or text only, and a correlation between looking up a certain annotation type and using this type as the retrieval cue for remembering words.
Anxiety about Foreign Language Learning among High School Women
Authors: GANSCHOW LEONORE , SPARKS RICHARD
Published: October 2011

This study examined the relationship between anxiety and native language skill and foreign language aptitude measures among 154 high school foreign language learners. Three levels of anxiety were identified using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale or FLCAS (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). Low Anxiety (LO‐ANX) students were expected to have significantly stronger native language skills and foreign language aptitude than High Anxiety (HI‐ANX) students and significantly higher foreign language grades. Average Anxiety (AVE‐ANX) students were expected to score somewhere in‐between. Findings showed overall significant differences among the groups on nine variables, including measures of native language phonology/orthography, semantics, and verbal memory; foreign language aptitude; eighth‐grade English grade; and end‐of‐year foreign language grade. On measures of phonology/orthography, eighth‐grade English, and foreign language grade, LO‐ANX and AVE‐ANX students outperformed HI‐ANX students. On a foreign language aptitude measure and foreign language grade, LO‐ANX students outperformed both AVE‐ and HI‐ANX students. On measures of verbal memory and reading comprehension, LO‐ANX students outperformed HI‐ANX students. Discriminant analysis results showed that all test measures but one were significant in distinguishing the three groups. Among others, implications include the suggestion that skill in one's native language and aptitude for learning a foreign language may affect anxiety level and that the FLCAS may provide an early indicator of basic language problems.
Some Input on Input: Two Analyses of Student Response to Expert Feedback in L2 Writing
Authors: HEDGCOCK JOHN , LEFKOWITZ NATALIE
Published: October 2011

Despite high interest in second language writers' revision processes, few studies have examined how learners perceive or incorporate expert feedback into their revisions. Combining quantitative and qualitative analyses, this study profiles students' awareness of the functions and influences of expert input in their writing. Data include results of a survey of foreign language and English as a second language writers' beliefs about feedback behaviors known to interact with revision processes. Factor analytic results show that, whereas writers in both groups share certain beliefs about feedback and revision, each group perceives expert response as serving distinct functions. Interview data reveal that instructional practices largely shape learners' expectations concerning the pedagogical goals of written feedback. Although tentative, evidence from these complementary studies supports the claim that insights in foreign and second writing research can be enhanced by a reasoned pairing of methodologies and that such tools can supply teachers with meaningful information.
Second Language Vocabulary Learning: The Role of Context versus Translations as a Function of Proficiency
Authors: PRINCE PETER
Published: October 2011

A widespread view of vocabulary learning is that it is advisable to make the shift away from learning words with their translations and to rely on second language (L2) context as soon as possible. Such faith in context learning has not always received experimental support, however, nor is it commonly shared by L2 learners. An experiment in which subjects were tested on their recall of newly learned words was conducted to determine the relative advantages and disadvantages of both context learning and translation learning as a function of learner proficiency. Results reveal a superiority of translation learning in terms of quantity, but an inability on the part of weaker learners to transfer their knowledge into L2 contexts. The possible reasons for this are discussed, and it is suggested that alternative learning strategies that combine the advantages of the two techniques should be explored.
Educational Reform and the Babel (Babble) of Culture: Prospects for the Standards for Foreign Language Learning
Authors: DAVIS JAMES N.
Published: October 2011

Advocacy of foreign language mandates in the U.S. plays out within a socioculturally determined “context of reception,” a volatile background of contradictory voices, both internal and external to organized education. As an example of this assertion, this article discusses implementation of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning (1996) in relation to their historical and political dimensions.1 Drawing upon research studies and theoretical notions from critical discourse analysis (e.g., Lemke, 1995; Luke, 1995) and applied rhetoric (e.g., Allen & Caillouet, 1994; Cheney, 1991), I demonstrate how the extreme decentralization of the American educational system often works to subvert genuine innovation. I also propose “multidiscursive” communication strategies that may enable foreign language advocates to address effectively the diverse identities of our many constituencies.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Monolingual, Bilingual, and “Bilingualised” Dictionaries in the Comprehension and Production of New Words
Authors: LAUFER BATIA , HADAR LINOR
Published: October 2011

This article examines the differences in effectiveness of 3 types of dictionaries— monolingual, bilingual, and “bilingualised” in the comprehension and production of new words by EFL learners. The participants in the research were 123 high school and university learners. The test consisted of 15 low‐frequency words. Five were given with their entries from a monolingual learner's dictionary, 5 with their translations from a bilingual dictionary, and 5 with the entry from a bilingualised (or semibilingual) dictionary. The study tested participants on the comprehension of the target words and on their ability to use these words in their own sentences. The results of the experiment suggest that different dictionaries may be suitable for users with different abilities in dictionary use.
What's the Excuse?: Image Repair in Austrian German
Authors: MEIER A.J.
Published: October 2011

This paper examines the patterns found in repair‐work behavior (e.g., apologies, excuses) in Austrian German as they relate to situational variables and cultural themes. Data for this study were collected from 100 Austrian university students using 12 closed role‐play situations. The results reveal a complex interplay of situational variables that inform the repair‐work behavior. This points to both research and teaching approaches that do not seek to determine a set of rules for repair work, but rather focus on the role that cultural attitudes and contextual factors play in making linguistic decisions.
Tonal Spelling versus Diacritics for Teaching Pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese
Authors: MCGINNIS SCOTT
Published: October 2011

This study presents results from a 2‐year investigation of the comparative efficacy of tonal spelling and diacritics in the teaching of Mandarin Chinese pronunciation.1 The research site was the elementary level Chinese language course at the University of Oregon. During the 1991‐92 academic year, the course was taught using a romanization system with diacritics, hànyū pinyin (PY); during the 1992‐93 academic year, the course was taught using a tonal spelling system, gwoyeu romatzyh (GR). The analytical mechanism of this study calculates student tonal error rates in identical (save for the romanization system used) reading tasks at identical points in each year's course. Native speakers of Chinese served as assessors. The results clearly indicated that GR did not lead to significantly greater accuracy in tonal production. Indeed, the use of GR reflected slightly lower rates of tonal production accuracy for native speakers of both American English and Japanese.
A Discourse Approach to the Study of Language Educators' Coherence Systems
Authors: KINGINGER CELESTE
Published: October 2011

This article proposes a discourse‐based approach to the analysis of coherence in the teaching philosophies of language instructors. Background for the approach is provided by the reflective practice model, which highlights the social ontology and personal appropriation of foreign language teaching expertise. Initial findings from an exploratory study confirm the utility of examining conceptual metaphors and folklinguistic theories in teachers' philosophies and suggest an iterative process of teacher development via integration of expertise into personal coherence systems. This study suggests further applications of the method and discusses implications for teacher education.
The Student Teacher Portfolio as Autobiography: Developing a Professional Identity
Authors: ANTONEK JANIS L. , MCCORMICK DAWN E. , DONATO RICHARD
Published: October 2011

In this study, we argue that student teacher portfolios are a viable, effective, and appropriate tool in documenting teacher growth and development and in promoting reflective, thoughtful practice. We show that the concepts of mediation, history, and conscious reflection, embodied in Vygotskian theory, provide a theoretical framework in which to understand and analyze portfolios in professional development programs. Specifically, this study traces the unique paths of two preservice foreign language teachers who, through anchored reflection mediated by the portfolio, constructed a professional identity out of the historical and cultural conditions of their classroom experience. Therefore, portfolios can go beyond a gatekeeping function to a means of informing teacher educators and forming the identities of novice teachers.
Mary and Her Teachers: A Grebo‐Speaking Child's Place in the Mainstream Classroom
Authors: PLATT ELIZABETH , TROUDI SALAH
Published: October 2011

The third‐grade classroom experiences of Mary, a child from Liberia with a limited educational and English language background, are viewed in relation to the beliefs that her teacher held about language, acculturation, natural cognitive processes, and cooperative learning. In the case of teaching linguistic minority children in mainstream classrooms, it is argued that a set of powerful ideas from a sociocultural perspective may have more influence on teachers than those deriving from an input‐output model. Such ideas rest on a view of the development of language and cognition in context, as opposed to a modular view of the development of linguistic structure.
Second Language Acquisition Research: A Resource for Changing Teachers' Professional Cultures?
Authors: MARKEE NUMA
Published: October 2011

This article situates the role that second language acquisition research can potentially play in promoting change in teachers' methodological beliefs and practices. Drawing on an area of sociological enquiry known as diffusion of innovations research, the article first reviews a theoretical framework for understanding change in language education, which is constructed by asking the question “Who adopts what, where, when, why, and how?” The article then discusses the practical applications of this framework with reference to what needs to be done if the innovation of task‐based language teaching (TBLT) is to become part of the mainstream in language education.
On Discourse, Communication, and (Some) Fundamental Concepts in SLA Research
Authors: FIRTH ALAN , WAGNER JOHANNES
Published: October 2011

This article argues for a reconceptualization of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research that would enlarge the ontological and empirical parameters of the field. We claim that methodologies, theories, and foci within SLA reflect an imbalance between cognitive and mentalistic orientations, and social and contextual orientations to language, the former orientation being unquestionably in the ascendancy. This has resulted in a skewed perspective on discourse and communication, which conceives of the foreign language speaker as a deficient communicator struggling to overcome an underdeveloped L2 competence, striving to reach the “target” competence of an idealized native speaker (NS). We contend that SLA research requires a significantly enhanced awareness of the contextual and interactional dimensions of language use, an increased “emic” (i.e., participant‐relevant) sensitivity towards fundamental concepts, and the broadening of the traditional SLA data base. With such changes in place, the field of SLA has the capacity to become a theoretically and methodologically richer, more robust enterprise, better able to explicate the processes of second or foreign language (S/FL) acquisition, and better situated to engage with and contribute to research commonly perceived to reside outside its boundaries.
Towards a Full Model of Second Language Learning: An Empirical Investigation
Authors: GARDNER R. C. , TREMBLAY PAUL F. , MASGORET ANNE‐MARIE
Published: October 2011

Much research in second language acquisition (SLA) centres on the relationships among individual difference measures such as language attitudes, motivation, anxiety, self‐confidence, language aptitude, learning strategies, field independence, and measures of achievement in the language. Numerous studies have supported the proposed influences of these individual difference variables on achievement, and a number of models have been developed to explain the relationships among subsets of these variables. However, there is a lack of research examining the relationships among all these variables simultaneously. In the present study, we investigate a large number of individual difference measures to determine their underlying dimensions, to contrast their predictive validities, and to evaluate their contributions in a causal model of SLA. Our study was based on a sample of 102 university students enrolled in introductory French. The results indicated substantial links among the affective measures and achievement. Support was found for these connections in the proposed causal model.
An Approach to Instruction of Pragmatic Aspects: Implications of Pragmatic Transfer by American Learners of Japanese
Authors: SAITO HIDETOSHI , BEECKEN MASAKO
Published: October 2011

This study investigated pragmatic transfer in American learners of Japanese responding to compliments. A closed role play was used to collect interlanguage data from the learners and normative data from Japanese and American native speakers. An Initial Sentence Analysis indicated mat the learners transferred nonuse of avoidance strategies but not of positive strategies. The American normative data suggested a dominant use of positive strategies, whereas a mixture of three strategies was found in the Japanese normative data. A Semantic Formula Analysis further revealed qualitative differences between the learners and the native speakers. Based on the findings, suggestions concerning the instruction of speech act performance are made for second and foreign (L2/FL) language instructors. The study instantiates a utility of pragmatic transfer research for improving instructional approach and course content.
Computer‐Mediated Collaborative Learning: Theory and Practice
Authors: WARSCHAUER MARK
Published: October 2011

Recently interest has grown concerning the uses of online communication for language teaching. Yet this growing interest in computer‐mediated collaborative language learning has not been matched by sufficient research and theory. This article introduces a conceptual framework for understanding the role of computer‐mediated interaction based on a sociocultural analysis of the relationship among text, talk, and learning. The article then analyzes current research according to five features particular to online interaction.