A study of the order of acquisition and fossilization of several French forms by anglophone students focused on the intonative aspect of interlanguage and the transfer of learning from one language to another. (MSE)

The International Society for the History of French as a Foreign or Second Language (SIHFLES) had a fruitful meeting in 1990, planning a substantial and diversified program of activities that illustrates the dynamism of the organization. One topic of considerable debate was the role of research in the association's mission. (MSE)

Three studies of the development of gender competence in elementary and intermediate level learners of French as a second language are reported. The findings support an emerging rule-governed process of gender assignment related to the learner's development of skill with the language's underlying phonological system. (11 references) (MSE)

A core of courses is proposed for the training of French teachers and for the development of postgraduate studies in bilingual education: the nature of language, theories of language acquisition, and effective teaching methods. Collaborative research involving practitioners, researchers, and students will be increasingly important.(MSE)

Some 147 teaching assistants responded to the Survey of First Year Graduate Teaching Assistants in French, part of which focused on handling typical student questions on grammar. Analysis suggests that TAs do not conceptualize language according to the model of communicative competence proposed by Canale and Swain. (36 references) (LB)

A study of communication anxiety in second language learning investigated: (1) the role of four factors (sex, language learning experience, language studied, and confidence) in student apprehension about speaking in the classroom; and (2) students' stated reactions to speaking. Subjects were 101 college students in 4 intact French, Spanish, and…

A discussion of intonation instruction in second-language teaching looks at the role, objectives, and scope of such instruction; the tools teachers need to accomplish it (background in theory, practical guidelines, a method, appropriate research, and equipment); and the need for and possible design of related software. (MSE)

A special journal issue on French language immersion programs in Canada consists of these articles: "The Immersion Phenomenon" (H. H. Stern); "For My Kids, It's French without Tears" (Judy Gibson); "A 'First' for a Toronto High School" (Claire Mian); "The Teachers, Key to the Success Story" (Andre Obadia);…

Volume 13 of the journal of the Movement for Canadian Literacy is presented. The volume consists of 4 issues containing articles on the following literacy education topics: (1) putting literacy on the Canadian public agenda; (2) efforts to animate learner participation; (3) building networks for literacy workers; (4) literacy research activity;…

Reviews early research on innovative use of networked computers in language learning, focusing on a study of computer-mediated discussion that examined student/student and student/teacher interactions in a college French course. Due to rapid nature of computer-mediated exchanges, the "conversation" is a hybrid somewhere between writing and…

An experiment in a grade 2 French immersion program compared performance of a group-taught music lessons totally integrated into classroom instruction and a group not given music instruction. Pre- and post-tests of tonal-rhythmic patterns and form that have commonalities with pronunciation, oral grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension found…

A comparison of the salient characteristics of Canadian and United States bilingual education programs suggests various settings where it would be desirable to introduce children to schooling in their home language. These settings include: (1) the various ethnic communities in the United States, (2) multilingual developing countries, (3) parts of…

The three numbers of the new journal contain these articles: "Content-Related Teaching Through Distance Learning: A Viable Alternative?" (Zoe E. Louton); "Teacher as Researcher: Motivating an Eighth Grade Spanish Class" (Emily Francomano); "Traveling to South America on the Internet" (Margaret Reardon); "U.S.…