Argues that the terms language expertise, language inheritance, and language affiliation are less vague than the more universally used terms native speaker and mother tongue, as the former terms allow the consideration of educational questions of language ability and language loyalty alongside a broader view of society. (Author/CB)

Complains that no one learns a second language from studying it at school. Attributes this problem to the fact that no opportunity exists for conversation to reinforce what is being learned. Suggests working in rotated pairs to provide conversational practice. Calls for bilingual texts and lessons and for taking advantage of having bilingual…

Native speakers act as standard-providers, evaluators, and the evaluated in the development of oral proficiency interviews. Thus, proficiency guidelines cannot be accepted as valid until there is evidence that oral interviews and rating scales mirror the process of the native speaker, both in evaluating and in exhibiting proficiency. (CB)

Discusses the problems faced by teachers of third-year (i.e. advanced) Italian language courses, particularly in developing students' speaking skills. Stresses the importance of "real talk" and discusses relevant student activities such as interviewing native speakers, preparing live radio broadcasts, and videotaping students speeches and…

Looks at how speech-interactive computer-assisted language learning can help the classroom teacher carry out recommendations from immersion-based approaches to language instruction. Emerging methods for pronunciation tutoring are demonstrated from Carnegie Mellon University's FLUENCY project, addressing not only phone articulation but also speech…

Many researchers and practitioners maintain that ACTFL's efforts to improve instructional practices and promote proficiency assessments tied to descriptors of what learners can do in real life have contributed significantly to second language teaching and testing. Similar endeavors in the area of research, however, are critically needed. Focusing…

Discusses the different varieties of Spanish, the decision of which variety to teach to native speakers, and the concept of a "standard" usage. Basing the decision on sociolinguistic research, this article proposes a spoken and written variety of Spanish to be employed in teaching native speakers in the United States. (Author/JL)

Describes processes of facilitation involved in exolingual conversation (interactions between persons who are dynamically adjusting their respective linguistic performances) between foreign language learners and native speakers, concluding that such behavior is dynamic and creative, and incapable of being described and defined within predetermined…

Discusses the importance of the cultural component in the language learning process for providing a sound communication base. Examples are presented that reflect differences in speech patterns, such as politeness, of native speakers of British and Moroccan Arabic, with emphasis on culturally specific language patterns. (25 references)(OD)