The increasing attention on Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) pronunciation instruction gives us an opportunity to look into the current directions of teaching CFL and the specific instructional pronunciation strategies employed by CFL teachers. This paper offers a review of empirical evidence on the use and impact of instructional pronunciation…

Much of applied linguistics research has been concerned with classroom-based second language (L2) development as it offers an ideal setting for examining the institutional ecology of L2 learning and teaching. However, scholars have continued to call for greater attention to the operationalization of constructs, selection of valid assessments, and…

Advocates a "process" viewpoint of language use for second language proficiency testing and explores its potential for greater insights from five perspectives: text linguistics and discourse analysis; interlanguage; expectancy; negotiation and interaction; and communication strategies. (Author/CB)

Presents research rating the speaking proficiency on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language Oral Proficiency Interview of 40 college French students at four different levels of study. The data show a significant, positive relationship between level of proficiency and level of study. (Author/CB)

Exploration of the status and development of foreign language curriculum articulation focuses on such diverse instructional conditions as expanded curricula, proficiency levels, expanded learner groups, the learning process, and language attitudes. A proposed framework for addressing articulation incorporates the pluralism of those conditions with…

Determines the accuracy of teacher judgment of the oral proficiency of pupils in French and Spanish high school classes. Results indicate that (1) teachers consistently overrate pupil performance and (2) the letter grade of the student in the foreign language class severely biases the accuracy of the teacher's judgment regardless of actual oral…

Evaluation of mastery at the various stages of language acquisition is more appropriately carried out through the use of creative testing on hybrid achievement tests, which retain certain features of achievement tests and incorporate proficiency-based tasks that require authentic communicative language use. (Author/CB)

An overview of the application of instructional technology to second-language instruction over the past two decades is provided. A number of questions are raised that focus on the role and potential and future objectives of educational technology in foreign-language instruction. (JL)