Study of advanced English learners' development of active vocabulary found that the need for greater vocabulary influenced subjects with sufficient communicative competence and no explicit vocabulary instruction to enrich their lexicon. (34 references) (CB)

Discusses the educational relevance of using authentic texts in second language instruction, explores their limitations as a means to cultural competence, and describes their relation to the quest for cultural understanding and communicative competence. An explanation is provided for why such materials should be used to achieve these goals. (CB)

Discusses and proposes the best ways to evaluate foreign language students' readiness for study abroad and the effectiveness of such study, focusing on screening and pre- and posttesting, evaluation of course content, evaluation of cultural perceptions, and problems with evaluating foreign study. (CB)

The responses of 938 first year Spanish students at 2 major midwestern universities to a survey regarding their motivation and strategies for learning Spanish identified several affective factors that were associated with students' reactions to the use of authentic instructional materials. (28 references) (CB)

Comparison of the effects of error- versus message-oriented written feedback on second-language students' essays found that error corrections and rule reminders did not significantly improve students' written accuracy or enhance the ideational quality of their writing, whereas message-related comments promoted writing proficiency. (63 references)…

The goals of an intensive summer pilot project at Stanford University included (1) enabling beginning learners of Spanish to achieve one-year equivalent Spanish proficiency; (2) allowing teacher trainees to observe, critique, and practice foreign language lessons before embarking on their practicum; and (3) helping language-minority students to…

Foreign summer language programs offer many advantages to students, but students may only receive superficial contact with the host culture and language and may be motivated only by their wish to have a memorable experience abroad. Suggestions are presented to ensure academic validity of such programs in the areas of motivation, academic credit,…