Written for Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican agricultural workers, this course of study provides basic conversational concepts for those who have little or no acquaintance with English. Several important reasons for obtaining skill in the use of English are enumerated in the introductory paragraphs which are in Spanish. The text takes the student…

Investigated whether a correlation exists between a nonnative English speaker's reading proficiency in English and the use of native-English-like pausing in reading aloud. Results indicate a statistically significant although moderate correlation between students' reading test scores and their native-like use of pausing in reading aloud. (38…

This thesis develops a method of classroom language instruction for teachers of English as a second language which enables students to extend their linguistic skills from language manipulation to free oral expression. Detailed description of a model class is presented. Pedagogical guidelines for preparation of instructional materials and for…

Reports results of a survey of British Columbia elementary, secondary, and adult second language reading teachers, including teachers of English as a second language. The survey focused on their procedures, practices, and instructional materials. The discussion notes their use of basal readers and oral reading by native English speakers. (MSE)

The experiments reported here were designed to investigate the influence of stress typicality during speeded grammatical classification of disyllabic English words by native and non-native speakers. Trochaic nouns and iambic verbs were considered to be typically stressed, whereas iambic nouns and trochaic verbs were considered to be atypically…

This study investigates whether the age at which English becomes dominant for Western Armenian bilinguals in the United States affects their vowel production in Western Armenian. Participating in the study were ten Western-Armenian bilinguals who learned English before age 8, ten bilinguals who did not learn English until adulthood, and one…

The phonology/pronunciation course of the Canadian government's advanced language training program emphasizes activities which generate student motivation and optimism in overcoming "fossilized" pronunciation (pronunciation highly resistant to change). Activities include: oral reading, feedback, recording of reading, and self-directed…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 5 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the influence of background knowledge on non-native students' memory for reading passages, (2) the development of a reading textbook with a teacher's manual for English as a second…

An experiment was conducted with twenty native French speakers using a set of four reading passages, each followed by five multiple choice comprehension questions. Each subject was tested twice when reading aloud and twice when reading silently. Other test materials included a pre-test designed to check whether certain lexical items from the…

In a study designed to validate oral language proficiency tests, it is planned to administer a series of tests to 100 native Mandarin Chinese-speaking subjects (foreign students and their spouses). The tests will measure communicative competence in speaking (ability to speak, exhibiting control of linguistic, sociolinguistic, and pragmatic rules;…

This article describes a program at the University of Nancy, for the teaching of introductory phonetic transcription to beginning students majoring in English. The alphabet chosen for this program, the English Pronouncing Dictionary Alphabet, lends itself particularly to use with beginners. Introduction to this alphabet takes place in ten sessions…

The following papers on acquisition of reading skills are included: (1) "Miscue Analysis and Future Research Directions" (Goodman); (2) "Reading in Spanish: Insights from Children's Miscues" (Barrera); (3) "An Investigation of the Oral Reading Behaviors of Native Spanish Speakers Reading in Spanish" (Hudelson); (4) "A Study of Oral Reading in…

This book chapter reports a study designed to examine the effectiveness of an English-language ER program for remedial students at a public secondary school in the southern Philippines. Sixty first-year students at the school, 30 females and 30 males, who were to be assigned to remedial reading classes constituted the participants in this study.…

Investigates the effects of repeated readings of a passage in a foreign language (English) on the ability of slow beginning readers at a Japanese university to increase their oral and silent reading rates. Results indicate that, for practice passages, silent reading rates increased significantly. This transfer of practice effects to a new passage…

One of the major problems of secondary school second language teachers in British Columbia is providing work that a student can do individually, leaving the teacher free for other students. It is rare that individual work includes oral-aural practice. A teaching method is presented that allows individualized instruction without sacrificing…