A case study investigating the effect of grammar instruction on formal accuracy in spontaneous and monitored second language performance indicated that formal instruction appeared to have very little effect on spontaneous production but was very beneficial for controlled performance. (CB)

Reports a study that investigated syllable duration and pausing in Chinese speakers learning English as a Second Language. (nine references) (JL)

Analyzed the spoken and written language of Caribbean college students who consider themselves to be native speakers of English. Discusses the students' linguistic self-perception as well as the morphosyntactic and discourse features that emerge when they write in standard English. The study suggests that anglophone Caribbean students should be…

Examines English speaking and writing in the university to provide descriptions of language that are needed to increase the correspondence between the language appearing on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and what students are exposed to at North American universities. Presents a corpus of 2.7 million words gathered from spoken…

Describes how visual displays of their English speech patterns can be used to help native Chinese-speaking students to improve their English pronunciation. The distinct advantages of the technique over the more subjective teacher evaluations of students' pronunciation are discussed. (CB)

Results of a study of international graduate teaching assistant (ITA) language competence suggest that groups of undergraduates can provide a responsible majority vote regarding the readiness of an ITA to assume instructional duties, if those undergraduate focus on categories identified in a formal evaluation sheet. An evaluation sheet is…

Analysis of performance evaluations of 233 international graduate teaching assistants found that students who received negative recommendations for teaching assignments had significantly lower Test of English-as-a-Foreign-Language and Graduate Record Examination verbal scores than those who received positive recommendations. (27 references)…

Reports the results of research conducted in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) graduate courses on the discourse socialization of students through the process of engaging in oral academic presentations. Data sheds light on the complex process of discourse socialization and are informative for faculty who assign oral academic…

In this study, 768 English-as-a-Second-Language students at three different tertiary institutions responded to a survey about their college instructors' requirements regarding listening and speaking skills, their own difficulties in meeting those requirements, and the relative importance of seven selected academic aural/oral skills or tasks. A…

Advanced (N=45) and intermediate (N=53) English as a second language (ESL) students' recall of a speaker's orally presented material indicated that student proficiency level, speaker gender, perceived expertness of speaker, and passage condition affected students' recall ability. (Author/CB)

Examines the requirements of instructors of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) by surveying professors at four institutions of higher learning. Quantitative and qualitative analyses indicate that U.S. instructors' lecturing styles are becoming more interactive, a trend placing new expectations upon students. (31 references) (Author/CK)