As research into online informal language learning (OILL) develops as a field, the impact on such practices for a wide variety of contexts can be considered. In the case of this publication, the study abroad (SA) context is of particular interest. Indeed the study abroad student may interact with a range of online learning resources in formal,…

The goal of this study is to describe the acquisition rate for gender acquisition in Spanish and to show whether individual variability and language contact may affect this rate. The participants were intermediate second language Spanish (first language English) learners in the study abroad and at-home contexts over a 4-month period. The…

Discusses the development of a foreign language (Spanish) test battery that was designed for two purposes: to place students in study-abroad programs appropriate to their language ability and to provide information on designing useful instruction for prospective study-abroad students. Results are presented into task and rater variability in the…

This is the English-language portion of the special examinations used by the authorities of the People's Republic of China in selecting the initial groups of Chinese coming to the United States under the official exchange agreement. The examination proper is preceded by an introduction which provides background information on the test itself and…

Examination of the development of form/function relations of the prepositions "por" and "para" at different levels of proficiency in the interlanguage of study-abroad students in Granada, Spain, revealed "noncanonical" as well as "canonical" uses of these prepositions. The most common noncanonical uses were…

A large-scale statistical study of the predictors of language gain during study abroad is reported. Subjects were 658 American college and graduate students in the Soviet Union between spring 1984 and spring 1990. Variables examined included student characteristics (age, gender, citizenship, country of birth, place and levels of formal education,…

It was found that the seemingly greatly increased oral fluency of Middlebury College seniors who had studied in college-sponsored junior year abroad programs did not carry over to written skills or to comprehensive grammatical knowledge. In the oral proficiency interview for Spanish, many returning students had no control of the subjunctive, a key…

This collection of papers includes the following: "Learner Characteristics of Early Starters and Late Starters of English Language Learning: Anxiety, Aptitude, and Motivation" (Tomoko Takada); "Uncovering First Year Students' Language Learning Experiences, Their Attitudes, and Motivations in a Context of Change at the Tertiary Level…

Articles are included on such issues as the following: heritage languages; the psychology of language; the Voice of America broadcasts; dual language programs; linguistic autobiography in the language classroom; pronunciation; electronic education; dialects; world languages; bilingual education; language travel; language structure; conceptual…

This volume contains the second part of the proceedings of the twenty-sixth annual meeting of the Pacific Northwest Council on Foreign Languages. The focus is on second language teaching, and relevant linguistic research is included. The proceedings are divided into six major sections. Following the major addresses, which concern audiolingual…

The three issues of the journal on second language teacher education include these articles: "Making a Course Your Own: Involving Trainees in the Planning and Evaluation of a Special Group Summer Course Abroad" (Klaus Lutz); "Task Based Learning - Appropriate Methodology?" (Jane Cadorath, Simon Harris); "Building Group…