Investigates the self-reported reading habits and levels of ability in reading of ten heritage speakers of Spanish enrolled in Spanish classes at Purdue University. Results warrant more explicit focus on form instruction and activation of background knowledge for heritage speakers. (Author/VWL)

Presents the results of three experiments designed to test the acoustic scanning hypothesis for reading in a number of ways and to look at the cross-out procedure as a test of syntactic processing. (RB)

A study of Texas high school students who are native speakers of Spanish with high levels of language ability was undertaken on the assumptions that (1) a large number existed, (2) bilingual schooling may have increased the prevalence of these individuals, and (3) from academic and professional points of view, these abilities might be used more…

Current needs in English-as-a-mother-tongue teaching, especially in England and Wales, are surveyed. It is argued that the feeling of stagnation among students in many university English departments results at least partly from the failure to respond to new ideas about the teaching of English language and literature. (JL)

Reports on the reading habits of native-English speaking and nonnative-English speaking undergraduate college students who completed a reading habits questionnaire. Results revealed that nonnative students read more widely for longer periods of time and had higher perceptions of themselves as readers in their native language than did…

Explores cloze sensitivity to global comprehension by means of retrospective interview techniques. No significant differences were found between English as a second language (ESL) college students (N=14) and native English-speaking students (N=14) in their processing strategies. (Author/CB)

This paper, intended for freshman English instructors who teach reading and writing to both native and non-native students, discusses basic differences and similarities affecting instruction for the two groups. For example, non-native linguistic differences encourage teachers to deal with syntactic interference in reading and with highly embedded…

This collection of papers includes: "Foreign Language Testing Today: Issues in Language Program Direction" (Frank Nuessel); "Assessing the Problems of Assessment" (M. Peter Hagiwara); "Testing in Foreign Language Programs and Testing Programs in Foreign Language Departments: Reflections and Recommendations" (Elizabeth…

This collection of papers examines approaches to teaching near-native ability in foreign languages. The 13 papers focus on the following: (1) "Principles and Practices in Teaching Superior-Level Language Skills: Not Just More of the Same" (Betty Lou Leaver and Boris Shekhtman); (2) "Toward Academic Level Foreign Language Abilities:…

This journal focuses on the learning and teaching of Italian as a foreign language. Selected articles include the following: "Immigrant Women in Bologna: Themes and Problems"; "But Those Cursed Accents: Where Did They Go?"; "Modern Languages in the Primary School: The Scottish Experience"; "Suggested Strategies…