Discusses specific instruments and procedures that university-level foreign languages and literatures departments can use in outcomes-assessment of their undergraduate majors, including standardized tests, oral assessments, questionnaires, and portfolios. Case studies of outcomes-assessment programs in language departments at the University of…

Examines strategies of native and non-native listeners of French in phoneme-monitoring experiments requiring subjects to detect the presence of word-initial /t/ in liaison and non-liaison phrases. The performance of natives suggests the segmentation routine is based on identification of the critical word; non-natives rely on guessing strategies.…

Many American Indian students are alienated from schooling by the obvious disparities and conflicts between language usage in the oral tradition of their communities and that required in written academic discourse. A community-based language model used with Lakota college students empowers students by teaching critical writing that fuses…

This comparison of 15 successful and 15 unsuccessful college foreign-language learners found significant intergroup differences in performance on the Modern Language Aptitude Test, tests of written and oral language in the syntactic and phonological domains, and math calculation. Results suggest that students with foreign language learning…

Presents results of a background survey and proficiency test of student teachers at Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman. TEFL student teachers lacked confidence in their speaking ability but had a positive attitude toward the use and study of English in their country. (61 references) (LT)

Describes the nature of children's oral language experiences in Head Start and other preschool programs serving low-income families and relates those experiences to broader features of the classrooms' programs. Finds that small class size, teacher education levels, and developmentally appropriate curricula are positively associated with high…

Seventeen students (ages 10-15) with moderate mental retardation were assessed on their ability to analyze orally presented sentences into words and words into syllables and phonemes. Subjects receiving code-emphasis reading instruction performed significantly better on more difficult phoneme manipulation tasks than did subjects receiving…

A straightforward method for improving second-language writing skills is described that also encourages oral discussion of grammar. Drawing on process writing principles and group activity, the method involves having students correct their peers' work. (Contains four references.) (LB)

Describes the Voice Interactive Training System (VILTS), a language-training prototype developed to help improve comprehension and speaking skills. The system incorporates two related technologies: speech recognition and pronunciation scoring. Discusses the motivation for the program, the interdisciplinary efforts involved, and the resulting…

Explains the use of a computer-assisted language-learning tool that utilizes acoustic data in real time to help Japanese second-language learners improve their perception and production of English consonants. The basic features of the speech-learning software that runs on a networked workstation and is used for pronunciation training are…

Examined attitudes toward taking different formats of oral proficiency assessments across three languages: Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese. Students were administered both the tape-mediated Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI) and a new Computerized Oral Proficiency Instrument (COPI). Questionnaire responses showed examinees, particularly…

Because most language teaching in China is focused on national tests, language is treated as a knowledge subject and development of communicative abilities is often ignored. This article describes activities that one English-as-a-Foreign-Language teacher used to teach oral English to university students in China. (Author/VWL)

Explores lessons learned about adolescents' desire for community, how important teachers are in producing and maintaining community within classrooms, methods for teachers to include stories in their classrooms, and students' written and verbal responses to materials and methods used. (SD)

This study investigated the contributions of initial literacy, oral language, and social adjustment to literacy achievement at the end of the kindergarten year. Data were collected across the kindergarten year from 48 children attending a school serving primarily children from low-income households with research-based curriculum and intervention…

This article discusses benefits of using literature circles with ELL students to strengthen literacy skills and student confidence. Highlighting one teacher's implementation of literature circles, the authors present a candid examination of areas of initial weakness and describe strategies used for improvements in subsequent "rounds." A discussion…