Sample records for foreign language aptitude

  1. Revisiting Problems with Foreign Language Aptitude

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Safar, Anna; Kormos, Judit

    2008-01-01

    This study investigated three of the issues recently raised in connection with the traditional concept of foreign language aptitude: the relationship between foreign language aptitude and working memory and phonological short-term memory capacity, the role of foreign language aptitude in predicting success in the framework of focus-on-form foreign…

  2. Aptitude for Learning a Foreign Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparks, Richard; Ganschow, Leonore

    2001-01-01

    Review research on foreign language aptitude and its measurement prior to 1990. Describes research areas in the 1990s, including affective variables, language learning strategies, learning styles as contributors to aptitude and aptitude as a cognitive construct affected by language variables. Reviews research on individual differences and the…

  3. Foreign Language Aptitude Theory: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wen, Zhisheng; Biedron, Adriana; Skehan, Peter

    2017-01-01

    Foreign language (FL) aptitude generally refers to a specific talent for learning a foreign or second language (L2). After experiencing a long period of marginalized interest, FL aptitude research in recent years has witnessed renewed enthusiasm across the disciplines of educational psychology, second language acquisition (SLA) and cognitive…

  4. The Effects of Multisensory Structured Language Instruction on Native Language and Foreign Language Aptitude Skills of At-Risk High School Foreign Language Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparks, Richard; And Others

    1992-01-01

    A multisensory structured language (MSL) approach was utilized with two groups of at-risk high school students (n=63), taught in either English and Spanish (MSL/ES) or Spanish only. Foreign language aptitude improved for both groups and native language skills for the MSL/ES group. A group receiving traditional foreign language instruction showed…

  5. "When Music Speaks": Auditory Cortex Morphology as a Neuroanatomical Marker of Language Aptitude and Musicality.

    PubMed

    Turker, Sabrina; Reiterer, Susanne M; Seither-Preisler, Annemarie; Schneider, Peter

    2017-01-01

    Recent research has shown that the morphology of certain brain regions may indeed correlate with a number of cognitive skills such as musicality or language ability. The main aim of the present study was to explore the extent to which foreign language aptitude, in particular phonetic coding ability, is influenced by the morphology of Heschl's gyrus (HG; auditory cortex), working memory capacity, and musical ability. In this study, the auditory cortices of German-speaking individuals ( N = 30; 13 males/17 females; aged 20-40 years) with high and low scores in a number of language aptitude tests were compared. The subjects' language aptitude was measured by three different tests, namely a Hindi speech imitation task (phonetic coding ability), an English pronunciation assessment, and the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT). Furthermore, working memory capacity and musical ability were assessed to reveal their relationship with foreign language aptitude. On the behavioral level, significant correlations were found between phonetic coding ability, English pronunciation skills, musical experience, and language aptitude as measured by the MLAT. Parts of all three tests measuring language aptitude correlated positively and significantly with each other, supporting their validity for measuring components of language aptitude. Remarkably, the number of instruments played by subjects showed significant correlations with all language aptitude measures and musicality, whereas, the number of foreign languages did not show any correlations. With regard to the neuroanatomy of auditory cortex, adults with very high scores in the Hindi testing and the musicality test (AMMA) demonstrated a clear predominance of complete posterior HG duplications in the right hemisphere. This may reignite the discussion of the importance of the right hemisphere for language processing, especially when linked or common resources are involved, such as the inter-dependency between phonetic and musical aptitude.

  6. The Effects of Musical Aptitude and Musical Training on Phonological Production in Foreign Languages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pei, Zhengwei; Wu, Yidi; Xiang, Xiaocui; Qian, Huimin

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates 128 Chinese college students to examine the effects of their musical aptitude and musical training on phonological production in four foreign languages. Results show that musically-trained students remarkably possessed stronger musical aptitude than those without musical training and performed better than their counterpart…

  7. “When Music Speaks”: Auditory Cortex Morphology as a Neuroanatomical Marker of Language Aptitude and Musicality

    PubMed Central

    Turker, Sabrina; Reiterer, Susanne M.; Seither-Preisler, Annemarie; Schneider, Peter

    2017-01-01

    Recent research has shown that the morphology of certain brain regions may indeed correlate with a number of cognitive skills such as musicality or language ability. The main aim of the present study was to explore the extent to which foreign language aptitude, in particular phonetic coding ability, is influenced by the morphology of Heschl’s gyrus (HG; auditory cortex), working memory capacity, and musical ability. In this study, the auditory cortices of German-speaking individuals (N = 30; 13 males/17 females; aged 20–40 years) with high and low scores in a number of language aptitude tests were compared. The subjects’ language aptitude was measured by three different tests, namely a Hindi speech imitation task (phonetic coding ability), an English pronunciation assessment, and the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT). Furthermore, working memory capacity and musical ability were assessed to reveal their relationship with foreign language aptitude. On the behavioral level, significant correlations were found between phonetic coding ability, English pronunciation skills, musical experience, and language aptitude as measured by the MLAT. Parts of all three tests measuring language aptitude correlated positively and significantly with each other, supporting their validity for measuring components of language aptitude. Remarkably, the number of instruments played by subjects showed significant correlations with all language aptitude measures and musicality, whereas, the number of foreign languages did not show any correlations. With regard to the neuroanatomy of auditory cortex, adults with very high scores in the Hindi testing and the musicality test (AMMA) demonstrated a clear predominance of complete posterior HG duplications in the right hemisphere. This may reignite the discussion of the importance of the right hemisphere for language processing, especially when linked or common resources are involved, such as the inter-dependency between phonetic and musical aptitude. PMID:29250017

  8. Effects of Sound, Vocabulary, and Grammar Learning Aptitude on Adult Second Language Speech Attainment in Foreign Language Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saito, Kazuya

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the relationship between different types of language learning aptitude (measured via the LLAMA test) and adult second language (L2) learners' attainment in speech production in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) classrooms. Picture descriptions elicited from 50 Japanese EFL learners from varied proficiency levels were analyzed…

  9. Language Aptitude: Desirable Trait or Acquirable Attribute?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Singleton, David

    2017-01-01

    The traditional definition of language aptitude sees it as "an individual's initial state of readiness and capacity for learning a foreign language, and probable facility in doing so given the presence of motivation and opportunity" (Carroll, 1981, p. 86). This conception portrays language aptitude as a trait, in the sense of exhibiting…

  10. Aptitude and Language Learning of FBI Special Agents.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walker, Marijke; And Others

    This study investigated the relationship between aptitude, as measured by Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) scores, and oral proficiency as measured by the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) scores of 72 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents who completed basic foreign language training at the Defense Language Institute (DLI).…

  11. Language Aptitude and Grammatical Difficulty: An EFL Classroom-Based Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yalçin, Sebnem; Spada, Nina

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates the relationship between foreign language aptitude and the learning of two English structures defined as easy or difficult to learn. Using a quasiexperimental design, 66 secondary-level learners of English as a foreign language from three intact classes were provided with four hours of instruction on the "passive"…

  12. Neurology of Foreign Language Aptitude

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Biedron, Adriana

    2015-01-01

    This state-of-the art paper focuses on the poorly explored issue of foreign language aptitude, attempting to present the latest developments in this field and reconceptualizations of the construct from the perspective of neuroscience. In accordance with this goal, it first discusses general directions in neurolinguistic research on foreign…

  13. Age Differences and Cognitive Aptitudes for Implicit and Explicit Learning in Ultimate Second Language Attainment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Granena, Gisela

    2012-01-01

    Very high-level, functional ability in foreign languages is increasingly important in many walks of life. It is also very rare, and likely requires an early start and/or a special aptitude. This study investigated the extent to which aptitude for explicit learning, defined as "analytic ability" and aptitude for implicit learning, defined…

  14. Pitch Ability as an Aptitude for Tone Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bowles, Anita R.; Chang, Charles B.; Karuzis, Valerie P.

    2016-01-01

    Tone languages such as Mandarin use voice pitch to signal lexical contrasts, presenting a challenge for second/foreign language (L2) learners whose native languages do not use pitch in this manner. The present study examined components of an aptitude for mastering L2 lexical tone. Native English speakers with no previous tone language experience…

  15. Correlation between musical aptitude and learning foreign languages: an epidemiological study in secondary school Italian students

    PubMed Central

    PICCIOTTI, P.M.; BUSSU, F.; CALò, L.; GALLUS, R.; SCARANO, E.; DI CINTIO, G.; CASSARÀ, F.; D’ALATRI, L.

    2018-01-01

    SUMMARY The aim of this study was to assess if a correlation exists between language learning skills and musical aptitude through the analysis of scholarly outcomes concerning the study of foreign languages and music. We enrolled 502 students from a secondary Italian school (10-14 years old), attending both traditional courses (2 hours/week of music classes scheduled) and special courses (six hours). For statistical analysis, we considered grades in English, French and Music. Our results showed a significant correlation between grades in the two foreign languages and in music, both in the traditional courses and in special courses, and better results in French than for special courses. These results are discussed and interpreted through the literature about neuroanatomical and physiological mechanisms of foreign language learning and music perception. PMID:29756615

  16. Contract for Manpower and Personnel Research and Studies II (COMPRS-II) Annual Report - Year Four

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2002-10-01

    Wonderlic and the Prueba de Aptitud Academica (PAA) will be evaluated in the pilot "Foreign Language Recruiting Initiative" project. Starting in October...Spanish Wonderlic and the Prueba de Aptitud Academica (PAA) will be evaluated in the pilot "Foreign Language Recruiting Initiative" project. Starting...implemented by linear programming software , which optimizes the Army’s enlisted personnel classification system, while accounting for realistic

  17. Correlation between musical aptitude and learning foreign languages: an epidemiological study in secondary school Italian students.

    PubMed

    Picciotti, P M; Bussu, F; Calò, L; Gallus, R; Scarano, E; DI Cintio, G; Cassarà, F; D'Alatri, L

    2018-02-01

    The aim of this study was to assess if a correlation exists between language learning skills and musical aptitude through the analysis of scholarly outcomes concerning the study of foreign languages and music. We enrolled 502 students from a secondary Italian school (10-14 years old), attending both traditional courses (2 hours/week of music classes scheduled) and special courses (six hours). For statistical analysis, we considered grades in English, French and Music. Our results showed a significant correlation between grades in the two foreign languages and in music, both in the traditional courses and in special courses, and better results in French than for special courses. These results are discussed and interpreted through the literature about neuroanatomical and physiological mechanisms of foreign language learning and music perception. Copyright © 2018 Società Italiana di Otorinolaringologia e Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale, Rome, Italy.

  18. Correlating Aptitude with Oral Proficiency: A Quantitative Study of DLAB and OPI Scores across Four Language Categories

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Santizo, Isabelle Poupard

    2017-01-01

    This quantitative study focuses on the relationship between foreign language learners' aptitude and proficiency test scores. Four groups of 136 beginning students received six months of Initial Acquisition Training (IAT) in four different language categories, according to the level of complexity for an English speaker: French (Category I),…

  19. Considerations psycho-socio-linguistiques sur la conception des programmes de cours pour etudiants etrangers (Psycholinguistic and Sociolinguistic Considerations on the Development of Language Programs for Foreign Students).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    James, Ken

    1981-01-01

    Discusses psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic questions relevant to the development of language programs for foreigners, such as student motivation, language aptitude, learning styles, cultural differences, language styles, and communicative competence. Focuses particularly on the cultural problems faced by a foreigner, as a student, client, and…

  20. Foreign Language Pronunciation Skills and Musical Aptitude: A Study of Finnish Adults with Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milovanov, Riia; Pietila, Paivi; Tervaniemi, Mari; Esquef, Paulo A. A.

    2010-01-01

    The main aim of this study was to examine second language production and discrimination skills in the light of musical aptitude. Our study was conducted in university settings in south-western Finland. English was used as a model for the second language due to its popularity among young adults. There were three types of tests used in this study: a…

  1. A Mozart is not a Pavarotti: singers outperform instrumentalists on foreign accent imitation

    PubMed Central

    Christiner, Markus; Reiterer, Susanne Maria

    2015-01-01

    Recent findings have shown that people with higher musical aptitude were also better in oral language imitation tasks. However, whether singing capacity and instrument playing contribute differently to the imitation of speech has been ignored so far. Research has just recently started to understand that instrumentalists develop quite distinct skills when compared to vocalists. In the same vein the role of the vocal motor system in language acquisition processes has poorly been investigated as most investigations (neurobiological and behavioral) favor to examine speech perception. We set out to test whether the vocal motor system can influence an ability to learn, produce and perceive new languages by contrasting instrumentalists and vocalists. Therefore, we investigated 96 participants, 27 instrumentalists, 33 vocalists and 36 non-musicians/non-singers. They were tested for their abilities to imitate foreign speech: unknown language (Hindi), second language (English) and their musical aptitude. Results revealed that both instrumentalists and vocalists have a higher ability to imitate unintelligible speech and foreign accents than non-musicians/non-singers. Within the musician group, vocalists outperformed instrumentalists significantly. Conclusion: First, adaptive plasticity for speech imitation is not reliant on audition alone but also on vocal-motor induced processes. Second, vocal flexibility of singers goes together with higher speech imitation aptitude. Third, vocal motor training, as of singers, may speed up foreign language acquisition processes. PMID:26379537

  2. A Mozart is not a Pavarotti: singers outperform instrumentalists on foreign accent imitation.

    PubMed

    Christiner, Markus; Reiterer, Susanne Maria

    2015-01-01

    Recent findings have shown that people with higher musical aptitude were also better in oral language imitation tasks. However, whether singing capacity and instrument playing contribute differently to the imitation of speech has been ignored so far. Research has just recently started to understand that instrumentalists develop quite distinct skills when compared to vocalists. In the same vein the role of the vocal motor system in language acquisition processes has poorly been investigated as most investigations (neurobiological and behavioral) favor to examine speech perception. We set out to test whether the vocal motor system can influence an ability to learn, produce and perceive new languages by contrasting instrumentalists and vocalists. Therefore, we investigated 96 participants, 27 instrumentalists, 33 vocalists and 36 non-musicians/non-singers. They were tested for their abilities to imitate foreign speech: unknown language (Hindi), second language (English) and their musical aptitude. Results revealed that both instrumentalists and vocalists have a higher ability to imitate unintelligible speech and foreign accents than non-musicians/non-singers. Within the musician group, vocalists outperformed instrumentalists significantly. First, adaptive plasticity for speech imitation is not reliant on audition alone but also on vocal-motor induced processes. Second, vocal flexibility of singers goes together with higher speech imitation aptitude. Third, vocal motor training, as of singers, may speed up foreign language acquisition processes.

  3. Relationship of L1 Skills and L2 Aptitude to L2 Anxiety on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparks, Richard L.; Patton, Jon

    2013-01-01

    The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) has been challenged on the grounds that it may also assess language learning skills. In this study, 128 students who had been administered measures of first language (L1) skills in elementary school were followed from 1st to 10th grade. Fifty-three students had completed second language (L2)…

  4. A CLOSE LOOK AT THE IMPORTANCE AND PLACE OF TESTING IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    BARRUTIA, RICHARD

    TESTING IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS BECAUSE THE NATURE OF AUDIOLINGUAL TEACHING REQUIRES GREAT AMOUNTS OF FEEDBACK, REINFORCEMENT, AND VERIFICATION. TESTS CAN MEASURE APTITUDE AND ACHIEVEMENT, CAN DIAGNOSE, AND, MOST IMPORTANT, CAN BE AN EFFECTIVE TEACHING TOOL. MANY TEACHING TECHNIQUES ARE EXCELLENT FOR TESTING AND SOME…

  5. Do Foreign Language Learning, Cognitive, and Affective Variables Differ as a Function of Exceptionality Status and Gender?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bell, Sherry Mee; McCallum, R. Steve

    2012-01-01

    Relationships between foreign language learning and four characteristics--anxiety, aptitude, attitudes and attributions for success--were investigated for 95 students enrolled in introductory level Spanish classes at a large, southeastern university in the United States. Examination grades resulted in significantly positive correlation with an…

  6. The role of musical aptitude and language skills in preattentive duration processing in school-aged children.

    PubMed

    Milovanov, Riia; Huotilainen, Minna; Esquef, Paulo A A; Alku, Paavo; Välimäki, Vesa; Tervaniemi, Mari

    2009-08-28

    We examined 10-12-year old elementary school children's ability to preattentively process sound durations in music and speech stimuli. In total, 40 children had either advanced foreign language production skills and higher musical aptitude or less advanced results in both musicality and linguistic tests. Event-related potential (ERP) recordings of the mismatch negativity (MMN) show that the duration changes in musical sounds are more prominently and accurately processed than changes in speech sounds. Moreover, children with advanced pronunciation and musicality skills displayed enhanced MMNs to duration changes in both speech and musical sounds. Thus, our study provides further evidence for the claim that musical aptitude and linguistic skills are interconnected and the musical features of the stimuli could have a preponderant role in preattentive duration processing.

  7. Childhood Bilingualism and Adult Language Learning Aptitude, CUNY Forum, No. 3.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eisenstein, Miriam

    This paper investigates the influence childhood bilingualism has on adult foreign language learning ability. Early research exploring the influence of bilingualism on general intelligence is mentioned as well as recent studies that present more favorable results. It is hypothesized that childhood bilingualism will have a positive effect on adult…

  8. Individualized Foreign Language Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Joint School District No. 1, West Bend, WI.

    A summary of project objectives, procedures, and dissemination is developed in this report of work initiated in June 1968. Programs in French, German, and Spanish for students in junior and senior high schools are evaluated with special reference to attitudes, aptitude, achievement, and program management. A final section reviews procedures and…

  9. Students classified as LD who received course substitutions for the college foreign language requirement: a replication study.

    PubMed

    Sparks, Richard L; Philips, Lois G; Javorsky, James

    2002-01-01

    This replication study examined whether 158 college students classified as learning disabled (LD) who were granted course substitutions for the foreign language (FL) requirement would display significant cognitive and academic achievement differences when grouped by levels of IQ-achievement and achievement-achievement discrepancy and by level of performance on an FL aptitude test (Modern Language Aptitude Test; MLAT), phonological/orthographic processing measures, and in FL courses. The results showed that there were few differences among groups with differing levels of IQ-achievement or achievement-achievement discrepancy (i.e., < 1.0 SD, 1.0-1.49 SD, and > 1.50 SD) on MLAT and American College Testing (ACT) scores, graduating grade point average (GPA), or college FL GPA. The results also showed that between groups who scored at or above versus below the 15th percentile (i.e., < 1.0 SD) on the MLAT, there were no differences on measures of graduating GPA, college FL GPA, native language skill, ACT score, and Verbal IQ. Demographic findings showed that 44% of these petition students met a minimum IQ-achievement discrepancy criterion (> or = 1.0 SD) for classification as LD. These findings suggest that many traditional assumptions about LD and FL learning are likely to be false.

  10. Musical aptitude and second language pronunciation skills in school-aged children: neural and behavioral evidence.

    PubMed

    Milovanov, Riia; Huotilainen, Minna; Välimäki, Vesa; Esquef, Paulo A A; Tervaniemi, Mari

    2008-02-15

    The main focus of this study was to examine the relationship between musical aptitude and second language pronunciation skills. We investigated whether children with superior performance in foreign language production represent musical sound features more readily in the preattentive level of neural processing compared with children with less-advanced production skills. Sound processing accuracy was examined in elementary school children by means of event-related potential (ERP) recordings and behavioral measures. Children with good linguistic skills had better musical skills as measured by the Seashore musicality test than children with less accurate linguistic skills. The ERP data accompany the results of the behavioral tests: children with good linguistic skills showed more pronounced sound-change evoked activation with the music stimuli than children with less accurate linguistic skills. Taken together, the results imply that musical and linguistic skills could partly be based on shared neural mechanisms.

  11. A Study of a "Model of School Learning." Monograph Number 4.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carroll, John B.; Spearritt, Donald

    A booklet of a programmed-instruction type was developed to obtain the measures needed to test Carroll's model of school learning, including ability, aptitude, quality of instruction, opportunity for learning, perserverance, and time criterion. Simple rules in an artificial foreign language were taught by means of the booklet to sixth-grade…

  12. Individual Differences in Audio-Vocal Speech Imitation Aptitude in Late Bilinguals: Functional Neuro-Imaging and Brain Morphology

    PubMed Central

    Reiterer, Susanne Maria; Hu, Xiaochen; Erb, Michael; Rota, Giuseppina; Nardo, Davide; Grodd, Wolfgang; Winkler, Susanne; Ackermann, Hermann

    2011-01-01

    An unanswered question in adult language learning or late bi and multilingualism is why individuals show marked differences in their ability to imitate foreign accents. While recent research acknowledges that more adults than previously assumed can still acquire a “native” foreign accent, very little is known about the neuro-cognitive correlates of this special ability. We investigated 140 German-speaking individuals displaying varying degrees of “mimicking” capacity, based on natural language text, sentence, and word imitations either in their second language English or in Hindi and Tamil, languages they had never been exposed to. The large subject pool was strictly controlled for previous language experience prior to magnetic resonance imaging. The late-onset (around 10 years) bilinguals showed significant individual differences as to how they employed their left-hemisphere speech areas: higher hemodynamic activation in a distinct fronto-parietal network accompanied low ability, while high ability paralleled enhanced gray matter volume in these areas concomitant with decreased hemodynamic responses. Finally and unexpectedly, males were found to be more talented foreign speech mimics. PMID:22059077

  13. Building Global Graduates and Developing Transnational Professional Skills through a Telecollaboration Project in Foreign Language Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guadamillas Gómez, Ma Victoria

    2017-01-01

    The development of e-literacies and e-skills is of primary importance in gaining transferable aptitudes for the job market. Students in higher education need to take part in shared intercultural experiences which allow them to understand and cope with their peers in preparation for their futures. Furthermore, virtual exchange of information,…

  14. An Investigation Into Second Language Aptitude for Advanced Chinese Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winke, Paula

    2013-01-01

    In this study I examine the construct of aptitude in learning Chinese as a second language (L2) to an advanced level. I test 2 hypotheses: first, that L2 aptitude comprises 4 components--working memory, rote memory, grammatical sensitivity, and phonemic coding ability--and second, that L2 aptitude affects learning both directly and indirectly…

  15. The Left, The Better: White-Matter Brain Integrity Predicts Foreign Language Imitation Ability.

    PubMed

    Vaquero, Lucía; Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni; Reiterer, Susanne M

    2017-08-01

    Speech imitation is crucial for language acquisition and second-language learning. Interestingly, large individual differences regarding the ability in imitating foreign-language sounds have been observed. The origin of this interindividual diversity remains unknown, although it might be partially explained by structural predispositions. Here we correlated white-matter structural properties of the arcuate fasciculus (AF) with the performance of 52 German-speakers in a Hindi sentence- and word-imitation task. First, a manual reconstruction was performed, permitting us to extract the mean values along the three branches of the AF. We found that a larger lateralization of the AF volume toward the left hemisphere predicted the performance of our participants in the imitation task. Second, an automatic reconstruction was carried out, allowing us to localize the specific region within the AF that exhibited the largest correlation with foreign language imitation. Results of this reconstruction also showed a left lateralization trend: greater fractional anisotropy values in the anterior half of the left AF correlated with the performance in the Hindi-imitation task. From the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that foreign language imitation aptitude is tested using a more ecological imitation task and correlated with DTI tractography, using both a manual and an automatic method. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. The Structural Connectivity Underpinning Language Aptitude, Working Memory, and IQ in the Perisylvian Language Network

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xiang, Huadong; Dediu, Dan; Roberts, Leah; van Oort, Erik; Norris, David G.; Hagoort, Peter

    2012-01-01

    In this article, we report the results of a study on the relationship between individual differences in language learning aptitude and the structural connectivity of language pathways in the adult brain, the first of its kind. We measured four components of language aptitude ("vocabulary learning"; "sound recognition"; "sound-symbol…

  17. Attitudine Linguistica e Memoria. Alcune Considerazioni sul MLAT. (Modern Language Aptitude Test). (Linguistic Aptitude and Memory. Some Considerations on the MLAT).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sorace, Antonella

    1982-01-01

    Examines the Modern Language Aptitude Test and identifies as the lowest common denominator in three of its four parts an individual's short-term Memory capability. Concludes that this test cannot indicate an individual's linguistic aptitude because it does not take into consideration the role of two key aspects of language learning: long-term…

  18. Equating the Scales of the Spanish-Language Prueba de Aptitude Academic and the English-Language Scholastic Aptitude Test of the College Entrance Examination Board.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Angoff, William H.; Modu, Christopher C.

    The purpose of this study was to establish score equivalencies between the College Board Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and its Spanish language equivalent, the College Board Prueba de Aptitud Academica (PAA). For the first phase, two sets of items, one originally appearing in Spanish and the other in English, were chosen; and each set was…

  19. Computer-Based Internet-Hosted Assessment of L2 Literacy: Computerizing and Administering of the Oxford Quick Placement Test in ExamView and Moodle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meurant, Robert C.

    Sorting of Korean English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) university students by Second Language (L2) aptitude allocates students to classes of compatible ability level, and was here used to screen candidates for interview. Paper-and-pen versions of the Oxford Quick Placement Test were adapted to computer-based testing via online hosting using FSCreations ExamView. Problems with their online hosting site led to conversion to the popular computer-based learning management system Moodle, hosted on www.ninehub.com. 317 sophomores were tested online to encourage L2 digital literacy. Strategies for effective hybrid implementation of Learning Management Systems in L2 tertiary education include computer-based Internet-hosted L2 aptitude tests. These potentially provide a convenient measure of student progress in developing L2 fluency, and offer a more objective and relevant means of teacher- and course-assessment than student evaluations, which tend to confuse entertainment value and teacher popularity with academic credibility and pedagogical effectiveness.

  20. Language Aptitude in First Language Attrition: A Study on Late Spanish-Swedish Bilinguals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bylund, Emanuel; Ramírez-Galan, Pedro

    2016-01-01

    Language aptitude remains one of the most understudied predictor variables in L1 attrition research. The current study seeks to address this gap by investigating the effects of language aptitude on L1 retention in late attriters. Forty L1 Spanish-L2 Swedish bilinguals living in Sweden participated in the study, along with 20 functionally…

  1. Attitudine Linguistica e Acquisizione della Competenza. Un Progetto di Ricerca (Linguistic Aptitude and Acquisition of Competence. A Research Project).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sorace, Antonella

    1982-01-01

    Subjects were 45 Italians who were studying English as a second language. They were administered the Modern Language Aptitude Test and a cloze test and were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their language study. The researcher then analyzed the interrelationships among the subjects' linguistic aptitude, language study history, and level…

  2. Musical plus phonological input for young foreign language readers

    PubMed Central

    Fonseca-Mora, M. C.; Jara-Jiménez, Pilar; Gómez-Domínguez, María

    2015-01-01

    Based on previous studies showing that phonological awareness is related to reading abilities and that music training improves phonological processing, the aim of the present study was to test for the efficiency of a new method for teaching to read in a foreign language. Specifically, we tested the efficacy of a phonological training program, with and without musical support that aimed at improving early reading skills in 7–8-year-old Spanish children (n = 63) learning English as a foreign language. Of interest was also to explore the impact of this training program on working memory and decoding skills. To achieve these goals we tested three groups of children before and after training: a control group, an experimental group with phonological non-musical intervention (active control), and an experimental group with musical intervention. Results clearly point to the beneficial effects of the phonological teaching approach but the further impact of the music support was not demonstrated. Moreover, while children in the music group showed low musical aptitudes before training, they nevertheless performed better than the control group. Therefore, the phonological training program with and without music support seem to have significant effects on early reading skills. PMID:25852604

  3. Musical plus phonological input for young foreign language readers.

    PubMed

    Fonseca-Mora, M C; Jara-Jiménez, Pilar; Gómez-Domínguez, María

    2015-01-01

    Based on previous studies showing that phonological awareness is related to reading abilities and that music training improves phonological processing, the aim of the present study was to test for the efficiency of a new method for teaching to read in a foreign language. Specifically, we tested the efficacy of a phonological training program, with and without musical support that aimed at improving early reading skills in 7-8-year-old Spanish children (n = 63) learning English as a foreign language. Of interest was also to explore the impact of this training program on working memory and decoding skills. To achieve these goals we tested three groups of children before and after training: a control group, an experimental group with phonological non-musical intervention (active control), and an experimental group with musical intervention. Results clearly point to the beneficial effects of the phonological teaching approach but the further impact of the music support was not demonstrated. Moreover, while children in the music group showed low musical aptitudes before training, they nevertheless performed better than the control group. Therefore, the phonological training program with and without music support seem to have significant effects on early reading skills.

  4. The effects of two EFL (English as a foreign language) teaching approaches studied by the cotwin control method: a comparative study of the communicative and the grammatical approaches.

    PubMed

    Ando, J

    1992-01-01

    The present study compared two different types of English-language teaching approaches, the grammatical approach (GA) and the communicative approach (CA), by the cotwin control method. This study has two purposes: to study the effects of teaching approaches and to estimate genetic influences upon learning aptitudes. Seven pairs of identical twins (MZ) and 4 pairs of fraternal twins (DZ) participated in the experiment along with 68 other nontwin fifth graders. Each cotwin was assigned to the GA and CA respectively and received 20 hours of lessons over a 10-day period. The behavioral similarities between MZ cotwins were statistically and descriptively depicted. No major effect of either teaching approach was noted, but the genetic influence upon individual differences of learning achievement was obvious. Furthermore, an interesting interaction between the teaching approaches and intelligence was found, that is, that the GA capitalises on and CA compensates for intelligence. This interactional pattern could be interpreted as an example of genotype-environment interaction. The relationship between genetic factors and learning aptitudes is discussed.

  5. Subcomponents of Second-Language Aptitude and Second-Language Proficiency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparks, Richard L.; Humbach, Nancy; Patton, Jon; Ganschow, Leonore

    2011-01-01

    A factor analysis of a test battery that included early first-language (L1) achievement, L1 cognitive ability, second-language (L2) aptitude, and L2 affective measures to predict oral and written L2 proficiency was conducted. The analysis yielded 4 factors that were labeled Language Analysis, composed of L1 and L2 language comprehension, grammar,…

  6. Language aptitude for pronunciation in advanced second language (L2) learners: behavioural predictors and neural substrates.

    PubMed

    Hu, Xiaochen; Ackermann, Hermann; Martin, Jason A; Erb, Michael; Winkler, Susanne; Reiterer, Susanne M

    2013-12-01

    Individual differences in second language (L2) aptitude have been assumed to depend upon a variety of cognitive and personality factors. Especially, the cognitive factor phonological working memory has been conceptualised as language learning device. However, strong associations between phonological working memory and L2 aptitude have been previously found in early-stage learners only, not in advanced learners. The current study aimed at investigating the behavioural and neurobiological predictors of advanced L2 learning. Our behavioural results showed that phonetic coding ability and empathy, but not phonological working memory, predict L2 pronunciation aptitude in advanced learners. Second, functional neuroimaging revealed this behavioural trait to be correlated with hemodynamic responses of the cerebral network of speech motor control and auditory-perceptual areas. We suggest that the acquisition of L2 pronunciation aptitude is a dynamic process, requiring a variety of neural resources at different processing stages over time. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Interagency Language Roundtable Invitational Symposium on Language Aptitude Testing (Rosslyn, Virginia, September 14-16, 1988).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stansfield, Charles W.; Kenyon, Dorry Mann

    The report of the Interagency Language Roundtable's invitational symposium on language aptitude testing consists of a description of the project and appendixes which include the following: (1) the symposium program and abstracts of papers; (2) a list of participants; and (3) summaries of the discussions of three working groups (on applications,…

  8. Prueba de Aptitud para el Aprendizaje de Lenguas Extranjeras (PAPALE) Language Aptitude Test (LAT) (First and Second Versions). English for Special Purposes. Emergency Care Attendant.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muro, Gertrude

    This book contains two versions of the Language Aptitude Test. It is part of a package of materials developed for use in an English for Special Purposes project, which offers classes in reading, grammar, and emergency care attendant training for limited English proficient students. Introductory material describes the parts of two versions and…

  9. Melodies That Help: The Relation between Language Aptitude and Musical Intelligence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fonseca-Mora, M. C.; Toscano-Fuentes, C.; Wermke, K.

    2011-01-01

    Music and rhythm have been defined as powerful aids to language learning, memory, and recall. But is this due to structural and motivational properties of instrumental music and songs, or is there a relation between learners' language aptitude and musical intelligence? It seems that everyone who feels motivated to do it is able to learn other…

  10. The Construct Validity of Language Aptitude: A Meta-Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Shaofeng

    2016-01-01

    A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the construct validity of language aptitude by synthesizing the existing research that has been accumulated over the past five decades. The study aimed to provide a thorough understanding of the construct by aggregating the data reported in the primary research on its correlations with other individual…

  11. Non-Verbal Aptitude. Annotated Bibliography of Tests.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ. Test Collection.

    The 50 nonverbal tests in this bibliography assess aptitude and cognitive skills using various nonverbal means, such as pictures, symbols, or figures. They are useful in testing those who may have reading difficulties or those for whom English is not the primary language. Not included are aptitude measure that have both verbal and nonverbal…

  12. Students classified as LD and the college foreign language requirement: a quantitative analysis.

    PubMed

    Sparks, R L; Philips, L; Ganschow, L; Javorsky, J

    1999-01-01

    This study was conducted to determine whether students classified as learning disabled (LD) who were permitted to substitute courses for the college foreign language (FL) requirement at one university would display significant cognitive and academic achievement differences when grouped by level of discrepancy between IQ and achievement, by discrepancy between achievement according to different measures, and by level of performance on phonological-orthographic processing measures, on the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT), and in FL courses. Results showed that there were no differences among students with different levels of discrepancy (i.e., < 1.0 SD, 1.0-1.49 SD, and > 1.50 SD) on MLAT and American College Testing (ACT) scores, graduating grade point average (GPA) or college FL GPA. Results also showed that among students who scored below versus at or above the 25th percentile on phonological-orthographic processing measures, there were no differences on measures of IQ, ACT, MLAT, and GPA, as well as most measures of academic achievement. Implications for the use of the LD label to grant FL course substitutions or waivers, use of the MLAT in the diagnostic and course substitution/waiver process, and the validity and reliability of traditional criteria for the classification as LD are discussed.

  13. The Relationship among Beginning and Advanced American Sign Language Students and Credentialed Interpreters across Two Domains of Visual Imagery: Vividness and Manipulation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stauffer, Linda K.

    2010-01-01

    Given the visual-gestural nature of ASL it is reasonable to assume that visualization abilities may be one predictor of aptitude for learning ASL. This study tested a hypothesis that visualization abilities are a foundational aptitude for learning a signed language and that measurements of these skills will increase as students progress from…

  14. Manual for the Bateria de Examenes de Aptitud General (BEAG). Section II. Development.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Employment of Training Administration (DOL), Washington, DC. Office of Research and Development.

    The development and norming of a Spanish language edition of the United States Employment Service (USES) General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) is described. The new edition, called the Bateria de Examenes de Aptitud General (BEAG), was designed to replace an earlier translation, the BGPA, prepared for use in Puerto Rico. Forms A and B were…

  15. Enhanced musical rhythmic perception in Turkish early and late learners of German

    PubMed Central

    Roncaglia-Denissen, M. Paula; Schmidt-Kassow, Maren; Heine, Angela; Vuust, Peter; Kotz, Sonja A.

    2013-01-01

    As language rhythm relies partly on general acoustic properties, such as intensity and duration, mastering two languages with distinct rhythmic properties (i.e., stress position) may enhance musical rhythm perception. We investigated whether competence in a second language (L2) with different rhythmic properties than a L1 affects musical rhythm aptitude. Turkish early (TELG) and late learners (TLLG) of German were compared to German late L2 learners of English (GLE) regarding their musical rhythmic aptitude. While Turkish and German present distinct linguistic rhythm and metric properties, German and English are rather similar in this regard. To account for inter-individual differences, we measured participants' short-term and working memory (WM) capacity, melodic aptitude, and time they spent listening to music. Both groups of Turkish L2 learners of German perceived rhythmic variations significantly better than German L2 learners of English. No differences were found between early and late learners' performance. Our findings suggest that mastering two languages with different rhythmic properties enhances musical rhythm perception, providing further evidence of shared cognitive resources between language and music. PMID:24065946

  16. TECHNICAL REPORT ON STANDARDIZATION OF THE GENERAL APTITUDE TEST BATTERY, GENERAL WORKING POPULATION NORMS STUDY FOR PUERTO RICO.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bureau of Employment Security (DOL), Washington, DC.

    THE POSSIBILITY OF PREDICTIVE ERROR WHEN APPLYING U.S. MAINLAND NORMS FOR THE GENERAL APTITUDE TEST BATTERY TO THE EMPLOYMENT COUNSELING AND SELECTION PROCESS IN PUERTO RICO, PROMPTED A STUDY TO ESTABLISH LOCAL NORMS FOR THE SPANISH LANGUAGE VERSION, BATERIA GENERAL DE PRUEBAS DE APTITUD. A STRATIFIED QUOTA SAMPLE OF 1,500 PERSONS WAS SELECTED…

  17. The heritability of aptitude and exceptional talent across different domains in adolescents and young adults.

    PubMed

    Vinkhuyzen, Anna A E; van der Sluis, Sophie; Posthuma, Danielle; Boomsma, Dorret I

    2009-07-01

    The origin of individual differences in aptitude, defined as a domain-specific skill within the normal ability range, and talent, defined as a domain specific skill of exceptional quality, is under debate. The nature of the variation in aptitudes and exceptional talents across different domains was investigated in a population based twin sample. Self-report data from 1,685 twin pairs (12-24 years) were analyzed for Music, Arts, Writing, Language, Chess, Mathematics, Sports, Memory, and Knowledge. The influence of shared environment was small for both aptitude and talent. Additive and non-additive genetic effects explained the major part of the substantial familial clustering in the aptitude measures with heritability estimates ranging between .32 and .71. Heritability estimates for talents were higher and ranged between .50 and .92. In general, the genetic architecture for aptitude and talent was similar in men and women. Genetic factors contribute to a large extent to variation in aptitude and talent across different domains of intellectual, creative, and sports abilities.

  18. The Relationship between Phonological Awareness and Music Aptitude

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Culp, Mara E.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between phonological awareness and music aptitude. I administered the Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation (IMMA) to second-grade students in a rural school in Pennsylvania (N = 17). Speech-language specialists administered a hearing screening and The Phonological Awareness Test 2…

  19. Detecting signatures of positive selection associated with musical aptitude in the human genome

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Xuanyao; Kanduri, Chakravarthi; Oikkonen, Jaana; Karma, Kai; Raijas, Pirre; Ukkola-Vuoti, Liisa; Teo, Yik-Ying; Järvelä, Irma

    2016-01-01

    Abilities related to musical aptitude appear to have a long history in human evolution. To elucidate the molecular and evolutionary background of musical aptitude, we compared genome-wide genotyping data (641 K SNPs) of 148 Finnish individuals characterized for musical aptitude. We assigned signatures of positive selection in a case-control setting using three selection methods: haploPS, XP-EHH and FST. Gene ontology classification revealed that the positive selection regions contained genes affecting inner-ear development. Additionally, literature survey has shown that several of the identified genes were known to be involved in auditory perception (e.g. GPR98, USH2A), cognition and memory (e.g. GRIN2B, IL1A, IL1B, RAPGEF5), reward mechanisms (RGS9), and song perception and production of songbirds (e.g. FOXP1, RGS9, GPR98, GRIN2B). Interestingly, genes related to inner-ear development and cognition were also detected in a previous genome-wide association study of musical aptitude. However, the candidate genes detected in this study were not reported earlier in studies of musical abilities. Identification of genes related to language development (FOXP1 and VLDLR) support the popular hypothesis that music and language share a common genetic and evolutionary background. The findings are consistent with the evolutionary conservation of genes related to auditory processes in other species and provide first empirical evidence for signatures of positive selection for abilities that contribute to musical aptitude. PMID:26879527

  20. Detecting signatures of positive selection associated with musical aptitude in the human genome.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xuanyao; Kanduri, Chakravarthi; Oikkonen, Jaana; Karma, Kai; Raijas, Pirre; Ukkola-Vuoti, Liisa; Teo, Yik-Ying; Järvelä, Irma

    2016-02-16

    Abilities related to musical aptitude appear to have a long history in human evolution. To elucidate the molecular and evolutionary background of musical aptitude, we compared genome-wide genotyping data (641 K SNPs) of 148 Finnish individuals characterized for musical aptitude. We assigned signatures of positive selection in a case-control setting using three selection methods: haploPS, XP-EHH and FST. Gene ontology classification revealed that the positive selection regions contained genes affecting inner-ear development. Additionally, literature survey has shown that several of the identified genes were known to be involved in auditory perception (e.g. GPR98, USH2A), cognition and memory (e.g. GRIN2B, IL1A, IL1B, RAPGEF5), reward mechanisms (RGS9), and song perception and production of songbirds (e.g. FOXP1, RGS9, GPR98, GRIN2B). Interestingly, genes related to inner-ear development and cognition were also detected in a previous genome-wide association study of musical aptitude. However, the candidate genes detected in this study were not reported earlier in studies of musical abilities. Identification of genes related to language development (FOXP1 and VLDLR) support the popular hypothesis that music and language share a common genetic and evolutionary background. The findings are consistent with the evolutionary conservation of genes related to auditory processes in other species and provide first empirical evidence for signatures of positive selection for abilities that contribute to musical aptitude.

  1. Learning Computerese: The Role of Second Language Learning Aptitude in Technology Acceptance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warner, Janis A.; Koufteros, Xenophon; Verghese, Anto

    2014-01-01

    This article introduces a new construct coined as Computer User Learning Aptitude (CULA). To establish construct validity, CULA is embedded in a nomological network that extends the technology acceptance model (TAM). Specifically, CULA is posited to affect perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, the two underlying TAM constructs.…

  2. Beliefs about Learning English as a Second Language among Native Groups in Rural Sabah, Malaysia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krishnasamy, Hariharan N.; Veloo, Arsaythamby; Lu, Ho Fui

    2013-01-01

    This paper identifies differences between the three ethnic groups, namely, Kadazans/Dusuns, Bajaus, and other minority ethnic groups on the beliefs about learning English as a second language based on the five variables, that is, language aptitude, language learning difficulty, language learning and communicating strategies, nature of language…

  3. Learning a novel phonological contrast depends on interactions between individual differences and training paradigm design

    PubMed Central

    Perrachione, Tyler K.; Lee, Jiyeon; Ha, Louisa Y. Y.; Wong, Patrick C. M.

    2011-01-01

    Studies evaluating phonological contrast learning typically investigate either the predictiveness of specific pretraining aptitude measures or the efficacy of different instructional paradigms. However, little research considers how these factors interact—whether different students learn better from different types of instruction—and what the psychological basis for any interaction might be. The present study demonstrates that successfully learning a foreign-language phonological contrast for pitch depends on an interaction between individual differences in perceptual abilities and the design of the training paradigm. Training from stimuli with high acoustic-phonetic variability is generally thought to improve learning; however, we found high-variability training enhanced learning only for individuals with strong perceptual abilities. Learners with weaker perceptual abilities were actually impaired by high-variability training relative to a low-variability condition. A second experiment assessing variations on the high-variability training design determined that the property of this learning environment most detrimental to perceptually weak learners is the amount of trial-by-trial variability. Learners’ perceptual limitations can thus override the benefits of high-variability training where trial-by-trial variability in other irrelevant acoustic-phonetic features obfuscates access to the target feature. These results demonstrate the importance of considering individual differences in pretraining aptitudes when evaluating the efficacy of any speech training paradigm. PMID:21786912

  4. Multi-Population Invariance with Dichotomous Measures: Combining Multi-Group and MIMIC Methodologies in Evaluating the General Aptitude Test in the Arabic Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sideridis, Georgios D.; Tsaousis, Ioannis; Al-harbi, Khaleel A.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to extend the model of measurement invariance by simultaneously estimating invariance across multiple populations in the dichotomous instrument case using multi-group confirmatory factor analytic and multiple indicator multiple causes (MIMIC) methodologies. Using the Arabic version of the General Aptitude Test…

  5. Adult Psychosocial Outcomes of Children with Specific Language Impairment, Pragmatic Language Impairment and Autism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whitehouse, Andrew J. O.; Watt, Helen J.; Line, E. A.; Bishop, Dorothy V. M.

    2009-01-01

    Background: The few studies that have tracked children with developmental language disorder to adulthood have found that these individuals experience considerable difficulties with psychosocial adjustment (for example, academic, vocational and social aptitude). Evidence that some children also develop autistic symptomatology over time has raised…

  6. Neurological Research on Language and the Implications for Teaching Bilingual Children to Read. Occasional Papers on Linguistics, No. 1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Giordano, Gerard

    Neurological data indicate that the universal aptitude for functional language is biologically based, species specific, and developmental. The universality of functional oral speech is indisputable. Everyone, however, does not exhibit similar expertise in processing oral and visual language. Many people can speak two languages functionally but…

  7. Predictive validity of pre-admission assessments on medical student performance.

    PubMed

    Dabaliz, Al-Awwab; Kaadan, Samy; Dabbagh, M Marwan; Barakat, Abdulaziz; Shareef, Mohammad Abrar; Al-Tannir, Mohamad; Obeidat, Akef; Mohamed, Ayman

    2017-11-24

    To examine the predictive validity of pre-admission variables on students' performance in a medical school in Saudi Arabia. In this retrospective study, we collected admission and college performance data for 737 students in preclinical and clinical years. Data included high school scores and other standardized test scores, such as those of the National Achievement Test and the General Aptitude Test. Additionally, we included the scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exams. Those datasets were then compared with college performance indicators, namely the cumulative Grade Point Average (cGPA) and progress test, using multivariate linear regression analysis. In preclinical years, both the National Achievement Test (p=0.04, B=0.08) and TOEFL (p=0.017, B=0.01) scores were positive predictors of cGPA, whereas the General Aptitude Test (p=0.048, B=-0.05) negatively predicted cGPA. Moreover, none of the pre-admission variables were predictive of progress test performance in the same group. On the other hand, none of the pre-admission variables were predictive of cGPA in clinical years. Overall, cGPA strongly predict-ed students' progress test performance (p<0.001 and B=19.02). Only the National Achievement Test and TOEFL significantly predicted performance in preclinical years. However, these variables do not predict progress test performance, meaning that they do not predict the functional knowledge reflected in the progress test. We report various strengths and deficiencies in the current medical college admission criteria, and call for employing more sensitive and valid ones that predict student performance and functional knowledge, especially in the clinical years.

  8. Predictive validity of pre-admission assessments on medical student performance

    PubMed Central

    Dabaliz, Al-Awwab; Kaadan, Samy; Dabbagh, M. Marwan; Barakat, Abdulaziz; Shareef, Mohammad Abrar; Al-Tannir, Mohamad; Obeidat, Akef

    2017-01-01

    Objectives To examine the predictive validity of pre-admission variables on students’ performance in a medical school in Saudi Arabia.  Methods In this retrospective study, we collected admission and college performance data for 737 students in preclinical and clinical years. Data included high school scores and other standardized test scores, such as those of the National Achievement Test and the General Aptitude Test. Additionally, we included the scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exams. Those datasets were then compared with college performance indicators, namely the cumulative Grade Point Average (cGPA) and progress test, using multivariate linear regression analysis. Results In preclinical years, both the National Achievement Test (p=0.04, B=0.08) and TOEFL (p=0.017, B=0.01) scores were positive predictors of cGPA, whereas the General Aptitude Test (p=0.048, B=-0.05) negatively predicted cGPA. Moreover, none of the pre-admission variables were predictive of progress test performance in the same group. On the other hand, none of the pre-admission variables were predictive of cGPA in clinical years. Overall, cGPA strongly predict-ed students’ progress test performance (p<0.001 and B=19.02). Conclusions Only the National Achievement Test and TOEFL significantly predicted performance in preclinical years. However, these variables do not predict progress test performance, meaning that they do not predict the functional knowledge reflected in the progress test. We report various strengths and deficiencies in the current medical college admission criteria, and call for employing more sensitive and valid ones that predict student performance and functional knowledge, especially in the clinical years. PMID:29176032

  9. Use of the Blind Learning Aptitude Test with Children in England and Wales and the United States.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mason, H. L.

    1991-01-01

    An 18-month study of the use of the Blind Learning Aptitude Test at schools for visually impaired children in England and Wales found the test to be culturally fair and appropriate for use with children for whom English is a second language. Scores are compared with standardization data for visually impaired children in the United States.…

  10. System. A Newsletter for Educational Technology and Language Learning Systems. Vol. 2, No. 3.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davies, Norman F., Ed.; Allen, John R., Ed.

    This issue begins with an editorial comment on the journal's areas of interest. The articles are concerned with the following topics: (1) English composition and the use of the computer (Peter Zoller); (2) the teacher and the language laboratory (L. Ross and B. D. Sadler); (3) language aptitude tests in the language laboratory (in German, Peter…

  11. Social and Individual Frame Factors in L2 Learning: Comparative Aspects.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ekstrand, Lars H.

    A large number of factors are considered in their role in second language learning. Individual factors include language aptitude, personality, attitudes and motivation, and the role of the speaker's native language. Teacher factors involve the method of instruction, the sex of the teacher, and a teacher's training and competence, while…

  12. Learning a novel phonological contrast depends on interactions between individual differences and training paradigm design.

    PubMed

    Perrachione, Tyler K; Lee, Jiyeon; Ha, Louisa Y Y; Wong, Patrick C M

    2011-07-01

    Studies evaluating phonological contrast learning typically investigate either the predictiveness of specific pretraining aptitude measures or the efficacy of different instructional paradigms. However, little research considers how these factors interact--whether different students learn better from different types of instruction--and what the psychological basis for any interaction might be. The present study demonstrates that successfully learning a foreign-language phonological contrast for pitch depends on an interaction between individual differences in perceptual abilities and the design of the training paradigm. Training from stimuli with high acoustic-phonetic variability is generally thought to improve learning; however, we found high-variability training enhanced learning only for individuals with strong perceptual abilities. Learners with weaker perceptual abilities were actually impaired by high-variability training relative to a low-variability condition. A second experiment assessing variations on the high-variability training design determined that the property of this learning environment most detrimental to perceptually weak learners is the amount of trial-by-trial variability. Learners' perceptual limitations can thus override the benefits of high-variability training where trial-by-trial variability in other irrelevant acoustic-phonetic features obfuscates access to the target feature. These results demonstrate the importance of considering individual differences in pretraining aptitudes when evaluating the efficacy of any speech training paradigm. © 2011 Acoustical Society of America

  13. Measuring Language Mindsets and Modeling Their Relations with Goal Orientations and Emotional and Behavioral Responses in Failure Situations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lou, Nigel Mantou; Noels, Kimberly A.

    2017-01-01

    Some people ascribe successful language learning to an innate aptitude that cannot be further developed, at least after a certain young age (i.e., an entity mindset), while other people believe that language learning ability can be improved (i.e., an incremental mindset). The purpose of this research is to (a) introduce the Language Mindsets…

  14. Individual Differences in Sequence Learning Ability and Second Language Acquisition in Early Childhood and Adulthood

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Granena, Gisela

    2013-01-01

    Language aptitude has been hypothesized as a factor that can compensate for postcritical period effects in language learning capacity. However, previous research has primarily focused on instructed contexts and rarely on acquisition-rich learning environments where there is a potential for massive amounts of input. In addition, the studies…

  15. The Multilingual/Bilingual Dichotomy: An Exploration of Individual Differences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thompson, Amy S.

    2009-01-01

    Bilingualism (Sanz, 2000), motivation (Pintrich, 1989), and language aptitude (Grigorenko, Sternberg, and Ehrman, 2000) are crucial individual differences that contribute to successful adult language learning. Since Gardner's (1985) seminal work on motivation, many studies have shown that motivation is dynamic and that it affects language…

  16. Una Ricerca sull'Applicazione del TALB (Test di Attitudine Linguistica per Bambini) nella Scola Elementare [Research on the Application of the TALB (A Test for Linguistic Aptitude for Children) in Elementary School].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Acone, Ilario

    1992-01-01

    Discusses the administration of the Test di Attitudine Linguistica per Bambini (TALB) to students 7-9 years of age. Correlations between the TALB and achievement tests administered at the end of the course were very high. It is concluded that aptitude is a main factor in successful learning of a second language. (16 references) (LET)

  17. Linking Scores from Tests of Similar Content Given in Different Languages: An Illustration Involving Methodological Alternatives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cascallar, Alicia S.; Dorans, Neil J.

    2005-01-01

    This study compares two methods commonly used (concordance and prediction) to establish linkages between scores from tests of similar content given in different languages. Score linkages between the Verbal and Math sections of the SAT I and the corresponding sections of the Spanish-language admissions test, the Prueba de Aptitud Academica (PAA),…

  18. The influence of linguistic and musical experience on Cantonese word learning.

    PubMed

    Cooper, Angela; Wang, Yue

    2012-06-01

    Adult non-native speech perception is subject to influence from multiple factors, including linguistic and extralinguistic experience such as musical training. The present research examines how linguistic and musical factors influence non-native word identification and lexical tone perception. Groups of native tone language (Thai) and non-tone language listeners (English), each subdivided into musician and non-musician groups, engaged in Cantonese tone word training. Participants learned to identify words minimally distinguished by five Cantonese tones during training, also completing musical aptitude and phonemic tone identification tasks. First, the findings suggest that either musical experience or a tone language background leads to significantly better non-native word learning proficiency, as compared to those with neither musical training nor tone language experience. Moreover, the combination of tone language and musical experience did not provide an additional advantage for Thai musicians above and beyond either experience alone. Musicianship was found to be more advantageous than a tone language background for tone identification. Finally, tone identification and musical aptitude scores were significantly correlated with word learning success for English but not Thai listeners. These findings point to a dynamic influence of musical and linguistic experience, both at the tone dentification level and at the word learning stage.

  19. Genomics studies on musical aptitude, music perception, and practice.

    PubMed

    Järvelä, Irma

    2018-03-23

    When searching for genetic markers inherited together with musical aptitude, genes affecting inner ear development and brain function were identified. The alpha-synuclein gene (SNCA), located in the most significant linkage region of musical aptitude, was overexpressed when listening and performing music. The GATA-binding protein 2 gene (GATA2) was located in the best associated region of musical aptitude and regulates SNCA in dopaminergic neurons, thus linking DNA- and RNA-based studies of music-related traits together. In addition to SNCA, several other genes were linked to dopamine metabolism. Mutations in SNCA predispose to Lewy-body dementia and cause Parkinson disease in humans and affect song production in songbirds. Several other birdsong genes were found in transcriptome analysis, suggesting a common evolutionary background of sound perception and production in humans and songbirds. Regions of positive selection with musical aptitude contained genes affecting auditory perception, cognitive performance, memory, human language development, and song perception and production of songbirds. The data support the role of dopaminergic pathway and their link to the reward mechanism as a molecular determinant in positive selection of music. Integration of gene-level data from the literature across multiple species prioritized activity-dependent immediate early genes as candidate genes in musical aptitude and listening to and performing music. © 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.

  20. Accent on Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McWilliams, Larry; And Others

    A guide on foreign languages is presented for counselors, administrators, teachers, and parents. An introductory section discusses reasons for foreign language study, college entrance or exit requirements, foreign language and SAT scores, careers that use foreign languages, myths about learning foreign languages, and information about French,…

  1. Incidental acquisition of foreign language vocabulary through brief multi-modal exposure.

    PubMed

    Bisson, Marie-Josée; van Heuven, Walter J B; Conklin, Kathy; Tunney, Richard J

    2013-01-01

    First language acquisition requires relatively little effort compared to foreign language acquisition and happens more naturally through informal learning. Informal exposure can also benefit foreign language learning, although evidence for this has been limited to speech perception and production. An important question is whether informal exposure to spoken foreign language also leads to vocabulary learning through the creation of form-meaning links. Here we tested the impact of exposure to foreign language words presented with pictures in an incidental learning phase on subsequent explicit foreign language learning. In the explicit learning phase, we asked adults to learn translation equivalents of foreign language words, some of which had appeared in the incidental learning phase. Results revealed rapid learning of the foreign language words in the incidental learning phase showing that informal exposure to multi-modal foreign language leads to foreign language vocabulary acquisition. The creation of form-meaning links during the incidental learning phase is discussed.

  2. Differential Gains in Oral Proficiency during Study Abroad: The Role of Language Learning Aptitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Sheri Lynn

    2012-01-01

    This inquiry analyzed the relationships between individual differences and gains made in oral proficiency of adult, second language learners of Spanish during one semester studying abroad. Oral proficiency was measured using a pre/post-SA Computerized Oral Proficiency Instrument (COPI, CAL, 2009). Gain scores were correlated with two cognitive…

  3. Genetic and Environmental Influences on Writing and Their Relations to Language and Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Olson, Richard K.; Hulslander, Jacqueline; Christopher, Micaela; Keenan, Janice M.; Wadsworth, Sally J.; Willcutt, Erik G.; Pennington, Bruce F.; DeFries, John C.

    2013-01-01

    Identical and fraternal twins (N = 540, age 8 to 18 years) were tested on three different measures of writing (Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement--Writing Samples and Writing Fluency; Handwriting Copy from the Group Diagnostic Reading and Aptitude Achievement Tests), three different language skills (phonological awareness, rapid naming, and…

  4. Relationship among Iranian EFL Students' Foreign Language Anxiety, Foreign Language Listening Anxiety and Their Listening Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Serraj, Samaneh; Noordin, Noreen Bt.

    2013-01-01

    Anxiety is an influential factor in a foreign language learning domain and plays a crucial role in language learners' performance. The following study was conducted to explore the possible impact of Foreign Language Anxiety and Foreign Language Listening Anxiety on language learners' listening skill. The researcher was interested to know the…

  5. An Integrative Approach to Foreign Language Teaching: Choosing Among the Options. ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series, Vol. 8.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jarvis, Gilbert A., Ed.

    This volume on foreign language teaching and learning concerns the following topics: lifelong learning, small-group learning, the minicourse, student attitudes toward foreign languages, problems in secondary schools, humanistic education, curricula in uncommonly taught languages, foreign languages in elementary and adolescent-centered education,…

  6. Finding the Key to Successful L2 Learning in Groups and Individuals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lowie, Wander; van Dijk, Marijn; Chan, Huiping; Verspoor, Marjolijn

    2017-01-01

    A large body studies into individual differences in second language learning has shown that success in second language learning is strongly affected by a set of relevant learner characteristics ranging from the age of onset to motivation, aptitude, and personality. Most studies have concentrated on a limited number of learner characteristics and…

  7. Hi-LAB: A New Measure of Aptitude for High-Level Language Proficiency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Linck, Jared A.; Hughes, Meredith M.; Campbell, Susan G.; Silbert, Noah H.; Tare, Medha; Jackson, Scott R.; Smith, Benjamin K.; Bunting, Michael F.; Doughty, Catherine J.

    2013-01-01

    Few adult second language (L2) learners successfully attain high-level proficiency. Although decades of research on beginning to intermediate stages of L2 learning have identified a number of predictors of the rate of acquisition, little research has examined factors relevant to predicting very high levels of L2 proficiency. The current study,…

  8. Reaching English Language Learners in Every Classroom: Energizers for Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arechiga, Debbie

    2012-01-01

    Reach all of your English language learners with the effective and engaging approaches in this book. It's filled with practical tools, strategies, and real-world vignettes that will help you teach reading and writing to a diverse student population. The book features "Mental Energizers," aptitudes that will help sustain your commitment as you work…

  9. Educational Environment and Cultural Transmission in Foreign Language Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Memis, Muhammet Rasit

    2016-01-01

    Foreign language teaching is not to teach grammar and vocabulary of the target language and to gain basic language skills only. Foreign language teaching is teaching of the language's culture at the same time. Because of language and community develop and shape together, learning, understanding and speaking a foreign language literally requires…

  10. 22 CFR 11.11 - Mid-level Foreign Service officer career candidate appointments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... cannot reasonably be met from within the ranks of the career service, including by special training of... rank-order register for the class and functional specialty for which the candidate has been found... aptitude for learning them. A candidate may be appointed without first having passed an examination in a...

  11. 22 CFR 11.11 - Mid-level Foreign Service officer career candidate appointments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... cannot reasonably be met from within the ranks of the career service, including by special training of... rank-order register for the class and functional specialty for which the candidate has been found... aptitude for learning them. A candidate may be appointed without first having passed an examination in a...

  12. 22 CFR 11.11 - Mid-level Foreign Service officer career candidate appointments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... cannot reasonably be met from within the ranks of the career service, including by special training of... rank-order register for the class and functional specialty for which the candidate has been found... aptitude for learning them. A candidate may be appointed without first having passed an examination in a...

  13. Explaining academic-track boys' underachievement in language grades: Not a lack of aptitude but students' motivational beliefs and parents' perceptions?

    PubMed

    Heyder, Anke; Kessels, Ursula; Steinmayr, Ricarda

    2017-06-01

    Boys earn lower grades in languages than girls. The expectancy-value model by Eccles et al. (, A series of books in psychology. Achievement and achievement motives. Psychological and sociological approaches, W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, CA, 76) is a comprehensive theoretical model for explaining gender differences in educational outcomes. In the past, most studies have focused on girls' disadvantage in math and science and on the role of the students' motivational beliefs. We aimed to explain boys' lower language grades by applying the expectancy-value model while taking into account students' motivational beliefs as well as their aptitude, prior achievement, and socializers' beliefs. In addition, we aimed at exploring the incremental contribution of each potential mediator. Five hundred and twenty German students (age M = 17 years; 58% female) and 374 parents (age M = 47 years). Student-reported ability self-concept (ASC) and task values, parents' perceptions of students' ability, students' prior achievement as reported by schools, and students' verbal intelligence test scores were all tested as mediators of the effect of gender on grades in German while controlling for parents' socioeconomic status. Single-mediator models and a multiple-mediator model were estimated using structural equation modelling. All variables proved to be relevant for explaining boys' underachievement in language grades. Whereas students' ASC, task values, prior achievement, and parents' perceptions mediated the gender effect, verbal intelligence was identified as a suppressor variable increasing the gender effect. Our results challenge the stereotypic belief that boys' lower grades are due to lower verbal aptitude. Rather, students' motivational beliefs and parents' perceptions seem critical factors. Implications for both future research and practice are discussed. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

  14. Foreign Language Planning in Saudi Arabia: Beyond English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Payne, Mark; Almansour, Maram

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents findings from an exploratory study of foreign language planning in Saudi Arabia. In terms of official policy, the sole foreign language taught in Saudi public schools is English. Therefore, researching foreign languages there is often limited to researching the area of English as a Foreign Language. However, evidence shows that…

  15. 34 CFR 658.1 - What is the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... Foreign Language Program? 658.1 Section 658.1 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of... STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM General § 658.1 What is the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program? The Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program is designed...

  16. 34 CFR 658.1 - What is the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Foreign Language Program? 658.1 Section 658.1 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of... STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM General § 658.1 What is the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program? The Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program is designed...

  17. Assessing Foreign Language Proficiency of Undergraduates. Issues in Language Program Direction: A Series of Annual Volumes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teschner, Richard V., Ed.

    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…

  18. Explaining Academic-Track Boys' Underachievement in Language Grades: Not a Lack of Aptitude but Students' Motivational Beliefs and Parents' Perceptions?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heyder, Anke; Kessels, Ursula; Steinmayr, Ricarda

    2017-01-01

    Background: Boys earn lower grades in languages than girls. The expectancy-value model by Eccles" et al." (1983, "A series of books in psychology. Achievement and achievement motives. Psychological and sociological approaches," W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, CA, 76) is a comprehensive theoretical model for explaining gender…

  19. A Qualitative Research on the Teaching Strategies and Class Applications of the High School Teachers Who Teach English in Turkey as a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gocer, Ali

    2010-01-01

    Nowadays, whichever position the individuals work in, they feel the need to learn a foreign language even a second foreign language. In parallel with the need for a foreign language, the importance of the foreign language teaching increases. In language teaching, conditions such as the facilities of the environment, learner's features, the social…

  20. Pre-Service Preschool Teachers' Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning and Early Foreign Language Teaching in Slovenia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fojkar, Mateja Dagarin; Skubic, Darija

    2017-01-01

    The implementation of foreign languages in preschool education has prompted the need for qualified teachers. However, most recent studies report a gap between the supply of qualified foreign language teachers of young learners and the demand for such teachers as foreign languages are introduced earlier and earlier. The authors of this paper…

  1. The emotional impact of being myself: Emotions and foreign-language processing.

    PubMed

    Ivaz, Lela; Costa, Albert; Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni

    2016-03-01

    Native languages are acquired in emotionally rich contexts, whereas foreign languages are typically acquired in emotionally neutral academic environments. As a consequence of this difference, it has been suggested that bilinguals' emotional reactivity in foreign-language contexts is reduced as compared with native language contexts. In the current study, we investigated whether this emotional distance associated with foreign languages could modulate automatic responses to self-related linguistic stimuli. Self-related stimuli enhance performance by boosting memory, speed, and accuracy as compared with stimuli unrelated to the self (the so-called self-bias effect). We explored whether this effect depends on the language context by comparing self-biases in a native and a foreign language. Two experiments were conducted with native Spanish speakers with a high level of English proficiency in which they were asked to complete a perceptual matching task during which they associated simple geometric shapes (circles, squares, and triangles) with the labels "you," "friend," and "other" either in their native or foreign language. Results showed a robust asymmetry in the self-bias in the native- and foreign-language contexts: A larger self-bias was found in the native than in the foreign language. An additional control experiment demonstrated that the same materials administered to a group of native English speakers yielded robust self-bias effects that were comparable in magnitude to the ones obtained with the Spanish speakers when tested in their native language (but not in their foreign language). We suggest that the emotional distance evoked by the foreign-language contexts caused these differential effects across language contexts. These results demonstrate that the foreign-language effects are pervasive enough to affect automatic stages of emotional processing. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  2. Is Language a Factor in the Perception of Foreign Accent Syndrome?

    PubMed

    Jose, Linda; Read, Jennifer; Miller, Nick

    2016-06-01

    Neurogenic foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is diagnosed when listeners perceive speech associated with motor speech impairments as foreign rather than disordered. Speakers with foreign accent syndrome typically have aphasia. It remains unclear how far language changes might contribute to the perception of foreign accent syndrome independent of accent. Judges with and without training in language analysis rated orthographic transcriptions of speech from people with foreign accent syndrome, speech-language disorder and no foreign accent syndrome, foreign accent without neurological impairment and healthy controls on scales of foreignness, normalness and disorderedness. Control speakers were judged as significantly more normal, less disordered and less foreign than other groups. Foreign accent syndrome speakers' transcriptions consistently profiled most closely to those of foreign speakers and significantly different to speakers with speech-language disorder. On normalness and foreignness ratings there were no significant differences between foreign and foreign accent syndrome speakers. For disorderedness, foreign accent syndrome participants fell midway between foreign speakers and those with speech-language impairment only. Slower rate, more hesitations, pauses within and between utterances influenced judgments, delineating control scripts from others. Word-level syntactic and morphological deviations and reduced syntactic and semantic repertoire linked strongly with foreignness perceptions. Greater disordered ratings related to word fragments, poorly intelligible grammatical structures and inappropriate word selection. Language changes influence foreignness perception. Clinical and theoretical issues are addressed.

  3. Foreign Language Research in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Volume 2.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    de Bot, Kees, Ed.; And Others

    Papers from a conference on empirical research on foreign language instruction in Europe and the United States include: "Foreign Language Instruction and Second Language Acquisition Research in the United States" (Charles A. Fergurson, Thom Huebner); "Empirical Foreign Language Research in Europe" (Theo van Els, Kees de Bot,…

  4. The foreign-language effect: thinking in a foreign tongue reduces decision biases.

    PubMed

    Keysar, Boaz; Hayakawa, Sayuri L; An, Sun Gyu

    2012-06-01

    Would you make the same decisions in a foreign language as you would in your native tongue? It may be intuitive that people would make the same choices regardless of the language they are using, or that the difficulty of using a foreign language would make decisions less systematic. We discovered, however, that the opposite is true: Using a foreign language reduces decision-making biases. Four experiments show that the framing effect disappears when choices are presented in a foreign tongue. Whereas people were risk averse for gains and risk seeking for losses when choices were presented in their native tongue, they were not influenced by this framing manipulation in a foreign language. Two additional experiments show that using a foreign language reduces loss aversion, increasing the acceptance of both hypothetical and real bets with positive expected value. We propose that these effects arise because a foreign language provides greater cognitive and emotional distance than a native tongue does.

  5. Foreign Languages and Foreign Cultures.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berman, Russell A.

    2002-01-01

    Calls on foreign language departments to take a closer look at a long-standing component of their curriculum: culture. The discussion focuses on language and culture, teaching foreign cultures, and foreign cultures, transnationality, and globalization. (Author/VWL)

  6. 9 CFR 381.128 - Labels in foreign languages.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Labels in foreign languages. 381.128... in foreign languages. Any label to be affixed to a container of any dressed poultry or other poultry product for foreign commerce may be printed in a foreign language. However, the official inspection legend...

  7. The Link between Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety, Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity and Self-Rated English Proficiency among Chinese Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dewaele, Jean-Marc; Ip, Tsui Shan

    2013-01-01

    Previous research has suggested that high levels of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) have a negative effect on foreign language learning (Horwitz, 2001; Lu & Liu, 2011) while moderate levels of Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity (SLTA) are believed to boost foreign language learning (Ely, 1995). There is prima facie evidence that…

  8. Integrating Language-and-Culture Teaching: An Investigation of Spanish Teachers' Perceptions of the Objectives of Foreign Language Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Castro, Paloma; Sercu, Lies; Mendez Garcia, Maria del Carmen

    2004-01-01

    A recent shift has been noticeable in foreign language education theory. Previously, foreign languages were taught as a linguistic code. This then shifted to teaching that code against the sociocultural background of, primarily, one country in which the foreign language is spoken as a national language. More recently, teaching has reflected on…

  9. The Interface of Explicit and Implicit Knowledge in a Second Language: Insights from Individual Differences in Cognitive Aptitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Suzuki, Yuichi; DeKeyser, Robert

    2017-01-01

    Recent research has called for the use of fine-grained measures that distinguish implicit knowledge from automatized explicit knowledge. In the current study, such measures were used to determine how the two systems interact in a naturalistic second language (L2) acquisition context. One hundred advanced L2 speakers of Japanese living in Japan…

  10. Results of the ESA study on psychological selection of astronaut applicants for Columbus missions I: Aptitude testing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fassbender, Christoph; Goeters, Klaus-Martin

    European participation in the Space Station Freedom brought about new challenges for the psychological selection of astronaut candidates, particularly in respect to specific demands of long duration space flights. For this reason existing selection criteria and methods were reassessed. On these grounds a study was undertaken applying a unique composition of aptitude tests to a group of 97 ESA scientists and engineers who are highly comparable to the expected astronaut applicants with respect to age and education. The tests assessed operational aptitudes such as logical reasoning, memory function, perception, spatial orientation, attention, psychomotor function, and multiple task capacity. The study goals were: 1) Verification of psychometric qualities and applicability of tests in a normative group; 2) Search for culture-fair tests by which multi-national groups can be examined; 3) Identification of test methods which consider general and special operational demands of long duration space flights. Based on the empirical findings a test battery was arranged for use in the selection of ESA astronaut applicants. Results showed that 16 out of the 18 employed tests have good psychometric qualities and differentiate reliably in the special group of testees. The meta structure of the test battery as described by a factorial analysis is presented. Applicability of tests was generally high. Tests were culture-fair, however, a relation between English language skills and test results was identified. Since most item material was language-free, this was explained with the importance of English language skills for the understanding of test instructions. Solutions to this effect are suggested.

  11. Thinking More or Feeling Less? Explaining the Foreign-Language Effect on Moral Judgment.

    PubMed

    Hayakawa, Sayuri; Tannenbaum, David; Costa, Albert; Corey, Joanna D; Keysar, Boaz

    2017-10-01

    Would you kill one person to save five? People are more willing to accept such utilitarian action when using a foreign language than when using their native language. In six experiments, we investigated why foreign-language use affects moral choice in this way. On the one hand, the difficulty of using a foreign language might slow people down and increase deliberation, amplifying utilitarian considerations of maximizing welfare. On the other hand, use of a foreign language might stunt emotional processing, attenuating considerations of deontological rules, such as the prohibition against killing. Using a process-dissociation technique, we found that foreign-language use decreases deontological responding but does not increase utilitarian responding. This suggests that using a foreign language affects moral choice not through increased deliberation but by blunting emotional reactions associated with the violation of deontological rules.

  12. Foreign Languages for Business in the Secondary School Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grosse, Christine Uber

    A survey of the 20 most populous states concerning their secondary school provision of foreign languages for business is reported. State foreign language supervisors were interviewed for information on state policy or planning for the inclusion of foreign language for business or applied language studies, for information about specific programs or…

  13. 34 CFR 658.35 - What priority does the Secretary give?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... school foreign language instruction or that require each graduating student to earn two years of postsecondary credit in a foreign language (or have demonstrated equivalent competence in the foreign language... POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION UNDERGRADUATE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE...

  14. Dutch courage? Effects of acute alcohol consumption on self-ratings and observer ratings of foreign language skills.

    PubMed

    Renner, Fritz; Kersbergen, Inge; Field, Matt; Werthmann, Jessica

    2018-01-01

    A popular belief is that alcohol improves the ability to speak in a foreign language. The effect of acute alcohol consumption on perceived foreign language performance and actual foreign language performance in foreign language learners has not been investigated. The aim of the current study was to test the effects of acute alcohol consumption on self-rated and observer-rated verbal foreign language performance in participants who have recently learned this language. Fifty native German speakers who had recently learned Dutch were randomized to receive either a low dose of alcohol or a control beverage that contained no alcohol. Following the experimental manipulation, participants took part in a standardized discussion in Dutch with a blinded experimenter. The discussion was audio-recorded and foreign language skills were subsequently rated by two native Dutch speakers who were blind to the experimental condition (observer-rating). Participants also rated their own individual Dutch language skills during the discussion (self-rating). Participants who consumed alcohol had significantly better observer-ratings for their Dutch language, specifically better pronunciation, compared with those who did not consume alcohol. However, alcohol had no effect on self-ratings of Dutch language skills. Acute alcohol consumption may have beneficial effects on the pronunciation of a foreign language in people who have recently learned that language.

  15. Subcortical processing of speech regularities underlies reading and music aptitude in children.

    PubMed

    Strait, Dana L; Hornickel, Jane; Kraus, Nina

    2011-10-17

    Neural sensitivity to acoustic regularities supports fundamental human behaviors such as hearing in noise and reading. Although the failure to encode acoustic regularities in ongoing speech has been associated with language and literacy deficits, how auditory expertise, such as the expertise that is associated with musical skill, relates to the brainstem processing of speech regularities is unknown. An association between musical skill and neural sensitivity to acoustic regularities would not be surprising given the importance of repetition and regularity in music. Here, we aimed to define relationships between the subcortical processing of speech regularities, music aptitude, and reading abilities in children with and without reading impairment. We hypothesized that, in combination with auditory cognitive abilities, neural sensitivity to regularities in ongoing speech provides a common biological mechanism underlying the development of music and reading abilities. We assessed auditory working memory and attention, music aptitude, reading ability, and neural sensitivity to acoustic regularities in 42 school-aged children with a wide range of reading ability. Neural sensitivity to acoustic regularities was assessed by recording brainstem responses to the same speech sound presented in predictable and variable speech streams. Through correlation analyses and structural equation modeling, we reveal that music aptitude and literacy both relate to the extent of subcortical adaptation to regularities in ongoing speech as well as with auditory working memory and attention. Relationships between music and speech processing are specifically driven by performance on a musical rhythm task, underscoring the importance of rhythmic regularity for both language and music. These data indicate common brain mechanisms underlying reading and music abilities that relate to how the nervous system responds to regularities in auditory input. Definition of common biological underpinnings for music and reading supports the usefulness of music for promoting child literacy, with the potential to improve reading remediation.

  16. Shaping the Future of Foreign Language Education: FLES, Articulation, and Proficiency. Report of Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lalande, John F. II, Ed.

    Selected papers from the 1988 conference on foreign language issues for the future include: "Articulation for Elementary School Foreign Language Programs: Challenges and Opportunities" (Carol Ann Pesola); "Articulation: A Resolvable Problem?" (Dale L. Lange); "Profiles of Frustration: Second Language Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities"…

  17. Understanding Language Learning: Review of the Application of the Interaction Model in Foreign Language Contexts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dixon, L. Quentin; Wu, Shuang

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: This paper examined the application of the input-interaction-output model in English-as-Foreign-Language (EFL) learning environments with four specific questions: (1) How do the three components function in the model? (2) Does interaction in the foreign language classroom seem to be effective for foreign language acquisition? (3) What…

  18. The Effect of Language Learning Strategies on Proficiency, Attitudes and School Achievement.

    PubMed

    Habók, Anita; Magyar, Andrea

    2017-01-01

    This study examines language learning strategy (LLS) use in connexion with foreign language attitude, proficiency and general school achievement among lower secondary students in Years 5 and 8 ( n = 868) in Hungary. An adapted version of the Strategies Inventory for Language Learning questionnaire was used for data collection. The results showed that Hungarian students mainly engage in metacognitive strategies in both years. Differences between more and less proficient language learners' strategy use have also been found. With regard to the effect of LLS on foreign language attitude, the foreign language mark and school achievement, path analysis indicated a good fit in both years. The metacognitive, social and memory strategies primarily influenced foreign language attitudes and marks in Year 5. The metacognitive strategies had a slight impact on school achievement as well as on foreign language marks. We demonstrated the dominant effect of metacognitive strategies and the low effect of memory strategies in Year 8. In addition, metacognitive strategies also influenced foreign language marks. The effect of foreign language marks on school achievement was also remarkable. There was a strong impact on the children's attitudes through these variables.

  19. The Status of Foreign Language Education: 1984.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wiley, Patricia Davis

    1984-01-01

    Presents a brief history of the status of foreign language instruction from 1953 to 1984. Summarizes research on effects of foreign language study. Describes the foreign language education program at the University of Tennessee--Knoxville, providing an overview of the organization, curricular content, and methodology. Evaluates Knoxville's unique…

  20. Incidental Foreign Language Acquisition from Media Exposure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuppens, An H.

    2010-01-01

    A number of experimental studies have demonstrated the incidental acquisition of a foreign language by children and adolescents when watching foreign language television. While such experiments can only establish short-term effects, this article investigates the extent to which children's foreign language skills benefit from their long-term…

  1. Foreign Language Effect and Psychological Distance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shin, Hong Im; Kim, Juyoung

    2017-01-01

    Does using a foreign language result in forming different moral decisions than using our mother tongue? Two studies were conducted to investigate whether there is a relationship between foreign language effects (differences between native vs. foreign language conditions) and psychological distance. Study 1 tested four moral dilemmas adapted from…

  2. Tact Training versus Bidirectional Intraverbal Training in Teaching a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dounavi, Katerina

    2014-01-01

    The current study involved an evaluation of the emergence of untrained verbal relations as a function of 3 different foreign-language teaching strategies. Two Spanish-speaking adults received foreign-language (English) tact training and native-to-foreign and foreign-to-native intraverbal training. Tact training and native-to-foreign intraverbal…

  3. Dictionary Use of Undergraduate Students in Foreign Language Departments in Turkey at Present

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tulgar, Aysegül Takkaç

    2017-01-01

    Foreign language learning has always been a process carried out with the help of dictionaries which are both in target language and from native language to target language/from target language to native language. Dictionary use is an especially delicate issue for students in foreign language departments because students in those departments are…

  4. The Effects of New Jersey's K-8 Foreign Language Authorization on K-5 Foreign Language Teaching: Two Teachers' Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raymond, Robert B. L.

    2012-01-01

    Recent research in language education policy (LEP) refocuses attention from the role of governments to local stakeholders that shape LEP. However, little attention has been given to teacher agency in LEP implementation for early foreign language (FL) education in the United States. This pilot study considers the role of foreign language elementary…

  5. Examination of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety and Achievement in Foreign Language in Turkish University Students in Terms of Various Variables

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dogan, Yunus; Tuncer, Murat

    2016-01-01

    This correlational survey study aimed to investigate whether the Turkish prep-class students' foreign language classroom anxiety levels and foreign language achievement significantly differ in terms of such variables as their gender, their experience abroad, perceived level of income and any third language (other than Turkish and English) they…

  6. The "Joint Venture" in International Business, Economics, and Foreign Languages at Appalachian State University: An Interdisciplinary Endeavor.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rothschild, Judith Rice

    1982-01-01

    A cooperative program of the economics and foreign languages departments offers three undergraduate majors: an economics B.A., with two foreign languages; a B.A. double major of economics and either French or Spanish, complemented by a second language; and a B.S. in business administration, individually designed, with one modern foreign language.…

  7. Foreign Languages and the Business World: A Close Partnership.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Portuondo, Alicia M.

    The role of foreign languages in the liberal arts colleges and of business training in the foreign language curriculum is examined. In recent years, student interests in foreign languages have shifted from the traditional focus on literary scholarship to practical applications and communication. International studies are also necessary in…

  8. Foreign Language K-12. Program Evaluation 1991-92.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wadden, Jerry M.

    The Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools foreign language program for K-12 is described and evaluated. The evaluation report focuses on six areas, including: (1) school district mission and philosophy of foreign language instruction; (2) context (state policies and standards, foreign language program overview and enrollment, fiber-optic communication…

  9. Foreign Language Listening Anxiety and Listening Performance: Conceptualizations and Causal Relationships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Xian

    2013-01-01

    This study used structural equation modeling to explore the possible causal relations between foreign language (English) listening anxiety and English listening performance. Three hundred participants learning English as a foreign language (FL) completed the foreign language listening anxiety scale (FLLAS) and IELTS test twice with an interval of…

  10. SURVEY OF PERSONNEL POLICIES IN RELATION TO FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMPETENCES.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    WELLEMEYER, JOHN F.

    THE PRINCIPLE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AGENCIES THAT OPERATE IN FIELDS REQUIRING FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMPETENCIES, THE U.S. MILITARY SERVICES AND SOME PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS, WERE SURVEYED TO DETERMINE THEIR OPERATING POLICIES THAT RELATE TO PERSONNEL WITH FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS. THE AGENCIES THAT HAVE THE GREATEST NEED FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS…

  11. 16 CFR 14.9 - Requirements concerning clear and conspicuous disclosures in foreign language advertising and...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... conspicuous disclosures in foreign language advertising and sales materials. 14.9 Section 14.9 Commercial... and conspicuous disclosures in foreign language advertising and sales materials. The Federal Trade... are being printed in foreign languages. In recent years the Commission has issued various cease-and...

  12. Teaching Reading in Foreign Language Classes: A Bibliography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Greenewald, M. Jane

    This bibliography of articles, books, and ERIC documents on the teaching of reading in foreign language classes is intended for university content reading specialists, reading coordinators and consultants, secondary and university foreign language teachers, and methodologists in foreign language education. More than 95 sources are listed in the…

  13. Foreign Languages: A Guide to Curriculum Development [Revision].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Connecticut State Board of Education, Hartford.

    The guide is designed to help school district planners develop and implement suitable foreign language curricula. Focusing on programs in grades K-12, it provides an overview of current philosophies, objectives, methods, and materials in foreign language education; illustrates how these may be implemented in a sequential foreign language program…

  14. Addressing the Standards for Foreign Language Learning. Dimension '97. Selected Proceedings of the Joint Conference of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching and the South Carolina Foreign Language Teachers' Association (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Terry, Robert M., Ed.

    Seven papers from the annual conference are presented. "Developing Tomorrow's Technology-Using Foreign Language Teachers: Where We Are, Where We Are Going" (Marjorie H. DeWert, Audrey Heining-Boynton) looks at whether language teachers are being trained to take full advantage of educational technology. "Foreign Language Placement in…

  15. 76 FR 45543 - Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-07-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center AGENCY: Department of the Army, DOD. ACTION: Notice; cancellation. SUMMARY: The Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center meeting scheduled for August 3 and 4, 2011...

  16. A SUGGESTED BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MICHEL, JOSEPH

    DESIGNED FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS AND PERSONS PREPARING TO BECOME FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS, THIS BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS PUBLISHED BETWEEN 1892 AND 1966 CONTAINS SECTIONS OF--(1) THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE, (2) LINGUISTICS, INCLUDING APPLIED LINGUISTICS FOR SPECIFIC LANGUAGES, (3) PSYCHOLOGY OF LANGUAGE, (4) PHYSIOLOGY OF SPEECH, (5)…

  17. Foreign Language Teachers' Language Proficiency and Their Language Teaching Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richards, Heather; Conway, Clare; Roskvist, Annelies; Harvey, Sharon

    2013-01-01

    Teachers' subject knowledge is recognized as an essential component of effective teaching. In the foreign language context, teachers' subject knowledge includes language proficiency. In New Zealand high schools, foreign languages (e.g. Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish) have recently been offered to learners earlier in their schooling,…

  18. First Language Proficiency and Successful Foreign Language Learning: The Case of High School Students Learning French as a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gnintedem, Antoine

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated whether there was a correlation between first language proficiency as measured by the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT II) Reading and Language Arts and foreign language proficiency as measured by the French Language Proficiency Test. Data for the independent variable, first language proficiency, was collected from the…

  19. Foreign Language in the Workplace.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lambert, Richard D., Ed.; Moore, Sarah Jane, Ed.

    1990-01-01

    Articles in this theme issue of the journal, devoted to the subject of languages in the workplace, include: "Language Use in International Research" (Eugene Garfield, Alfred Welljams-Dorof); "The Foreign Language Needs of U.S.-Based Corporations" (Carol S. Fixman); "Foreign Language Use Among International Business…

  20. Multilingual Effects on EFL Learning: A Comparison of Foreign Language Anxiety Experienced by Monolingual and Bilingual Tertiary Students in the Lao PDR

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phongsa, Manivone; Mohamed Ismail, Shaik Abdul Malik; Low, Hui Min

    2018-01-01

    Foreign language anxiety is common among adult learners, especially those who lack exposure to the language that they are learning. In this study, we compared the foreign language anxiety experienced by monolingual and bilingual tertiary students in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) who were learning English as a Foreign Language. The…

  1. The Need for Foreign Language Competence in the United States. ERIC Digest.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamayan, Else

    Americans generally lack foreign language competence, and their exposure to foreign languages in the United States is inadequate. Foreign language instruction is deficient in both quality and quantity, and although there are indications of improvement in both areas, it will be many years before the effects of improvements are clear. The…

  2. Look Out World, Here We Come!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Snyder, Barbara, Ed.

    1984-01-01

    The journal includes nine articles on the theme of a world view of foreign language teaching. They are: "The Foreign Language Articulation Task Force Survey: A Report" (Reid Baker); "Report of the Ohio Foreign Language Task Force" (Barbara Snyder); "The Akron Story Part I: Summer Foreign Language Camps" (John D. Durden and Sandra K. Strauber);…

  3. Progress Report on the South Carolina Market for Foreign Languages Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morgenroth, Robert L.; And Others

    The Market for Foreign Languages Study was begun in South Carolina to ascertain both the state's projected needs for modern foreign language competencies and the state's foreign language resources over the next five years. Questionnaires have been sent to industrial plants, secondary schools, and junior and senior colleges. Of the plants…

  4. Is There a Foreign Language Barrier in Engineering Research?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawks, Carla; And Others

    Perception and effects of foreign language publications in engineering research are examined. Through the use of both survey and archival sources, including coverage in major scientific and technical databases as vended by DIALOG, various aspects of the foreign language barrier were measured. A foreign language barrier is said to exist when…

  5. Teacher to Teacher: Model Lessons for K-8 Foreign Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Redmond, Mary Lynn, Ed.; Lorenz, Eileen, Ed.

    This book provides resources for foreign language teachers, supervisors, and others involved in developing and implementing a curriculum. It is the outcome of a 1997 institute, "National Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Curriculum Reform for K-8 Foreign Language Education." The model shows how the national standards can be used…

  6. Bilingual Baby: Foreign Language Intervention in Madrid's Infant Education Centers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferjan Ramirez, Naja; Kuhl, Patricia

    2017-01-01

    The first years of life represent a unique window of opportunity for foreign language learning. However, key questions are: How much and what kind of foreign language exposure is needed to ignite learning? We conducted a foreign language (English) intervention in four public Infant Education Centers in Madrid, Spain. Intervention children (N =…

  7. New Perspectives and New Directions in Foreign Language Education. The ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Birckbichler, Diane W., Ed.

    The five essays in this volume address broad trends and issues in foreign language education. "Bandwagons Revisited: A Perspective on Movements in Foreign Language Education" (Frank M. Grittner) suggests that the bandwagons flourish because of lack of standardization and centralized authority in American education. Characteristics and results of…

  8. Classroom Management in Foreign Language Education: An Exploratory Review

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Macías, Diego Fernando

    2018-01-01

    This review examines studies in the area of classroom management in foreign language education. It is organized into three large areas: The first area focuses on the distinctive characteristics of foreign language instruction that are more likely to impact classroom management in foreign language classes. The second area provides a description of…

  9. Foreign Language Week: A Successful Public Relations Model.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reschke, Claus

    A detailed description is presented of a foreign language (FL) week project that was organized and executed by the Houston Area Teachers of Foreign Languages (HATFL) during the 1979-80 academic year. The document describes the preparation activities of the organizing committee, the pre-foreign language week advertising campaigns, the design of…

  10. Foreign Language Study: Fact and Fancy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Virgil

    The purposes of this paper are to: (1) demonstrate the absolute necessity for foreign language study; (2) dispel some of the fancies or fantasies that have grown up concerning the learning of foreign languages; and (3) suggest various alternative programs in foreign language study and possible ways of implementing them. Some of the fallacious…

  11. The Effect of Language Learning Strategies on Proficiency, Attitudes and School Achievement

    PubMed Central

    Habók, Anita; Magyar, Andrea

    2018-01-01

    This study examines language learning strategy (LLS) use in connexion with foreign language attitude, proficiency and general school achievement among lower secondary students in Years 5 and 8 (n = 868) in Hungary. An adapted version of the Strategies Inventory for Language Learning questionnaire was used for data collection. The results showed that Hungarian students mainly engage in metacognitive strategies in both years. Differences between more and less proficient language learners’ strategy use have also been found. With regard to the effect of LLS on foreign language attitude, the foreign language mark and school achievement, path analysis indicated a good fit in both years. The metacognitive, social and memory strategies primarily influenced foreign language attitudes and marks in Year 5. The metacognitive strategies had a slight impact on school achievement as well as on foreign language marks. We demonstrated the dominant effect of metacognitive strategies and the low effect of memory strategies in Year 8. In addition, metacognitive strategies also influenced foreign language marks. The effect of foreign language marks on school achievement was also remarkable. There was a strong impact on the children’s attitudes through these variables. PMID:29379461

  12. Language Learning: A Worldwide Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Christian, Donna; Pufahl, Ingrid U.; Rhodes, Nancy C.

    2005-01-01

    Numerous reports and articles have decried the mediocrity of U.S. students' foreign language skills and have called for improved language education. One study that looked at foreign language education in 19 countries suggests several characteristics of successful foreign language programs: starting early, providing an articulated framework,…

  13. Even Teachers Get the Blues: Recognizing and Alleviating Language Teachers' Feelings of Foreign Language Anxiety.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Horwitz, Elaine K.

    1996-01-01

    Argues that many nonnative foreign-language teachers experience foreign-language anxiety and that this anxiety can have negative consequences for language teaching. The article discusses how anxiety affects teachers' feelings of self-confidence, use of the target language, and instructional choices and offers suggestions for increasing teachers'…

  14. The Use of Newspapers and Magazines in the Foreign-Language Classroom. ERIC Focus Reports on the Teaching of Foreign Language, No. 31.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    James, Charles J.; Lange, Dale L.

    Newspapers and magazines have been used only on a limited basis in the foreign language classroom, because language study has traditionally led to the study of literature. However, this trend is now changing because (1) foreign language curriculum at the secondary school level is expanding to encompass new goals, and (2) the influence from college…

  15. LANGUAGE TEACHING--BROADER CONTEXTS. REPORTS OF THE WORKING COMMITTEES OF THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE ON THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, 1966.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MEAD, ROBERT G., JR.

    TO FOCUS ATTENTION ON CURRENT PROBLEMS CONFRONTING THE PROFESSION, THE 1966 NORTHEAST CONFERENCE ON THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHED ITS WORKING COMMITTEE REPORTS ON LANGUAGE LEARNING RESEARCH, WIDER USES FOR LANGUAGES, AND THE SUPERVISION AND COORDINATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING. THE FIRST REPORT, "RESEARCH AND LANGUAGE LEARNING,"…

  16. Nociones de la programacion de lenguas extranjeras (Ensayo metodologico) (Programming Foreign Languages [A Methodological Study])

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feldman, David

    1975-01-01

    Stresses the importance of language laboratories and other technical devices used in foreign language teaching, particularly in programed language instruction. Illustrates, by means of taxonomies, the various stages a foreign language learning program should follow. (Text is in Spanish.) (DS)

  17. [Union-Endicott Schools: Foreign Language Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Connell, Raymond S.

    This brochure describing language programs to both parents and prospective high school language students in Endicott, New York focuses on developing student motivation and interest. Topics discussed include: (1) reasons for studying foreign language, (2) stages of foreign language learning, (3) course offerings, (4) homework, and (5) examinations.…

  18. 34 CFR 658.4 - What definitions apply to the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... International Studies and Foreign Language Program? 658.4 Section 658.4 Education Regulations of the Offices of... UNDERGRADUATE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM General § 658.4 What definitions apply to the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program? The definitions in 34 CFR 655.4 apply to this...

  19. 34 CFR 658.4 - What definitions apply to the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... International Studies and Foreign Language Program? 658.4 Section 658.4 Education Regulations of the Offices of... UNDERGRADUATE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM General § 658.4 What definitions apply to the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program? The definitions in 34 CFR 655.4 apply to this...

  20. Investigating the Development of Foreign Language Anxiety: An Autobiographical Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trang, Tran Thi Thu; Baldauf, Richard B., Jr.; Moni, Karen

    2013-01-01

    Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has been found to exist in tertiary students learning foreign languages in many countries; however, limited research has explored how it develops. This study investigated how anxiety developed in students of English as a foreign language (EFL), focusing on changes in their feelings about EFL learning as they learned,…

  1. The Effects of Cooperative Learning on Foreign Language Anxiety: A Comparative Study of Taiwanese and American Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duxbury, John G.; Tsai, Ling-ling

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated the level of foreign language anxiety in the classroom, plus the correlation between foreign language anxiety and cooperative learning attitudes and practice among university students at one university in the United States and three universities in Southern Taiwan. Two instruments (The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety…

  2. Foreign Language Teaching and Learning in the Netherlands 1500-2000: An Overview

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilhelm, Frans

    2018-01-01

    The Netherlands are quite unique in that the Dutch have always learned various foreign languages. Until 1940, French was the most important foreign language. Between roughly 1870 and 1970, Dutch learners in grammar schools and higher secondary schools were even obliged to learn three foreign languages: French, German and English. Since 1970,…

  3. Foreign Languages and Your Career.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bourgoin, Edward

    Divided into two major parts, this book is intended to indicate careers in which people need foreign languages in their work and to provide suggestions and sources of further information for those who already have foreign language skills and those who are planning to acquire them. Part 1 discusses careers in which a foreign language is needed as a…

  4. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Horwitz, Elaine K.; And Others

    1986-01-01

    Identifies foreign language anxiety as a conceptually distinct variable in foreign language learning and interprets it with the context of existing theoretical and empirical work on specific anxiety reactions. Discusses the effects of this anxiety on language learning and its pedagogical implications. (SED)

  5. Foreign language affects the contribution of intentions and outcomes to moral judgment.

    PubMed

    Geipel, Janet; Hadjichristidis, Constantinos; Surian, Luca

    2016-09-01

    We examine whether the use of a foreign language, as opposed to the native language, influences the relative weight intentions versus outcomes carry in moral evaluations. In Study 1, participants were presented with actions that had positive outcomes but were motivated by dubious intentions, while in Study 2 with actions that had negative outcomes but were motivated by positive intentions. Participants received the materials either in their native or a foreign language. Foreign language prompted more positive moral evaluations in Study 1 and less positive evaluations in Study 2. These results show that foreign language reduces the relative weight placed on intentions versus outcomes. We discuss several theoretical accounts that are consistent with the results such as that foreign language attenuates emotions (triggered by intentions) or it depletes cognitive resources. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. The Missing Link in Vision and Governance: Foreign Language Acquisition Research.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kramsch, Claire J.

    1987-01-01

    Foreign language acquisition research (concerned with the theoretical and practical issues related to socialization into and literacy in another language and culture) can help integrate language, literature, and culture in foreign language departments because it draws on insights gained from such diverse fields as anthropology, sociology,…

  7. The Emotional Impact of Being Myself: Emotions and Foreign-Language Processing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ivaz, Lela; Costa, Albert; Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni

    2016-01-01

    Native languages are acquired in emotionally rich contexts, whereas foreign languages are typically acquired in emotionally neutral academic environments. As a consequence of this difference, it has been suggested that bilinguals' emotional reactivity in foreign-language contexts is reduced as compared with native language contexts. In the current…

  8. Foreign Language Anxiety of Students Studying English Language and Literature: A Sample from Turkey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elaldi, Senel

    2016-01-01

    A considerable number of foreign language learners experience a feeling of anxiety in language learning process. The purpose of this research was to find out foreign language anxiety levels of students studying in the Faculty of English Language and Literature at Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey when they were in preparatory class and when…

  9. Foreign Language Display Library Catalog. Supplement to Studies in Language and Language Behavior, Progress Report VIII.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ann Arbor Public Schools, MI.

    Designed as a tool for foreign language teachers attempting to keep updated on the constantly proliferating number of printed materials being produced for use in elementary and secondary school language classes, this catalog attempts to bring together in one collection a representative selection of foreign language texts, readers, workbooks, and…

  10. The Foreign Language Feature Film and Language Teaching Activities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chappell, Martin

    1986-01-01

    Analysis of foreign language films, featuring consideration of film sequence, image and film analysis, and literary adaptation, is an effective teaching activity with foreign language students. An example illustrates film analysis activities in a first-year French class. (CB)

  11. An Investigation of Lexical Progress of Teaching Foreign Languages (TFL) Learners in Terms of Part-of-Speech

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Çerçi, Arif

    2017-01-01

    In the related literature, it has been discussed that issues related to foreign language lexicon have been ignored; therefore, a solid theory of foreign language lexicon has not been constructed yet. In the framework of Turkish as a foreign language, the literature lacks both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. To this end, this longitudinal…

  12. Action for the '80s: A Political, Professional, and Public Program for Foreign Language Education. The ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phillips, June K., Ed.

    This volume deals with issues in foreign language education that have come to the fore since the publication of the Report of the President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies. It contains the following articles: "Action or Inaction: An Editorial Opinion," by June Phillips; (2) "ACTFL's 1980 Agenda: Intention…

  13. Study Abroad and Intercultural Communication. The Challenge of Communication. ACTFL Review of Foreign Language Education, Vol. 6.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bourque, Jane M.

    Preparation for study abroad is a valid part of the foreign language program. One advantage of study abroad is the motivational focus it gives to home-based foreign languages programs. The possibility of participating in the foreign culture and actually using the language are incentives. Teaching intercultural communication and understanding is a…

  14. The Effects of Teaching Songs during Foreign Language Classes on Students' Foreign Language Anxiety

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dolean, Dacian Dorin

    2016-01-01

    Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) has been the subject of several studies aimed to optimize learning of a foreign language in the classroom. However, few studies provide specific curriculum-based methodological strategies to be used in the classroom in order to lower the anxiety level. In this article, two experimental classes of 8th-grade…

  15. Adult Learners' Perceptions of the Significance of Culture in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brooks-Lewis, Kimberly Anne

    2014-01-01

    Is learning about culture important when learning a foreign language? One would think that after its long history in the field of foreign language teaching this question had been answered with a resounding "yes". However, I saw little evidence of this in the classroom when I returned to the university to learn a foreign language or when…

  16. Curriculum, Competence, and the Foreign Language Teacher. The ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Higgs, Theodore V., Ed.

    The articles in this book address some of the major issues facing foreign language teachers in the next decade. These issues grow out of the concepts that received most attention in the 1970s: communicative competence, alternatives to traditional instruction, articulation of the curriculum in view of realities in U.S. foreign language departments,…

  17. Communication and Gamification in the Web-Based Foreign Language Educational System: Web- Based Foreign Language Educational System

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Osipov, Ilya V.; Volinsky, Alex A.; Nikulchev, Evgeny; Prasikova, Anna Y.

    2016-01-01

    The paper describes development of the educational online web communication platform for teaching and learning foreign languages. The main objective was to develop a web application for teaching foreigners to understand casual fluent speech. The system is based on the time bank principle, allowing users to teach others their native language along…

  18. Academic Achievement through FLES: A Case for Promoting Greater Access to Foreign Language Study among Young Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Carolyn; Lafayette, Robert

    2010-01-01

    The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 established foreign languages as a core curricular content area; however, instructional emphasis continues to be placed on curricular areas that factor into state educational accountability programs. The present study explored whether foreign language study of first-year Grade 3 foreign language students who…

  19. Teacher Development in Slovenia for Teaching Foreign Languages at the Primary Level

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brumen, Mihaela; Fojkar, Mateja Dagarin

    2012-01-01

    The introduction of foreign languages into the first three-year cycle of primary school has spurred the need for qualified teachers, and is one of the main discussion points among experts in foreign language teaching. Most of the contemporary studies report that there is a global gap between the supply of qualified teachers of foreign languages to…

  20. Changing Patterns in Foreign Language Programs: Report of the Illinois Conference on Foreign Languages in Junior and Community Colleges, 1972.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rivers, Wilga M., Ed.; And Others

    This collection of articles on foreign language instruction in junior and community colleges focuses on four principal areas: the junior community college, the "Proceedings of the Illinois Conference on Foreign Languages in Junior and Community Colleges," factual information, and action reports. The articles discuss pluralism and the community…

  1. The Potential Sources of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety in a Jordanian EFL Context: A Theoretical Framework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahmad, Ismail Sheikh; Al-Shboul, Murad M.; Nordin, Mohamad Sahari; Rahman, Zainurin Abdul; Burhan, Mohd; Madarsha, Kamal Basha

    2013-01-01

    The last decade has witnessed an increasing research trend on foreign language reading anxiety as a skill related to but distinct from foreign language anxiety. However, sources of foreign language reading anxiety have rarely been investigated. Thus, the current study responds to the study by (Saito, Horwitz, & Garza, 1999) and extends the…

  2. Foreign Language "Think Tank" Symposium.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Kathleen H.

    At the Foreign Language"Think Tank" Symposium of April 1975, the following major problems of community college foreign language teachers were identified: (1) low enrollment; (2) attrition; (3) low achievers; (4) articulation with universities; and (5) lack of interest. Suggested solutions included: (Problem 1) advertisement, a foreign language…

  3. Foreign Language Teaching in Rudolf Steiner Schools. Guidelines for Class-Teachers and Language Teachers. First Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stott, Michael

    This book is intended for foreign language teachers interested in the approaches used in Rudolf Steiner schools, and also classroom teachers who teach foreign languages. Chapters address these issues: what the language lesson is to achieve; how the language lesson differs from other lessons; lesson design; examples of actual lessons; avoiding the…

  4. Constructing a Voice in English as a Foreign Language: Identity and Engagement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nasrollahi Shahri, Mohammad Naseh

    2018-01-01

    Situated in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context, this study navigates the intersection of language learner identity and foreign language engagement. Specifically, drawing on the concept of voice (Canagarajah, 2013; Johnstone, 1996; Kramsch, 2003), Bakhtin's (1981) theory of language, and the notion of investment (Darvin & Norton,…

  5. A Read-Aloud for Foreign Languages: Becoming a Language Master (Read It Aloud).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richardson, Judy S.

    1998-01-01

    Describes the use of some read-alouds from Alexandre Dumas'"The Count of Monte Cristo" which helped to demonstrate some principles of learning foreign languages. Describes briefly the read aloud selection, discusses some specific activities that relate to foreign language learning, and discusses specific language arts activities. (SR)

  6. FLEX: A Foreign Language Experience.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raven, Patrick T.

    An exploratory course was designed to give secondary school students exposure to all languages in the foreign language curriculum, in sequence, so they may decide which, if any, to enroll in. This course was begun in 1979 to counter an elitist image of foreign language courses. Course topics encouraged students to explore the languages fully by:…

  7. Exploring Korean Heritage Language Learners' Anxiety: "We Are Not Afraid of Korean!"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jee, Min Jung

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated Korean heritage language (KHL) learners' foreign language classroom anxiety, reading anxiety and writing anxiety using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) by Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope, the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) by Saito, Garza and Horwitz and the Writing Apprehension Test (WAT) by…

  8. 75 FR 47797 - Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-09

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center AGENCY: Department of the Army, DOD. ACTION: Notice; cancellation. SUMMARY: The Board of... be held on September 13 & 14, 2010 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Defense Language Institute Foreign...

  9. The Relationship between EFL Learners' Language Learning Strategy Use and Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Balci, Özgül; Ügüten, Selma Durak

    2018-01-01

    The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between language learning strategy use and foreign language achievement, focusing on differences in gender. A total of 263 English as a foreign language students enrolled in English preparatory class program at Necmettin Erbakan University, School of Foreign Languages participated…

  10. Integrating Intercultural and Communicative Objectives in the Foreign Language Class: A Proposal for the Integration of Two Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Borghetti, Claudia

    2013-01-01

    The "intercultural turn" of the 1990s brought about the introduction of the terms "Foreign Language Education" and "Intercultural Foreign Language Education" (IFLE) in place of "language teaching". These terms broaden the aims of language education to include students' intercultural competence (IC),…

  11. Foreign Language Learners' Beliefs about CALL: The Case of a U.S. Midwestern University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sydorenko, Tetyana; Hsieh, Ching-Ni; Ahn, Seongmee; Arnold, Nike

    2017-01-01

    A significant body of research has examined language learners' attitudes toward particular technologies used in foreign language classrooms. However, literature is scarce on foreign language learners' beliefs toward computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in general. To narrow this gap, we investigated the constructs that compose a system of…

  12. Educational Success Prediction Instrument 2nd Version: A Foreign Language Perspective on Readiness to Take a Beginner High School Foreign Language Online Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparks, Lynne Marie

    2017-01-01

    Online foreign language course offerings have grown exponentially in secondary and post-secondary schools during the last two decades. Although numerous instruments and surveys exist to assess readiness for a student to take online courses, insufficient research has dealt with the particularities of learning a foreign language online. This study…

  13. Foreign Language Learning: Research and Development: An Assessment. Reports of the Working Committees of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 1968.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bird, Thomas E., Ed.

    Included in this volume are the reports on foreign language research and development produced by the three working committees of the fifteenth annual Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Discussions of (1) the Indiana and Washington State programs, (2) "Artes Latinae," a complete project of programed learning…

  14. Tact training versus bidirectional intraverbal training in teaching a foreign language.

    PubMed

    Dounavi, Katerina

    2014-01-01

    The current study involved an evaluation of the emergence of untrained verbal relations as a function of 3 different foreign-language teaching strategies. Two Spanish-speaking adults received foreign-language (English) tact training and native-to-foreign and foreign-to-native intraverbal training. Tact training and native-to-foreign intraverbal training resulted in the emergence of a greater number of untrained responses, and may thus be more efficient than foreign-to-native intraverbal training. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  15. Innovation and Development of Foreign Language Teaching in China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Zheng-dong

    2006-01-01

    Foreign language teaching has been playing a dominant role in China's curriculum reform, especially in the present globalization of Chinese society and economy. However, the insufficient research into foreign language teaching and blindly adopting western theory demand China learn from its own experience and also develop western foreign language…

  16. The Humanities and Foreign Languages: Analogous or Anomalous?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dease, Barbara C.

    1982-01-01

    Optional interdisciplinary courses taught by foreign language teachers to college sophomores are described. The courses are English Word Power, Classical Mythology, Afro-French Literature in Translation, and two courses in law in literature. The emphasis was on integrating a humanities concept with a foreign language-foreign culture orientation.…

  17. Issues and Innovations in Foreign Language Education. Fastback 222.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benevento, Jacqueline

    Studies indicate that American students have an inadequate understanding of world affairs, with implications for United States national security, business interests in foreign markets, and education in general, and specific recommendations have been made for the improvement of foreign language instruction. Foreign language education in the 1980s…

  18. Learning to Learn a Foreign Language. Principles of Second Language Acquisition: An Orientation for Foreign Language Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pfannkuche, Anthony; And Others

    The manual designed to accompany an orientation seminar for students concerning language learning processes and strategies and the design of their program includes materials for five sessions, in three sections. The first section covers language learning and acquisition in general and contains a survey of the participants' foreign language…

  19. Perceptions about the Dominance of English as a Global Language: Impact on Foreign-Language Teachers' Professional Identity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gayton, Angela Mary

    2016-01-01

    Using a novel theoretical framework that incorporates teacher identity, a school as community of practice, and English as a global language from a linguistic-imperialism perspective, this qualitative interview study with foreign-language teachers in Scotland, France, and Germany (N = 13) explores connections between foreign-language-learning…

  20. The Correlation among EFL Learners' Test Anxiety, Foreign Language Anxiety and Language Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cakici, Dilek

    2016-01-01

    The main aim of this study was to investigate the correlation among test anxiety (TA), foreign language anxiety (FLA) and language achievement of university preparatory students learning English as a foreign language. The sample of the research consisted of 301 (211 females, 90 males) attending a one-year EFL preparatory school at Ondokuz Mayis…

  1. "Foreign Language Activities" in Japanese Elementary Schools: Negotiating Teacher Roles and Identities within a New Language Education Policy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Horii, Sachiko Yokoi

    2012-01-01

    In 2008, a new language education policy called "Gaikokugo Katsudou" [Foreign Language Activities] was issued by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science, and Technology (MEXT) in Japan. Effective 2011, foreign language education became mandatory in all Japanese public elementary schools for the first time. With this dramatic…

  2. The Foreign Language Effect on Moral Judgment: The Role of Emotions and Norms

    PubMed Central

    Geipel, Janet; Hadjichristidis, Constantinos; Surian, Luca

    2015-01-01

    We investigated whether and why the use of a foreign language influences moral judgment. We studied the trolley and footbridge dilemmas, which propose an action that involves killing one individual to save five. In line with prior work, the use of a foreign language increased the endorsement of such consequentialist actions for the footbridge dilemma, but not for the trolley dilemma. But contrary to recent theorizing, this effect was not driven by an attenuation of emotions. An attenuation of emotions was found in both dilemmas, and it did not mediate the foreign language effect on moral judgment. An examination of additional scenarios revealed that foreign language influenced moral judgment when the proposed action involved a social or moral norm violation. We propose that foreign language influences moral judgment by reducing access to normative knowledge. PMID:26177508

  3. The Foreign Language Effect on Moral Judgment: The Role of Emotions and Norms.

    PubMed

    Geipel, Janet; Hadjichristidis, Constantinos; Surian, Luca

    2015-01-01

    We investigated whether and why the use of a foreign language influences moral judgment. We studied the trolley and footbridge dilemmas, which propose an action that involves killing one individual to save five. In line with prior work, the use of a foreign language increased the endorsement of such consequentialist actions for the footbridge dilemma, but not for the trolley dilemma. But contrary to recent theorizing, this effect was not driven by an attenuation of emotions. An attenuation of emotions was found in both dilemmas, and it did not mediate the foreign language effect on moral judgment. An examination of additional scenarios revealed that foreign language influenced moral judgment when the proposed action involved a social or moral norm violation. We propose that foreign language influences moral judgment by reducing access to normative knowledge.

  4. "Piensa" twice: on the foreign language effect in decision making.

    PubMed

    Costa, Albert; Foucart, Alice; Arnon, Inbal; Aparici, Melina; Apesteguia, Jose

    2014-02-01

    In this article, we assess to what extent decision making is affected by the language in which a given problem is presented (native vs. foreign). In particular, we aim to ask whether the impact of various heuristic biases in decision making is diminished when the problems are presented in a foreign language. To this end, we report four main studies in which more than 700 participants were tested on different types of individual decision making problems. In the first study, we replicated Keysar et al.'s (2012) recent observation regarding the foreign language effect on framing effects related to loss aversion. In the second section, we assessed whether the foreign language effect is present in other types of framing problems that involve psychological accounting biases rather than gain/loss dichotomies. In the third section, we studied the foreign language effect in several key aspects of the theory of decision making under risk and uncertainty. In the fourth study, we assessed the presence of a foreign language effect in the cognitive reflection test, a test that includes logical problems that do not carry emotional connotations. The absence of such an effect in this test suggests that foreign language leads to a reduction of heuristic biases in decision making across a range of decision making situations and provide also some evidence about the boundaries of the phenomenon. We explore several potential factors that may underlie the foreign language effect in decision making. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Foreign Language Education Policy on the Horizon

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hult, Francis M.

    2018-01-01

    Language policy has developed into a major area of research that continues to expand and develop. This article examines potential directions for cross-pollination between the fields of language policy and foreign language education. First, publication trends are examined. Database searches were conducted for the journals "Foreign Language…

  6. Doctoral Degrees Granted in Foreign Languages in the United States: 1993.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benseler, David P.; Lannoch, Martha Calvert

    1994-01-01

    Findings are reported from the annual survey of doctoral degrees granted in foreign languages, literatures, cultures, linguistics, and foreign language education in the following categories: African, Asian, French, Germanic, Italian, Near and Middle Eastern, Slavic, and Spanish languages/literatures; classics; comparative literature; theoretical…

  7. Colorado Model Content Standards: Foreign Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colorado State Dept. of Education, Denver.

    The model course content standards for foreign language instruction in Colorado's public schools, K-12, provide guidelines, not curriculum, for school districts to design language programs. An introductory section presents some basic considerations in program design. The two general standards for foreign language performance are that: (1) students…

  8. A Global Approach to Foreign Language Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Conner, Maurice W., Ed.

    The papers collected here are largely devoted to foreign language education as a means of increasing international and cross-cultural understanding. Titles include: (1) "Language Is the Medium, Culture Is the Message: Globalizing Foreign Languages" (Lorraine A. Strasheim); (2) "Cultural Understanding for Global Citizenship: An Inservice Model"…

  9. Language switching-but not foreign language use per se-reduces the framing effect.

    PubMed

    Oganian, Y; Korn, C W; Heekeren, H R

    2016-01-01

    Recent studies reported reductions of well-established biases in decision making under risk, such as the framing effect, during foreign language (FL) use. These modulations were attributed to the use of FL itself, which putatively entails an increase in emotional distance. A reduced framing effect in this setting, however, might also result from enhanced cognitive control associated with language-switching in mixed-language contexts, an account that has not been tested yet. Here we assess predictions of the 2 accounts in 2 experiments with over 1,500 participants. In Experiment 1, we tested a central prediction of the emotional distance account, namely that the framing effect would be reduced at low, but not high, FL proficiency levels. We found a strong framing effect in the native language, and surprisingly also in the foreign language, independent of proficiency. In Experiment 2, we orthogonally manipulated foreign language use and language switching to concurrently test the validity of both accounts. As in Experiment 1, foreign language use per se had no effect on framing. Crucially, the framing effect was reduced following a language switch, both when switching into the foreign and the native language. Thus, our results suggest that reduced framing effects are not mediated by increased emotional distance in a foreign language, but by transient enhancement of cognitive control, putting the interplay of bilingualism and decision making in a new light. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Proceedings of the 1983 EMU Conference on Foreign Languages for Business (Ypsilanti, Michigan, April 7-9, 1983). Part II: Program Development and Retraining Strategies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Voght, Geoffrey M., Ed.

    A collection of 10 papers from the second part of the conference on the applications of foreign languages and international studies to business focuses on the development of programs in foreign languages for business purposes. The papers include: "Foreign Languages for Global Vocations: From Theory to Practice" (Rochelle K. Kelz), "A Grim(m) Fairy…

  11. African-American Students and Foreign Language Learning. ERIC Digest.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davis, James J.

    The performance and attitudes of African-American students of foreign languages are discussed in this digest. Three major areas are reported: (1) Black English and foreign language learning, including theories of language deficiency, sociolinguistic research, phonology and syntax; (2) research on the performance of African-American students of…

  12. The Place of Foreign Languages in a Curriculum for Liberal Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moravcsik, Julius; Juilland, Alphonse

    1977-01-01

    The study of foreign languages in the liberal arts curriculum is defended. Foreign languages reveal the rules characterizing cognitive human activities; they help us to understand both common bonds of humanity and varieties of human behavior. Language study should be central to humanities study. (CHK)

  13. The Videocassette Challenge: Strategies for the Foreign Language Teacher.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mount, Richard Terry; And Others

    Foreign language teachers can tap the appeal of video successfully and enjoyably in the foreign language classroom. Potential difficulties include length of feature films and difficulty in understanding the language and story simultaneously. The instructor must select materials and equipment carefully and commit considerable time and energy to…

  14. 29 CFR 500.78 - Information in foreign language.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Information in foreign language. 500.78 Section 500.78... § 500.78 Information in foreign language. Each farm labor contractor, agricultural employer and... English or, as necessary and reasonable, in Spanish or another language common to migrant or seasonal...

  15. It Ain't over 'til It's Over: On Foreign Language Anxiety, First Language Deficits, and the Confounding of Variables.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Horwitz, Elaine K.

    2000-01-01

    Replies on behalf of the authors of a previous article to a critique of their study on foreign language anxiety. Argues that factors other than cognitive-linguistic deficits contribute to problems in foreign language achievement. (Author/VWL)

  16. Computer-Assisted Language Learning: Current Programs and Projects. ERIC Digest.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Higgins, Chris

    For many years, foreign language teachers have used the computer to provide supplemental exercises in the instruction of foreign languages. In recent years, advances in computer technology have motivated teachers to reassess the computer and consider it a valuable part of daily foreign language learning. Innovative software programs, authoring…

  17. Software Selection: A Primer on Source and Evaluation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burston, Jack

    2003-01-01

    Provides guidance on making decisions regarding the selection of foreign language instructional software. Identifies sources of foreign language software, indicates sources of foreign language software reviews, and outlines essential procedures of software evaluation. (Author/VWL)

  18. Application of Associative Experiment in Forming the Foreign Communicative Competence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mukhametzyanova, Leilya; Shayakhmetova, Leysan

    2014-01-01

    The article focuses on some problems in teaching foreign languages, solution of which is successfully achieved through the method of free associations. The article also concerns the functioning of associative experiment in the course of teaching of foreign languages. In a technique of teaching of foreign languages free associative experiment is…

  19. Strategies for Teaching Culture in Foreign Language Classes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Washington Association of Foreign Language Teachers, Pullman.

    This guide to cultural education as part of foreign language instruction begins with two short theme-setting papers: "Thoughts on Teaching Foreign Culture" by Howard L. Nostrand and "Modern Foreign Languages for Everyone: An Overview" by Alain Blanchet. A cultural events calendar presents a month-by-month program of activities built around…

  20. When Language Experience Fails to Explain Word Reading Development: Early Cognitive and Linguistic Profiles of Young Foreign Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hu, Chieh-Fang; Schuele, C. Melanie

    2015-01-01

    Although language experience is a key factor in successful foreign language (FL) learning, many FL learners fail to achieve performance levels that were predicted on the basis of their FL experience. This retrospective study investigated early cognitive and linguistic correlates of learning English as a foreign language (FL) in a group of…

  1. Using Films in Vocabulary Teaching of Turkish as a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Iscan, Adem

    2017-01-01

    The use and utility of auditory and visual tools in language teaching is a common practice. Films constitute one of the tools. It has been found that using films in language teaching is also effective in the development of vocabulary of foreign language learners. The literature review reveals that while films are used in foreign language teaching…

  2. An Evaluation of a Counseling-Community Learning Approach to Foreign Language Teaching or Counseling-Learning Theory Applied to Foreign Language Learning. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallagher, Rosina Mena

    This study evaluates the counseling-learning approach to foreign language instruction as compared with traditional methods in terms of language achievement and change in personal orientation and in attitude toward learning. Twelve students volunteered to learn Spanish or German under simultaneous exposure to both languages using the…

  3. Benefits of Multisensory Structured Language Instruction for At-Risk Foreign Language Learners: A Comparison Study of High School Spanish Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparks, Richard L.; Artzer, Marjorie; Patton, Jon; Ganschow, Leonore; Miller, Karen; Hordubay, Dorothy J.; Walsh, Geri

    1998-01-01

    A study examined the benefits of multisensory structured language (MSL) instruction in Spanish for 39 high school students at risk for foreign-language learning difficulties and 16 controls. On measures of oral and written foreign-language proficiency, the MSL and control groups scored significantly higher than those instructed using traditional…

  4. Analysis of Aptitude, Training, and Job Performance Measures

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1982-02-01

    provisions have been made for students with unsatisfactory performance to be " recycled ", that is, to retake a module or part of a course (e.g., 2841, Marine...clear, simple language o questions avoided trivia , and were related to task performance o response choices were parallel and realistic. The assessment

  5. Great Apes' Capacities to Recognize Relational Similarity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haun, Daniel B. M.; Call, Josep

    2009-01-01

    Recognizing relational similarity relies on the ability to understand that defining object properties might not lie in the objects individually, but in the relations of the properties of various object to each other. This aptitude is highly relevant for many important human skills such as language, reasoning, categorization and understanding…

  6. Cross-Cultural Learning: The Language Connection.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Axelrod, Joseph

    1981-01-01

    If foreign language acquisition is disconnected from the cultural life of the foreign speech community, the learning yield is low. Integration of affective learning, cultural learning, and foreign language learning are essential to a successful cross-cultural experience. (MSE)

  7. Gruppeorganiseret og selvstyret fremmedsprogstilegnelse. Et undervisningseksperiment pa RUC [and] Skolesprogene. Om fremmedsprogenes status og funktion i gymnasiet. ROLIG Papir 22 (Group Organized and Self Managed Foreign Language Acquisition. A Research Project at RUC [and] School Languages. On the Status and Function of Foreign Languages in Secondary Schools. ROLIG Paper 22).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jakobsen, Karen Sonne

    Two articles highlight different issues on foreign language learning and instruction in Denmark. The first article describes a research project at Roskilde University Center that focuses on group organized and self managed foreign language acquisition. The idea for the project came about as a result of concern over problems related to foreign…

  8. A Stroke of Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blaisdell, Bob

    2011-01-01

    The author reflects on foreign-language learning by his EFL students as well as his own foreign-language learning. He concludes by musing on the possible and fantastical devastation on language-ability wrought by strokes.

  9. Subcortical processing of speech regularities underlies reading and music aptitude in children

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Neural sensitivity to acoustic regularities supports fundamental human behaviors such as hearing in noise and reading. Although the failure to encode acoustic regularities in ongoing speech has been associated with language and literacy deficits, how auditory expertise, such as the expertise that is associated with musical skill, relates to the brainstem processing of speech regularities is unknown. An association between musical skill and neural sensitivity to acoustic regularities would not be surprising given the importance of repetition and regularity in music. Here, we aimed to define relationships between the subcortical processing of speech regularities, music aptitude, and reading abilities in children with and without reading impairment. We hypothesized that, in combination with auditory cognitive abilities, neural sensitivity to regularities in ongoing speech provides a common biological mechanism underlying the development of music and reading abilities. Methods We assessed auditory working memory and attention, music aptitude, reading ability, and neural sensitivity to acoustic regularities in 42 school-aged children with a wide range of reading ability. Neural sensitivity to acoustic regularities was assessed by recording brainstem responses to the same speech sound presented in predictable and variable speech streams. Results Through correlation analyses and structural equation modeling, we reveal that music aptitude and literacy both relate to the extent of subcortical adaptation to regularities in ongoing speech as well as with auditory working memory and attention. Relationships between music and speech processing are specifically driven by performance on a musical rhythm task, underscoring the importance of rhythmic regularity for both language and music. Conclusions These data indicate common brain mechanisms underlying reading and music abilities that relate to how the nervous system responds to regularities in auditory input. Definition of common biological underpinnings for music and reading supports the usefulness of music for promoting child literacy, with the potential to improve reading remediation. PMID:22005291

  10. Foreign Language Skills and Jobs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eddy, Peter A.

    Students of foreign languages insist on seeing the evidence that foreign language skills have something to do with getting jobs in the "real world." Evidence is being ammassed which does show this to be true. Several studies have revealed that American firms are looking for qualified personnel who possess language skills. A survey was initiated at…

  11. Nociones de la programacion de lenguas extranjeras: ensayo metodologico (Notions on the Programming of Foreign Languages: Methodological Experiment)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feldman, David

    1975-01-01

    Presents a computerized program for foreign language learning giving drills for all the major language skills. The drills are followed by an extensive bibliography of documents in some way dealing with computer based instruction, particularly foreign language instruction. (Text is in Spanish.) (TL)

  12. Meeting the Needs of Foreign Language Teaching Assistants: Professional Development in American Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Angus, Katie

    2014-01-01

    In our post-9/11 globalized society, the bifurcated governance structure that has traditionally dominated foreign language (FL) departments is no longer desirable. According to the 2007 Modern Language Association (MLA) report entitled "Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World," these departments need to…

  13. Curricular Changes for Spanish and Portuguese in a New Era: The College and University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nuessel, Frank

    2010-01-01

    In the past two years, the Modern Language Association (MLA) has produced two significant proposals for curricular change in foreign languages. The first, "Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changing World," addressed the foreign language curriculum with specific suggestions for programmatic transformation. The second,…

  14. 17 CFR 232.306 - Foreign language documents and symbols.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Foreign language documents and... § 232.306 Foreign language documents and symbols. (a) All electronic filings and submissions must be in the English language, except as otherwise provided by paragraph (d) of this section. If a filing or...

  15. 17 CFR 232.306 - Foreign language documents and symbols.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Foreign language documents and... § 232.306 Foreign language documents and symbols. (a) All electronic filings and submissions must be in the English language, except as otherwise provided by paragraph (d) of this section. If a filing or...

  16. 17 CFR 232.306 - Foreign language documents and symbols.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Foreign language documents and... § 232.306 Foreign language documents and symbols. (a) All electronic filings and submissions must be in the English language, except as otherwise provided by paragraph (d) of this section. If a filing or...

  17. Influence of Sociocultural Context on Language Learning in Foreign Countries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pazyura, Natalia

    2016-01-01

    Professional foreign language training is offered to cultivate the ability to master cross-cultural communication in the sphere of future professional activity. By means of intercultural competence of foreign language we are raising professional competence, too. In countries where English is the native language, it is taught to speakers of other…

  18. The Challenge of Communication. ACTFL Review of Foreign Language Education, Vol. 6.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jarvis, Gilbert A., Ed.

    The relationship of communication to the foreign language profession is addressed in this volume. The following articles are presented: (1) "Communication and the Foreign Language Teacher," by Charles T. Brown; (2) "Rationale for Language Study," by Jane N. Lippman; (3) "Public Awareness: How Can Associations and Institutions Use Public Relations…

  19. Achievement Motivational Characteristics of University Foreign Language Learners: From the Classroom to the Tutoring Table

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matthews, Paul H.

    2008-01-01

    What influences who seeks foreign language tutoring? Using expectancy value theory, the present study researches the characteristics of university foreign language students in the language classroom (n = 258) and seeking tutoring (n = 29). Students' performance and mastery goal orientations, achievement task values, self-efficacy for foreign…

  20. 46 CFR 201.6 - Documents in foreign languages.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 8 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Documents in foreign languages. 201.6 Section 201.6... PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE General Information (Rule 1) § 201.6 Documents in foreign languages. Every document, exhibit, or other paper written in a language other than English and filed with the Administration or...

  1. 46 CFR 502.7 - Documents in foreign languages.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 9 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Documents in foreign languages. 502.7 Section 502.7... General Information § 502.7 Documents in foreign languages. Every document, exhibit, or other paper written in a language other than English and filed with the Commission or offered in evidence in any...

  2. 37 CFR 1.69 - Foreign language oaths and declarations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Foreign language oaths and... Declaration § 1.69 Foreign language oaths and declarations. (a) Whenever an individual making an oath or declaration cannot understand English, the oath or declaration must be in a language that such individual can...

  3. 46 CFR 201.6 - Documents in foreign languages.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Documents in foreign languages. 201.6 Section 201.6... PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE General Information (Rule 1) § 201.6 Documents in foreign languages. Every document, exhibit, or other paper written in a language other than English and filed with the Administration or...

  4. 47 CFR 1.355 - Documents in foreign language.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Documents in foreign language. 1.355 Section 1... Proceedings Evidence § 1.355 Documents in foreign language. Every document, exhibit, or other paper written in a language other than English, which shall be filed in any proceeding, or in response to any order...

  5. Ten Ways to Cope with Foreign Language Anxiety.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Donley, Philip

    1997-01-01

    Proposes strategies for reducing foreign language anxiety in the classroom: (1) discuss feelings with instructor and other students; (2) relax, exercise, and eat well; (3) prepare for and attend every class; (4) keep foreign language class in perspective; (5) seek opportunities to practice the language and accept errors are a part of the learning…

  6. Foreign Language Reading Anxiety in a Jordanian EFL Context: A Qualitative Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al-Shboul, Murad M.; Ahmad, Ismail Sheikh; Nordin, Mohamad Sahari; Rahman, Zainurin Abdul

    2013-01-01

    In the last two decades, investigating the sources of foreign language anxiety in general has increasingly attracted the attention of many researchers in the field of foreign language teaching. However, the sources of anxiety that influence the acquisition of certain specific language skills such as reading in particular have rarely been…

  7. The Professional Development of Future Professors of Foreign Languages: Looking Back, Looking Forward

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, Heather Willis; Negueruela-Azarola, Eduardo

    2010-01-01

    Although the professional development of graduate students in foreign language (FL) departments is of critical importance, discussion of its significance and evolution was all but absent in the 2007 Modern Language Association report "Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World," a document advocating curricular and…

  8. A Career-Oriented Foreign Language Program for Keystone Oaks School District, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grubesky, Marcia R.

    A career-oriented foreign language program is discussed that takes into account marketable skills of foreign language majors for a number of careers. The program is threefold. First, it recognizes the need for language skills to supplement technical, business, and professional skills to expand educational knowledge; capabilities in diplomacy and…

  9. Foreign Language Methodology Conference Workshop Reports, 1976.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carranza, Jose M., Ed.; Whitmer, Robert L., Ed.

    This collection resulting from a workshop on language teaching methodology contains the following papers: (1) "The Role of Culture in Foreign Language Learning," by N. Brooks; (2) "Guidelines and Ideas to Boost the Enrollment in Foreign Language Courses," by L.F. Gonzalez-Cruz; "Cooking in the Classroom," by K. Boykin; (4) "Performance Based…

  10. The Relationship between Anxiety and Attitude of Students Learning Turkish as a Foreign Language and Their Achievement on Target Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gocer, Ali

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to assess the anxiety connected with target language of the high school students learning Turkish as a foreign language. In this study, descriptive relational screening model was used. Two scales were used for collecting data. First scale was FLCAS-Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale; it was developed by Horwitz…

  11. Other Words, Other Worlds: Language-in-Culture. Reports of the Working Committees of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dodge, James W., Ed.

    The Report of the First Working Committee of the 1972 Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages focuses on the interrelationship of culture and language. A discussion on teaching another culture and on sociocultural aspects of foreign-language study comprises the first major section of the "Report." The second part presents short…

  12. Offsetting the Affective Filter: A Classic Grounded Theory Study of Post-Secondary Online Foreign Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chametzky, Barry

    2013-01-01

    With the Internet, foreign language learners can interact more easily with native speakers from other countries than in previous generations. For learners to develop the ability to function in foreign environments, it is vital to understand their experiences in postsecondary online foreign language classes. If educators and educational theorists…

  13. The Evaluation of Second Language Fluency and Foreign Accent

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wu, Chen-Huei

    2011-01-01

    What is second language fluency? What is a foreign accent? Is it possible for an adult second language learner to speak fluently with a heavy accent or vice versa? What factors contribute to the perception of fluency and a foreign accent? What acoustic attributes correlate with the perception of fluency and a foreign accent? To answer these…

  14. Foreign Language Anxiety: Understanding Its Status and Insiders' Awareness and Attitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trang, Tran Thi Thu; Baldauf, Richard B., Jr.; Moni, Karen

    2013-01-01

    Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has been found to exist in all of the cultures where it has been studied, yet the literature provides limited empirical evidence to indicate whether foreign language students and teachers, as the direct stakeholders in the phenomenon, are aware of it. This study investigated the extent to which foreign language…

  15. Foreign Languages: Human Capital Approach Needed To Correct Staffing and Proficiency Shortfalls. Report to Congressional Requesters.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Christoff, Joseph A.

    This report examines the use of foreign language skills within the Army, Department of State, Department of Commerce's Foreign Commercial Service, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, discussing the nature and impact of foreign language shortages, strategies for addressing these shortages, and efforts to address current and projected shortages.…

  16. Making a World of Difference. Dimension: Language '91. Selected Papers from the Joint Meeting of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching and the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 1991).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Terry, Robert M., Ed.

    Papers from the 1991 joint Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT)/ Foreign Language Association of North Carolina (FLANC) conference are presented. Because the state of North Carolina is in the forefront of state-mandated foreign language education in the elementary schools (FLES), 4 of the 10 articles in this volume address FLES…

  17. Effect of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety on Turkish University Students' Academic Achievement in Foreign Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tuncer, Murat; Dogan, Yunus

    2015-01-01

    This study was carried out in order to identify to what extent the Turkish students' English classroom anxiety affects their academic achievement in English language. In this quantitative descriptive study, a correlational survey model was employed, and the convenience sampling was done. In order to collect data, the Foreign Language Classroom…

  18. The Effective Audio-Visual Program in Foreign Language and Literature Studies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawton, Ben

    Foreign language teachers should exploit the American affinity for television and movies by using foreign language feature films and shorts in the classroom. Social and political history and literary trends illustrated in the films may be discussed and absorbed along with the language. The author teaches such a course in the Department of Italian…

  19. The Impact of Adventure Video Games on Foreign Language Learning and the Perceptions of Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Hao-Jan Howard; Yang, Ting-Yu Christine

    2013-01-01

    Several researchers have highlighted the potential of applying adventure video games in second language acquisition; however, few studies have investigated the impact of adventure games on foreign language learning. This study aimed to examine the effects of a commercial adventure video game on foreign language learning and learners' perceptions…

  20. Written Discourse as a Product of a Completed Level of Professionally-Oriented Foreign Language Speech Competence of University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dmitrievykh, Irina L.; Kuklina, Svetlana S.; Cheremisinova, Rimma A.; Ogorodnikova, Natalia V.

    2017-01-01

    Contemporary foreign-language education focuses on the development of multicultural language personality of the university graduate, who has necessary competencies to implement in professional activities. One of such competences is professionally-oriented foreign language communicative competence that is responsible for the capability of a future…

  1. 1970 ACTFL Annual Bibliography of Books and Articles on Pedagogy in Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lange, Dale L., Comp.

    Compiled from a master list of about 300 journals and various book sources, this fourth annual selective bibliography published by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) lists 1,734 items concerned with pedagogy in modern foreign languages, Latin, Greek, English as a second language, and applied linguistics. The 1970…

  2. 1969 ACTFL Annual Bibliography of Books and Articles on Pedagogy in Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lange, Dale L., Comp.

    Compiled from a master list of about 300 journals and various book sources, this third annual selective bibliography published by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) lists 1,377 items concerned with pedagogy in modern foreign languages, Latin, Greek, English as a second language, and applied linguistics. The 1969…

  3. 1972 ACTFL Annual Bibliography of Books and Articles on Pedagogy in Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lange, Dale L., Comp.; And Others

    Compiled from a master list of about 300 journals and various book sources, this sixth annual selective bibliography published by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) lists 3,632 items concerned with pedagogy in modern foreign languages, Latin, Greek, English as a second language, and applied linguistics. The 1972…

  4. 1971 ACTFL Annual Bibliography of Books and Articles on Pedagogy in Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lange, Dale L., Comp.

    Compiled from a master list of about 300 journals and various book sources, this fifth annual selective bibliography published by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) lists 2,061 items concerned with pedagogy in modern foreign languages, Latin, Greek, English as a second language, and applied linguistics. The 1971…

  5. Utilizing Innovative Video Chat Technology to Meet National Standards: A Case Study on a STARTALK Hindi Language Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parveen, Shaheen; Pater, Cayley

    2012-01-01

    Responding to the need for foreign language fluency in ever-globalizing business and cultural spheres, the federal government and foreign language institutions in an eleven-member task force collaboratively published a set of nationally recognized, foundational standards for foreign language teaching. Rather than rely on teacher-centered…

  6. Language Teacher Candidates' Self-Assessment Process for Teaching to Young Learners in EFL Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Genç Ilter, Binnur

    2017-01-01

    Teaching a foreign language to young learners have some differences from teaching adults. Young children have concentration problems and they tend to change their mood every ten minutes and need more creative activities than adults. Therefore, foreign language teachers have to choose interesting activities for them and foreign language teacher…

  7. Exploring Languages and Cultures--An Exploratory Foreign Language Course. A Guide for Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milwaukee Public Schools, WI. Div. of Curriculum and Instruction.

    A working guide for teachers in planning and teaching an exploratory course in foreign language and culture presents the basic course structure for nine weeks. Instructional materials are not provided. Course objectives include: (1) exploration of foreign languages and cultures; (2) sensitization to value systems and customs of one's own and other…

  8. Creating Excitement and Involvement in the Foreign Language Classroom by Getting Away from the Textbook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wattenmaker, Beverly; Lock, Joanne

    This paper presents a method for making foreign language learning meaningful and interesting through using language as a tool for communicating about the self and others. Drawing from techniques developed by behavioral scientists, the foreign language was used to develop students' self-awareness and confidence. Learning activities were created,…

  9. From Early Starters to Late Finishers? A Longitudinal Study of Early Foreign Language Learning in School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jaekel, Nils; Schurig, Michael; Florian, Merle; Ritter, Markus

    2017-01-01

    Foreign language education has now been implemented at the elementary school level across Europe, and early foreign language education has gained traction following language policies set by the European Commission. The long-term effects of an early start, however, have not received ample scientific scrutiny. The present study assessed early…

  10. Post-Secondary Foreign Language Teachers' Belief Systems about Language Teaching/Learning and Technology/Teaching with Technology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oda, Kazue

    2011-01-01

    While many studies have demonstrated the advantages of using computer technology in foreign language classrooms, many post-secondary foreign language (FL) teachers still remain reluctant to use technology in instruction. Even when teachers do use technology, critiques have indicated that it is oftentimes used merely to replicate traditional…

  11. Changes in Affective Profiles of Postsecondary Students in Lower-Level Foreign Language Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kondo-Brown, Kimi

    2013-01-01

    Recent surveys and research on second language (L2)/foreign language acquisition help explain the challenges that postsecondary students in lower-level foreign language (FL) courses may experience. The present study extends this line of research by examining changes in students' affective profiles in a two-year Japanese program (n = 382) at an…

  12. Children's Foreign Language Anxiety Scale: Preliminary Tests of Reliability and Validity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aydin, Selami; Harputlu, Leyla; Güzel, Serhat; Ustuk, Özgehan; Savran Çelik, Seyda; Genç, Deniz

    2016-01-01

    Foreign language anxiety (FLA), which constitutes a serious problem in the foreign language learning process, has been mainly seen as a research issue regarding adult language learners, while it has been overlooked in children. This is because there is no an appropriate tool to measure FLA among children, whereas there are many studies on the…

  13. The Children's Foreign Language Anxiety Scale: Reliability and Validity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aydin, Selami; Harputlu, Leyla; Ustuk, Özgehan; Güzel, Serhat; Çelik, Seyda Savran

    2017-01-01

    Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has been mainly associated with adult language learners. Although FLA forms a serious problem in the foreign language learning process for all learners, the effects of FLA on children have been mainly overlooked. The underlying reason is that there is a lack of an appropriate measurement tool for FLA among children.…

  14. Using a Humanoid Robot to Develop a Dialogue-Based Interactive Learning Environment for Elementary Foreign Language Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Chih-Wei; Chen, Gwo-Dong

    2010-01-01

    Elementary school is the critical stage during which the development of listening comprehension and oral abilities in language acquisition occur, especially with a foreign language. However, the current foreign language instructors often adopt one-way teaching, and the learning environment lacks any interactive instructional media with which to…

  15. Future Directions for the Learning of Languages in Universities: Challenges and Opportunities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pauwels, Anne

    2011-01-01

    The place of foreign language learning in education has a rich and diverse history since the introduction of compulsory schooling, with some countries including the learning of a foreign language as a compulsory part of the curriculum, whilst in others foreign language learning is seen as an optional subject suited for more academically minded…

  16. Usability of English Note-Taking Applications in a Foreign Language Learning Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roy, Debopriyo; Brine, John; Murasawa, Fuyuki

    2016-01-01

    The act of note-taking offloads cognitive pressure and note-taking applications could be used as an important tool for foreign language acquisition. Its use, importance, and efficacy in a foreign language learning context could be justifiably debated. However, existing computer-assisted language learning literature is almost silent on the topic.…

  17. The Foreign Language Classroom: New Techniques. Report of Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garfinkel, Alan, Ed.; And Others

    The summary of the 1983 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages includes these papers: "A Look at Our Profession: Common Concerns, Common Dreams" (Mary Finocchiaro's keynote address to the 1982 Central States Conference); "Traversing the Language 'Gateway': The Passport Lesson" (Dana Carton); "Personal Growth Through…

  18. Whose "Crisis in Language"? Translating and the Futurity of Foreign Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gramling, David J.; Warner, Chantelle

    2016-01-01

    This contribution questions to whom and to whose learning experience has the idiom of crisis that so pervades the domain of U.S. foreign language teaching been addressed. The authors report on an advanced foreign language classroom-based study from 2013, in which undergraduate German learners translated a 14-page prose poem about translingual…

  19. Effects of EFL Individual Learner Variables on Foreign Language Reading Anxiety and Metacognitive Reading Strategy Use.

    PubMed

    Lien, Hsin-Yi

    2016-08-01

    Past research has shown an association between foreign language reading anxiety and reading strategy. However, individual variables tend to affect foreign language anxiety and strategy use. The present study examined a hypothesized model that specified direct and indirect effects among English and foreign languages readers' distinct variables, including academic level; self-perceived English level; and satisfaction with reading proficiency, reading anxiety, and metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. A total of 523 volunteer Taiwanese college students provided 372 valid responses to a written questionnaire (281 women and 91 men; M age = 19.7 years, SD = 1.1) containing the translated versions of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale, Survey of Reading Strategies Inventory, and self-assessment background questionnaire. The results showed that self-evaluation of reading proficiency did not correlate with academic level and readers' perceptions. Satisfaction had a direct effect on foreign language reading anxiety but not on metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. Results of path analysis demonstrated that the perception learners who had their own reading proficiency predicted their foreign language reading anxiety and was a mediating variable for metacognitive reading strategy use. © The Author(s) 2016.

  20. Assessment Practices in Foreign Language Education: Dimension 2004. Selected Proceedings of the 2004 Joint Conference of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching and the Alabama Association of Foreign Language Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cherry, C. Maurice, Ed.; Bradley, Lee, Ed.

    2004-01-01

    "Dimension" is the annual volume containing the selected, refereed, edited proceedings of each year's conference. On the eve of its 40th anniversary, the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) plans a special series of articles on assessment within the foreign language profession. The 2004 edition of "Dimension"…

  1. An Investigation into the Relationship of Foreign Language Learning Motivation and Sign Language Use among Deaf and Hard of Hearing Hungarians

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kontra, Edit H.; Csizer, Kata

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study is to point out the relationship between foreign language learning motivation and sign language use among hearing impaired Hungarians. In the article we concentrate on two main issues: first, to what extent hearing impaired people are motivated to learn foreign languages in a European context; second, to what extent sign…

  2. Thinking and Content Learning of Mathematics and Science as Cognitional Development in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL): Teaching Through a Foreign Language in Finland

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jappinen, Aini-Kristiina

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents a study on thinking and learning processes of mathematics and science in teaching through a foreign language, in Finland. The entity of thinking and content learning processes is, in this study, considered as cognitional development. Teaching through a foreign language is here called Content and Language Integrated Learning or…

  3. The Sociolinguistics of Foreign-Language Classrooms: Contributions of the Native, the Near-Native, and the Non-Native Speaker. Issues in Language Program Direction, A Series of Annual Volumes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blyth, Carl, Ed.

    This collection of papers is divided into five parts. Part 1, "The Native Speaker," includes "The (Non)Native Standard Language in Foreign Language Education: A Critical Perspective" (Robert W. Train) and "The Native Speaker, the Student, and Woody Allen: Examining Traditional Roles in the Foreign Language Classroom"…

  4. Learning foreign labels from a foreign speaker: the role of (limited) exposure to a second language.

    PubMed

    Akhtar, Nameera; Menjivar, Jennifer; Hoicka, Elena; Sabbagh, Mark A

    2012-11-01

    Three- and four-year-olds (N = 144) were introduced to novel labels by an English speaker and a foreign speaker (of Nordish, a made-up language), and were asked to endorse one of the speaker's labels. Monolingual English-speaking children were compared to bilingual children and English-speaking children who were regularly exposed to a language other than English. All children tended to endorse the English speaker's labels when asked 'What do you call this?', but when asked 'What do you call this in Nordish?', children with exposure to a second language were more likely to endorse the foreign label than monolingual and bilingual children. The findings suggest that, at this age, exposure to, but not necessarily immersion in, more than one language may promote the ability to learn foreign words from a foreign speaker.

  5. The Importance of Foreign Language Education to the Hospitality Industry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kluge, E. Alan

    In the hospitality industry there are three major needs for study of a foreign language: (1) the need to communicate with non-English speaking employees, (2) the need to assist foreign travelers; and (3) the need to work in a non-English speaking country. The strength of the need to know a foreign language depends on the employee's level within…

  6. Growth of language-related brain areas after foreign language learning.

    PubMed

    Mårtensson, Johan; Eriksson, Johan; Bodammer, Nils Christian; Lindgren, Magnus; Johansson, Mikael; Nyberg, Lars; Lövdén, Martin

    2012-10-15

    The influence of adult foreign-language acquisition on human brain organization is poorly understood. We studied cortical thickness and hippocampal volumes of conscript interpreters before and after three months of intense language studies. Results revealed increases in hippocampus volume and in cortical thickness of the left middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and superior temporal gyrus for interpreters relative to controls. The right hippocampus and the left superior temporal gyrus were structurally more malleable in interpreters acquiring higher proficiency in the foreign language. Interpreters struggling relatively more to master the language displayed larger gray matter increases in the middle frontal gyrus. These findings confirm structural changes in brain regions known to serve language functions during foreign-language acquisition. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Foreign Language Instruction in a Global Community.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nugent, Stephanie A.

    2000-01-01

    As we move from the Industrial Age to the Information Age, foreign language programs are hampered by inadequate curricular emphasis and negligible funding for materials or teachers. Five goals for foreign language learning include communicative competence, cultural awareness, interdisciplinary connections, cross-cultural comparisons, and…

  8. The Case for Authentic Materials on Videodisc.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saint-Leon, Claire Brandicourt

    1988-01-01

    Foreign language video is invaluable for enhancing foreign language instruction, particularly when combined with laser videodisc technology, which allows learners to study minute details. Authentic materials should be made available on videodisks to fully exploit the resources of foreign language video. (Author/CB)

  9. Corporate Competition for Foreign Language Customers: Is There an Answer?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilkins, Wynona H.

    1976-01-01

    The proliferation of private organizations offering foreign language instruction to the public, and the advertising approaches of these organizations, are discussed. Suggestions are made for foreign language teachers in high schools and colleges to use in attracting more students. (RM)

  10. 76 FR 29901 - Electronic Fund Transfers

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-23

    ... generally be provided in English and in each of the foreign languages principally used by the remittance..., with several modifications. The proposed rule provides guidance on how and when foreign language disclosures must be provided, and proposes several foreign language disclosure alternatives. Additionally, the...

  11. Foreign Language Teacher Education. ERIC Digest.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jarvis, Gilbert A.; Bernhardt, Elizabeth B.

    Foreign language education professionals agree that the profession lacks an established theory and methodological consistency. Foreign language teacher education has not changed much since the 1960s. Most programs consist of subject-matter content, general education requirements, and specialized education courses. Teacher trainee supervisors do…

  12. 34 CFR 657.5 - What definitions apply?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND AREA STUDIES FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAM General § 657.5 What... activities, including training in modern foreign languages and various academic disciplines, in its subject... activities in modern foreign language training and related studies. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1122) ...

  13. Anxiety about speaking a foreign language as a mediator of the relation between motivation and willingness to communicate.

    PubMed

    Wu, Chia-Pei; Lin, Huey-Ju

    2014-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine whether anxiety about speaking a foreign language mediated the relation between motivation and a willingness to communicate among 107 Taiwanese students sampled from two public universities and one private university. A regression analysis indicated that motivation was negatively related to university students' anxiety about speaking a foreign language and positively related to willingness to communicate. Furthermore, anxiety about speaking a foreign language was negatively related to university students' willingness to communicate, and also partially mediated the relationship between motivation and willingness to communicate. The findings suggest that high motivation and low anxiety about speaking a foreign language are needed for Taiwanese students to demonstrate a stronger willingness to communicate.

  14. CLIL in physics lessons at grammar school

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Štefančínová, Iveta; Valovičová, Ľubomíra

    2017-01-01

    Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is one of the most outstanding approaches in foreign language teaching. This teaching method has promising prospects for the future of modern education as teaching subject and foreign languages are combined to offer a better preparation for life in Europe, especially when the mobility is becoming a highly significant factor of everyday life. We realized a project called Foreign languages in popularizing science at grammar school. Within the project five teachers with approbation subjects of English, French, German and Physics attended the methodological courses abroad. The teachers applied the gained experience in teaching and linking science teaching with the teaching of foreign languages. Outputs of the project (e.g. English-German-French-Slovak glossary of natural science terminology, student activity sheets, videos with natural science orientation in a foreign language, physical experiments in foreign languages, multimedia fairy tales with natural contents, posters of some scientists) are prepared for the CLIL-oriented lessons. We collected data of the questionnaire for students concerning attitude towards CLIL. The questionnaire for teachers showed data about the attitude, experience, and needs of teachers employing CLIL in their lessons.

  15. Foreign Language Instruction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sawyer, Jesse O.

    1964-01-01

    This brief review of research in foreign language instruction during 1961-63 summarizes, compares, and interprets related studies dealing withsuch topics as (1) the effects and value of foreign language instruction at different educational levels, (2) methods and materials, (3) testing, and (4) electromechanical aids, such as the language…

  16. Translation and Foreign Language Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tinsley, Royal L., Jr.

    Translators and teachers of foreign languages need each other: translators need formal academic training and recognition and teachers of foreign languages need students. Unfortunately, translators know only too well that most FL teachers are not competent translators, and FL Departments generally consider translation as an activity beneath the…

  17. 34 CFR 669.3 - What activities may the Secretary fund?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... methods for teaching foreign languages, including the use of advanced educational technology; (b) The development and dissemination of new materials for teaching foreign languages, to reflect the results of... teaching and learning of foreign languages. These activities must include effective dissemination efforts...

  18. 34 CFR 669.3 - What activities may the Secretary fund?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... methods for teaching foreign languages, including the use of advanced educational technology; (b) The development and dissemination of new materials for teaching foreign languages, to reflect the results of... teaching and learning of foreign languages. These activities must include effective dissemination efforts...

  19. 34 CFR 669.3 - What activities may the Secretary fund?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... methods for teaching foreign languages, including the use of advanced educational technology; (b) The development and dissemination of new materials for teaching foreign languages, to reflect the results of... teaching and learning of foreign languages. These activities must include effective dissemination efforts...

  20. 34 CFR 669.3 - What activities may the Secretary fund?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... methods for teaching foreign languages, including the use of advanced educational technology; (b) The development and dissemination of new materials for teaching foreign languages, to reflect the results of... teaching and learning of foreign languages. These activities must include effective dissemination efforts...

  1. Promoting Foreign Language Study Outside the Foreign Language Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, Louis

    A substantial change in the core curriculum and general education requirements at Syracuse University provided the context for an interdisciplinary approach to encouraging foreign language study among undergraduates. A unique "continuing skill requirement" dictates that students in upper division courses sharpen and consolidate skills…

  2. Contextualizing Attitudes toward Pronunciation: Foreign Language Learners in the United States

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huensch, Amanda; Thompson, Amy S.

    2017-01-01

    While previous work has shown a relationship between pronunciation attitudes and pronunciation performance, the connection between language learning motivation and pronunciation attitudes has been underexplored. This study investigated the relationship between 195 foreign language learners' attitudes toward pronunciation, the foreign languages…

  3. Career Education in the Seventh Grade English Class. Career Development Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Becklean, Pat

    The three activities in the unit integrate career education into the English curriculum and provide seventh grade students with opportunities to explore specific occupations, to indicate their vocational interests, to learn the procedures for job application, and to be aware of opportunities related to English language interests or aptitudes.…

  4. Self-Efficacy and IPS: An Empirical Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McLeod, Linda P.

    2015-01-01

    The fact that some learners learn language more successfully than others who are at the same level of aptitude and capabilities is inevitable. To understand why, the researcher has focused her attention on individual differences among learners. The ones that have been taken into account in this study are namely called self-efficacy and identity…

  5. Foreign Language Analysis and Recognition (FLARe) Initial Progress

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-11-29

    University Language Modeling ToolKit CoMMA Count Mediated Morphological Analysis CRUD Create, Read , Update & Delete CPAN Comprehensive Perl Archive...DATES COVERED (From - To) 1 October 2010 – 30 September 2012 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Foreign Language Analysis and Recognition (FLARe) Initial Progress...AFRL-RH-WP-TR-2012-0165 FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANALYSIS AND RECOGNITION (FLARE) INITIAL PROGRESS Brian M. Ore

  6. L1 Frequency in Foreign Language Acquisition: Recurrent Word Combinations in French and Spanish EFL Learner Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Paquot, Magali

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated French and Spanish EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' preferred use of three-word lexical bundles with discourse or stance-oriented function with a view to exploring the role of first language (L1) frequency effects in foreign language acquisition. Word combinations were extracted from learner performance data…

  7. Examination of the Relationship between Autonomy and English Achievement as Mediated by Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ghorbandordinejad, Farhad; Ahmadabad, Roghayyeh Moradian

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between autonomy and English language achievement among third-grade high school students as mediated by foreign language classroom anxiety in a city in the north-west of Iran. A sample of 400 students (187 males, and 213 females) was assessed for their levels of autonomy and foreign language anxiety using…

  8. Combining Formal and Informal Learning: The Use of an Application to Enhance Information Gathering and Sharing Competence in a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sato, Yukiko; Rachmawan, Irene Erlyn Wina; Brückner, Stefan; Waragai, Ikumi; Kiyoki, Yasushi

    2017-01-01

    This study aims to enhance foreign language learners' language competence by integrating formal and informal learning environments and considers how they can improve their grammatical and lexical skills through the gathering (comprehension) and sharing (writing) of information in the foreign language. Experiments with German learners at a Japanese…

  9. Europe versus Asia: Foreign Language Education Other than English in Japan's Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kobayashi, Yoko

    2013-01-01

    The era of Asia has been felt in foreign language education in Japan, with more and more youth reportedly opting to study Chinese and Korean as the second foreign language. The shift in popularity, from European to Asian languages, not only reflects the societal demand for the institutional rearrangement of academic staff but also stirs teachers…

  10. Living with a Foreign Tongue: An Autobiographical Narrative Inquiry into Identity in a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Wei

    2014-01-01

    Learning a second language involves the development of an identity in the target language. This study is an autobiographical narrative inquiry into the issue of identity in a foreign language. Autobiographical accounts of my relationship with, and my feelings about, English at different stages in my learning journey are developed to show how my…

  11. Realizing the Potential of Foreign Language Instruction. Selected Papers from the 1990 Central States Conference (22nd, St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1990).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ervin, Gerard L., Ed.; And Others

    Selected papers from the conference on the future of second language teaching include: "Reasons for Shame, Reasons for Pride: Foreign Languages and Democracy in America" (Mary Hatwood Futrell); "Present's Tense but Future's Perfect: A Twenty-First Century Case for Foreign Language" (Alan Garfinkel, Holly Schrank);…

  12. Rationale for Language Study. The Challenge of Communication. ACTFL Review of Foreign Language Education, Vol. 6.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lippman, Jane N.

    Enrollment trends and factors that influence foreign language study in colleges and universities are discussed. Most college foreign language programs have emphasized the study of literature and have not been committed to the training of teachers or the teaching of civilization or culture. It appears that students' concern about the job market and…

  13. Affective Factors in Korean as a Foreign Language: Anxiety and Beliefs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jee, Min Jung

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated changes in levels of anxiety about learning a foreign language (FL) and in the language beliefs of first-year Korean-as-a-foreign-language (KFL) students in a US university throughout a year. Twelve students who enrolled in both of the two semesters of the first-year Korean I and II classes participated in this study. The…

  14. The Analysis of Cultural and Intercultural Elements in Mandarin as a Foreign Language Textbooks from Selected Malaysian Public Higher Education Institutions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fong, Chan Suet; DeWitt, Dorothy; Leng, Chin Hai

    2018-01-01

    Language cannot be taught outside the culture of the society. A foreign language learner needs to learn the context and the cultural elements to avoid conflicts and misunderstanding arising from differing values, beliefs, and customs. Hence, foreign language instruction needs to emphasise intercultural communicative competence and include cultural…

  15. Listening as a Method of Learning a Foreign Language at the Non-Language Faculty of the University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kondrateva, Irina G.; Safina, Minnisa S.; Valeev, Agzam A.

    2016-01-01

    Learning a foreign language is becoming an increasingly important with Russia's integration into the world community. In this regard, increased requirements for the educational process and the development of new innovative teaching methods meet the requirements of the time. One of the important aspects of learning a foreign language is listening…

  16. Group Dynamic Assessment in an Early Foreign Language Learning Program: Tracking Movement through the Zone of Proximal Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davin, Kristin Johnson

    2011-01-01

    Although researchers have begun to explore the implementation of dynamic assessment (DA) with foreign language learners, few of these studies have occurred in the language classroom. Whereas DA is typically implemented in dyads, promising research in the field of foreign language learning suggests that DA may promote development with groups of…

  17. Language Anxiety: A Case Study of the Perceptions and Experiences of Students of English as a Foreign Language in a Higher Education Institution in the United Arab Emirates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lababidi, Rola Ahmed

    2016-01-01

    This case study explores and investigates the perceptions and experiences of foreign language anxiety (FLA) among students of English as a Foreign Language in a Higher Education Institution in the United Arab Emirates. The first phase explored the scope and severity of language anxiety among all Foundation level male students at a college in the…

  18. 9 CFR 317.7 - Products for foreign commerce; printing labels in foreign language permissible; other deviations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Products for foreign commerce... DEVICES, AND CONTAINERS General § 317.7 Products for foreign commerce; printing labels in foreign language permissible; other deviations. Labels to be affixed to packages of products for foreign commerce may be...

  19. 9 CFR 317.7 - Products for foreign commerce; printing labels in foreign language permissible; other deviations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Products for foreign commerce... DEVICES, AND CONTAINERS General § 317.7 Products for foreign commerce; printing labels in foreign language permissible; other deviations. Labels to be affixed to packages of products for foreign commerce may be...

  20. 9 CFR 317.7 - Products for foreign commerce; printing labels in foreign language permissible; other deviations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Products for foreign commerce... DEVICES, AND CONTAINERS General § 317.7 Products for foreign commerce; printing labels in foreign language permissible; other deviations. Labels to be affixed to packages of products for foreign commerce may be...

  1. Foreign Languages: Key Links in the Chain of Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mead, Robert G., Jr., Ed.

    The articles discuss the necessity of including foreign language as an integral part of the curriculum at all levels of instruction. The following chapters are included: "Elementary School Foreign Language: Key Link in the Chain of Learning" (rationale, innovations, immersion programs, and interdisciplinary approaches); "Foreign…

  2. Computer-Assisted Foreign Language Teaching and Learning: Technological Advances

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zou, Bin; Xing, Minjie; Wang, Yuping; Sun, Mingyu; Xiang, Catherine H.

    2013-01-01

    Computer-Assisted Foreign Language Teaching and Learning: Technological Advances highlights new research and an original framework that brings together foreign language teaching, experiments and testing practices that utilize the most recent and widely used e-learning resources. This comprehensive collection of research will offer linguistic…

  3. Teachers' Judgements of Students' Foreign-Language Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhu, Mingjing; Urhahne, Detlef

    2015-01-01

    Numerous studies have been conducted on the accuracy of teacher judgement in different educational areas such as mathematics, language arts and reading. Teacher judgement of students' foreign-language achievement, however, has been rarely investigated. The study aimed to examine the accuracy of teacher judgement of students' foreign-language…

  4. 34 CFR 656.5 - What activities may be carried out?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTERS PROGRAM FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND AREA STUDIES OR FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES General § 656.5 What activities may be carried out? (a... following purposes: (1) Linkage or outreach between foreign language, area studies, and other international...

  5. Internet Anxiety among Foreign Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aydin, Selami

    2011-01-01

    Little attention has been paid to the demotivating potential of new technologies in foreign language research. Thus, this study aims to investigate Internet anxiety among foreign language learners and to determine the relationships between Internet anxiety and certain variables. A background questionnaire, an Internet information test, and an…

  6. 5 CFR 9901.364 - Foreign language proficiency pay.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Foreign language proficiency pay. 9901... NATIONAL SECURITY PERSONNEL SYSTEM (NSPS) Pay and Pay Administration Premium Pay § 9901.364 Foreign language proficiency pay. (a) General provisions. (1) This section applies to employees who may be paid...

  7. Examination of the Relationship Between Autonomy and English Achievement as Mediated by Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety.

    PubMed

    Ghorbandordinejad, Farhad; Ahmadabad, Roghayyeh Moradian

    2016-06-01

    This study investigated the relationship between autonomy and English language achievement among third-grade high school students as mediated by foreign language classroom anxiety in a city in the north-west of Iran. A sample of 400 students (187 males, and 213 females) was assessed for their levels of autonomy and foreign language anxiety using the Autonomy Questionnaire and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), respectively. Participants' scores on their final English exam were also used as the measurement of their English achievement. The results of Pearson correlation revealed a strong correlation between learners' autonomy and their English achievement (r [Formula: see text] .406, n [Formula: see text] 400, [Formula: see text]). Also, foreign language classroom anxiety was found to be significantly and negatively correlated with English achievement (r [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text].472, n [Formula: see text] 400, [Formula: see text]). Hierarchical multiple regression was used to assess the ability of autonomy to predict language learning achievement, after controlling for the influence of anxiety. In sum, the results of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that foreign language classroom anxiety significantly mediates the relationship between autonomy and English language achievement. Implications for both teachers and learners, and suggestions for further research are provided.

  8. Doctoral Degrees Granted in Foreign Languages in the United States: 1995.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benseler, David P.; And Others

    1996-01-01

    Lists doctoral degrees granted in the United States in African languages and literatures; Celtic languages and literatures; comparative literature; foreign-/second-language acquisition and teaching; French, Germanic, and Italian languages and literatures; theoretical linguistics; Near and Middle Eastern languages and literatures; and Portuguese,…

  9. Aptitude-treatment interactions revisited: effect of metacognitive intervention on subtypes of written expression in elementary school students.

    PubMed

    Hooper, Stephen R; Wakely, Melissa B; de Kruif, Renee E L; Swartz, Carl W

    2006-01-01

    We examined the effectiveness of a metacognitive intervention for written language performance, based on the Hayes model of written expression, for 73 fourth-grade (n = 38) and fifth-grade (n = 35) students. The intervention consisted of twenty 45-min writing lessons designed to improve their awareness of writing as a problem-solving process. Each of the lessons addressed some aspect of planning, translating, and reflecting on written products; their self-regulation of these processes; and actual writing practice. All instruction was conducted in intact classrooms. Prior to the intervention, all students received a battery of neurocognitive tests measuring executive functions, attention, and language. In addition, preintervention writing samples were obtained and analyzed holistically and for errors in syntax, semantics, and spelling. Following the intervention, the writing tasks were readministered and cluster analysis of the neurocognitive data was conducted. Cluster analytic procedures yielded 7 reliable clusters: 4 normal variants, 1 Problem Solving weakness, 1 Problem Solving Language weaknesses, and 1 Problem Solving strength. The response to the single treatment by these various subtypes revealed positive but modest findings. Significant group differences were noted for improvement in syntax errors and spelling, with only spelling showing differential improvement for the Problem Solving Language subtype. In addition, there was a marginally significant group effect for holistic ratings. These findings provide initial evidence that Writing Aptitude (subtype) x Single Treatment interactions exist in writing, but further research is needed with other classification schemes and interventions.

  10. Differences in Language Skills: Heritage Language Learner Subgroups and Foreign Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kondo-Brown, Kimi

    2005-01-01

    Using both proficiency tests and self-assessment measures, this study investigated (a) whether 3 subgroups of Japanese heritage language (JHL) learners would demonstrate language behaviors distinctively different from those of traditional Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) learners, and (b) which domains of language use and skills would…

  11. Language Policing: Micro-Level Language Policy-in-Process in the Foreign Language Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amir, Alia; Musk, Nigel

    2013-01-01

    This article examines what we call "micro-level language policy-in-process"--that is, how a target--language-only policy emerges "in situ" in the foreign language classroom. More precisely, we investigate the role of "language policing", the mechanism deployed by the teacher and/or pupils to (re-)establish the…

  12. Foreign Language Study in Budapest.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feinberg, Lilian O.; Tarjan, Jeno

    1968-01-01

    Foreign language study at the Karl Marx University of Economic Sciences in Budapest aims to develop the ability to use the language as a native would in a particular business or profession, and to help the student become fully aware of the political, historical, sociological, and geographical background of the foreign country and the…

  13. Re-Examining Traditional Values in Foreign Language Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rahilly, Leonard J.

    Not long ago, foreign languages were taught in schools and colleges not for practical use or cultural understanding, but for intellectual discipline, understanding of English grammar and syntax, vocabulary enrichment, or to allow reading of foreign literature. The space race and development of jet travel changed attitudes toward language learning…

  14. International Education and Foreign Languages: Keys to Securing America's Future

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Connell, Mary Ellen, Ed.; Norwood, Janet L., Ed.

    2007-01-01

    "International Education and Foreign Languages" reviews the Department of Education's Title VI and Fulbright-Hays Programs, which provide higher education funding for international education and foreign language programs. This book offers a timely look at issues that are increasingly important in an interconnected world. It discusses the…

  15. Selecta: Journal of the Pacific Northwest Council on Foreign Languages, 1992-1998.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nickisch, Craig W., Ed.

    1998-01-01

    This journal publishes scholarly articles on all aspects of language pedagogy, linguistics, foreign cultures and languages, and comparative, classical, and foreign (Asian, French, German, Italian, Luso-Brazilian, Scandinavian, Slavic, Spanish, and Spanish American) literatures. It is published annually, based exclusively on a representative number…

  16. High School Foreign Language Study and College Academic Performance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wiley, Patricia Davis

    1985-01-01

    Examines the correlation between high school foreign language study and success in college. Found that those who studied Latin, French, German, or Spanish in high school may be expected to perform better academically in college than students of equal academic ability who do not take a foreign language. (SED)

  17. Indiana University's Foreign Language Dialog, Volume 14, Number 1: The President's Commission.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strasheim, Lorraine A.

    Excerpts from the first "Bulletin" of the President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies and an outline of the coordinator's presentation to the Chicago hearing are presented. The objectives of the commission include recommending means for directing public attention to the importance of foreign language and…

  18. The Effects of Foreign Language Learning on Creativity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ghonsooly, Behzad; Showqi, Sara

    2012-01-01

    The present study investigates the possible influence of foreign language learning on individuals' divergent thinking abilities. Unlike the large body of research devoted to unfolding the effect of bilingualism on cognitive functions, foreign language learning has gained little attention. This study aimed at bringing into attention the distinctive…

  19. Reflections on Foreign Language Education in Iran

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Farhady, Hossein; Hezaveh, Fattaneh Sajadi; Hedayati, Hora

    2010-01-01

    This article reflects upon foreign-language education in Iran. Contrary to its political and historical reputation in the world, Iran has not been well presented regarding its educational system in general and its foreign-language education in particular. Of course, a critical assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the Iranian education…

  20. Foreign Languages in the Market Place: Business German.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coombs, Virginia M.

    1981-01-01

    Since the publication of the report of the President's Commission on Foreign Languages and International Study, U.S. incompetence in foreign languages, as well as efforts of secondary and post-secondary institutions to remedy the matter, have received much attention. Course offerings and curricular innovations have attempted to meet the career…

  1. Project LINC: Supporting Lecturers and Adjunct Instructors in Foreign Language Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scott, Sally S.; Edwards, Wade

    2012-01-01

    Foreign language learning can pose a barrier to some students with disabilities. This practice brief describes a collaborative process used on one campus to provide professional development for foreign language instructors. Training opportunities were intentionally focused on the needs of adjunct and temporary lecturers in providing inclusive…

  2. Empowering the Foreign Language Learner through Critical Literacies Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keneman, Margaret

    2016-01-01

    This article examines current pedagogical trends in the foreign language classroom and argues that a critical literacies pedagogical approach (Freire, 1970) should guide instruction. A critical literacies pedagogical approach is then discussed in the context of foreign language teaching and learning, and particular attention in this article is…

  3. 34 CFR 657.2 - Who is eligible to receive an allocation of fellowships?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ...) OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND AREA STUDIES FELLOWSHIPS...; (2) Teaches modern foreign languages under a program described in paragraph (b) of this section; and... foreign languages are commonly used; or (ii) Conducts training and research in international studies, the...

  4. 34 CFR 657.2 - Who is eligible to receive an allocation of fellowships?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ...) OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND AREA STUDIES FELLOWSHIPS...; (2) Teaches modern foreign languages under a program described in paragraph (b) of this section; and... foreign languages are commonly used; or (ii) Conducts training and research in international studies, the...

  5. Metacognitive Beliefs and Strategies in Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Jinghui; Spencer, Ken; Xing, Minjie

    2009-01-01

    The study investigates the effects of second-year university students' metacognitive beliefs and strategies on learning Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL). The analysis shows that metacognitive beliefs, which identify students who are confident about their ability to learn a foreign language, are positively associated with students' CFL…

  6. Opportunities in Foreign Language Careers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huebener, Theodore

    This guide to careers requiring knowledge of a foreign language details a wide range of positions. It begins with a general survey of the field of foreign languages--historical background, need for trained personnel, attributes necessary for success, comments of business and professional people. Educational preparation in high school, college, and…

  7. Foreign Languages and Careers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Honig, Lucille J.; Brod, Richard I.

    1974-01-01

    Gives employment opportunity information in the following fields where foreign language can be used as an auxiliary skill: 1) Business, Industry, Commerce; 2) Civil Service; 3) Education; 4) Law; 5) Library Science; 6) Media; 7) Science; 8) Service; 9) Social Sciences; 10) Travel, Tourism. The fields of foreign language teaching and interpretation…

  8. 34 CFR 658.11 - What projects and activities may a grantee conduct under this program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM What Kinds of Projects Does the Secretary Assist Under This Program... program to improve undergraduate instruction in international studies and foreign languages. These include... studies and foreign languages; (b) Teaching, research, curriculum development, faculty training in the...

  9. 34 CFR 658.11 - What projects and activities may a grantee conduct under this program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM What Kinds of Projects Does the Secretary Assist Under This Program... program to improve undergraduate instruction in international studies and foreign languages. These include... studies and foreign languages; (b) Teaching, research, curriculum development, faculty training in the...

  10. 34 CFR 658.11 - What projects and activities may a grantee conduct under this program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM What Kinds of Projects Does the Secretary Assist Under This Program... program to improve undergraduate instruction in international studies and foreign languages. These include... studies and foreign languages; (b) Teaching, research, curriculum development, faculty training in the...

  11. The Prediction of Success in Intensive Foreign Language Training.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carroll, John B.

    After a review of the problem of predicting foreign language success, this booklet describes the development, refinement, and validation of a battery of psychological tests, some involving tape-recorded auditory stimuli, for predicting rate of progress in learning a foreign language. Although the battery was developed for more general application…

  12. Foreign Language Camps: Jefferson County Public Schools R-1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trujillo, Lorenzo A.; And Others

    The planning and operation of Jefferson County (Colorado) Public Schools' foreign language camps are described. The weekend-long camps attempt to duplicate an authentic cultural experience in a foreign village through cultural activities and language immersion. French, Spanish, Russian, and German camps are conducted for county high school foreign…

  13. Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education, 1996.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education, 1996

    1996-01-01

    Papers on foreign language education include: "The Message Is the Medium: Using Video Materials To Facilitate Foreign Language Performance" (Thomas J. Garza), which explores the use of this medium to enhance commonly-used non-communicative or text-bound teaching materials; "Product and Process Aspects of NES/EFL Students' Persuasive…

  14. Teaching the Metric System in the Foreign Language Classroom. Language in Education: Theory and Practice. No. 32.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stevens, Bette Le Feber

    This booklet on the metric system and its presentation in the foreign language class has three main sections: (1) background material, including a brief history of the metric system and a rationale for teaching it in the foreign language class; (2) information for the teacher; and (3) learning activities. The second section includes terminology,…

  15. Proceedings of the EMU Conference on Foreign Languages for Business and the Professions (Dearborn, Michigan, April 5-7, 1984). Part I: Business Needs/Educators Respond.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Voght, Geoffrey M., Ed.

    Part I of the proceedings includes seven presentations. They are: "International Language Evaluation and Professional Points of View" (M. Jacques Cartier); "Foreign Languages and International Businesses in Colorado: A Report and Assessment" (Alain W. D. Ranwez and Donald Schmidt); "The Use of Foreign Languages in International Banking: A Survey…

  16. Radio in Foreign Language Education. CAL-ERIC/CLL Series on Languages and Linguistics, No. 11.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nelson, Robert J.; Wood, Richard E.

    The present study is an updating of Robert J. Nelson's ERIC Focus Report No. 11 (1969) "Using Radio to Develop and Maintain Competence in a Foreign Language." Two major areas are examined: (1) the concepts behind the use of radio in language teaching and how this application of radio reflects changes in the theory and practice of foreign language…

  17. Analyzing Foreign Language Test Anxiety among High School Students in an EFL Context (Note 1)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gursoy, Esim; Arman, Tuba

    2016-01-01

    With the increasing need to learn languages as a result of globalization there is a great demand on the part of the learners to communicate in a second/foreign language, which is also supported downwards by the governments and upwards by the parents. Among the many aspects of foreign language learning, affective factors are researched a lot as…

  18. The Attitudes and Motivation of Children towards Learning Rarely Spoken Foreign Languages: A Case Study from Saudi Arabia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al-Nofaie, Haifa

    2018-01-01

    This article discusses the attitudes and motivations of two Saudi children learning Japanese as a foreign language (hence JFL), a language which is rarely spoken in the country. Studies regarding children's motivation for learning foreign languages that are not widely spread in their contexts in informal settings are scarce. The aim of the study…

  19. Intercultural Sensitivity Levels of Turkish Pre-Service Foreign Language Teachers: Examples from Education Faculties of Two Universities in Turkey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yetis, Veda Aslim; Kurt, Çigdem

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study is to determine whether intercultural sensitivity levels vary among foreign language teacher candidates in terms of variables such as target language, year of study (grade), and gender in both intra and inters programs. Research sample consists of 1,049 Turkish freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior foreign language teacher…

  20. Planning for Proficiency. Dimension: Language '86. Report of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching (1986).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fryer, T. Bruce; Medley, Frank W., Jr.

    Selected papers from the 1986 Southern Conference on Language Teaching on instruction for language proficiency are presented: "The Foreign Language Teacher: Confronting an Ever-Changing Profession" (Robert Di Donato); "Restructuring a Traditional Foreign Language Program for Oral Proficiency" (Filisha Camara-Norman, James…

  1. Bilingual Lexical Interillumination in the Foreign Language Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    St. John, Oliver

    2010-01-01

    Foreign language (FL) education has been marked by a monolingual principle that has favoured "intralingual" methodologies. Bakhtin's view of language interillumination--that languages throw light on each other--challenges such language teaching practices radically. Using conversation analysis methods, this article examines transcripts of…

  2. Language Policy and Planning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Takala, Sauli; Sajavaara, Kari

    2000-01-01

    Focuses on foreign language planning, or the planned changes in foreign language instructional systems and in uses of languages in different social contexts with special reference to the Nordic and Baltic countries. Special attention is given to the relationship between language planning and evaluation. (Author/VWL)

  3. The framing effect in a monetary gambling task is robust in minimally verbal language switching contexts.

    PubMed

    Korn, Christoph W; Heekeren, Hauke R; Oganian, Yulia

    2018-04-01

    Decision-making biases, in particular the framing effect, can be altered in foreign language settings (foreign language effect) and following switching between languages (the language switching effect on framing). Recently, it has been suggested that the framing effect is only affected by foreign language use if the task is presented in a rich textual form. Here, we assess whether an elaborate verbal task is also a prerequisite for the language switching effect on framing. We employed a financial gambling task that induces a robust framing effect but is less verbal than the classical framing paradigms (e.g., the Asian disease problem). We conducted an online experiment ( n = 485), where we orthogonally manipulated language use and language switching between trials. The results showed no effects of foreign language use or language switching throughout the experiment. This online result was confirmed in a laboratory experiment ( n = 27). Overall, we find that language switching does not reduce the framing effect in a paradigm with little verbal content and thus that language switching effects seem contingent on the amount of verbal processing required.

  4. Single-Center Study Investigating Foreign Language Acquisition at School in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Uni- or Bilateral Cochlear Implants in the Swiss German Population.

    PubMed

    Beeres-Scheenstra, Renske; Ohnsorg, Claudia; Candreia, Claudia; Heinzmann, Sybille; Castellanos, Susana; De Min, Nicola; Linder, Thomas E

    2017-07-01

    To evaluate foreign language acquisition at school in cochlear implant patients. Cohort study. CI center. Forty three cochlear implants (CI) patients (10-18 yr) were evaluated. CI nonusers and patients with CI-explantation, incomplete datasets, mental retardation, or concomitant medical disorders were excluded. Additional data (type of schooling, foreign language learning, and bilingualism) were obtained with questionnaires. German-speaking children with foreign tuition language (English and/or French) at school were enrolled for further testing. General patient data, auditory data, and foreign language data from both questionnaires and tests were collected and analyzed. Thirty seven out of 43 questionnaires (86%) were completed. Sixteen (43%) were in mainstream education. Twenty-seven CI users (73%) have foreign language learning at school. Fifteen of these were in mainstream education (55%), others in special schooling. From 10 CI users without foreign language learning, one CI user was in mainstream education (10%) and nine patients (90%) were in special schooling. Eleven German-speaking CI users were further tested in English and six additionally in French. For reading skills, the school objectives for English were reached in 7 of 11 pupils (64%) and for French in 3 of 6 pupils (50%). For listening skills, 3 of 11 pupils (27%) reached the school norm in English and none in French. Almost 75% of our CI users learn foreign language(s) at school. A small majority of the tested CI users reached the current school norm for in English and French in reading skills, whereas for hearing skills most of them were not able to reach the norm.

  5. 16 CFR 803.8 - Foreign language documents.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... language documents. (a) Whenever at the time of filing a Notification and Report Form there is an English... English language versions shall be filed along with the foreign language information or materials. (b... for additional information or documentary material shall be submitted with verbatim English language...

  6. Individual characteristics of language learners in lesson planning for specific purposes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ivleva, N. V.

    2016-04-01

    This paper provides a summary of internationally recognized methods and approaches in teaching foreign languages with the focus on teaching foreign languages for specific purposes. It also covers the idea of mastering a foreign language through knowing speech units which are necessary for individual language learners in the professional area with due regard to criteria provided by the author. The criteria were developed on the basis of the theory on adaptation of complex systems and also observation in the teaching process.

  7. Teaching foreign languages to technical students by means of educational online technologies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ivleva, Natalia V.; Fibikh, Ekaterina V.

    2015-01-01

    The article reveals new methods of effectiveness increase in teaching foreign languages to technical students using information and communication technologies and their practical implementation at the premises of the Foreign Languages Resource Center of Siberian State Aerospace University. Adoption of information and communication technologies to the educational process is based on students' independent language learning that encourages more productive development of language competences mastered by students and future specialists in a special area of technical knowledge as a whole.

  8. United States Special Operations Command’s Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus at ILR 1/1+: Initial Review and Recommended Changes to Improve Results and Lower Cost

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-10-01

    to be useful for proficiency development, and with the limited research available, Doughty found that instructed language learners moved further...absolute speaking proficiency in languages taught at the Foreign Service Institute. Arlington, VA: Author. SOFLO Support Project USSOCOM’s Foreign...on language and linguistics 1999: Language in our time: Bilingual education and official English , ebonics and standard English , immigration and the Unz

  9. Introduction to Foreign Languages and Cultures: A New Course to Stimulate Second Language Learning in the Public Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Watkins, Stephen A.

    1978-01-01

    Olympic View Middle School has established a program designed to stimulate interest in foreign languages and cultures. The course is intended as an introduction to foreign language and culture study, and is required for all 7th and 8th grade students. Program 1 of the course is taught during one semester of 7th grade, Program 2 during one semester…

  10. Mother-Tongue Diversity in the Foreign Language Classroom: Perspectives on the Experiences of Non-Native Speakers of English Studying Foreign Languages in an English-Medium University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bruen, Jennifer; Kelly, Niamh

    2017-01-01

    This paper considers the position of university language students whose mother tongue is other than the medium of instruction. Specifically, it investigates the attitudes and experiences of non-native English speakers studying either German or Japanese as foreign languages at an English-medium university. The findings indicate that the non-native…

  11. The Impact of Expanding Advanced Level Secondary School Students' Awareness and Use of Metacognitive Learning Strategies on Confidence and Proficiency in Foreign Language Speaking Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Forbes, Karen; Fisher, Linda

    2018-01-01

    In an increasingly multilingual world, the question of how to improve foreign language speaking skills of pupils in British schools is of paramount importance to language teachers and policy-makers today. This paper examines how an explicit focus on metacognitive strategy use within secondary school foreign language lessons impacts pupils'…

  12. Le Dilemme du professeur de langue: theorie ou pratique? Essai d'un bilan (The Foreign Language Teacher's Dilemma: Theory or Practice? An Attempt at an Assessment)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rebuffo, Jacques

    1977-01-01

    A discussion of the crisis in foreign language methodology and a short evaluation of methods employed at present. The pivotal position of the language teacher in choosing a combination of methods to respond to student needs and the importance of foreign languages in education are discussed. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

  13. US Directory of Foreign Language Education Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grosse, Christine Uber

    The preparation of a directory of foreign language education programs was a response to the lack of an information source for location or curricular content of programs in foreign language pedagogy, and followed the lead of other associations in the United States and abroad in compiling such information. Despite having developed guidelines for…

  14. Foreign Language Learning Difficulties and Teaching Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Banks, Tiffini

    2008-01-01

    Beginning foreign language (FL) courses in high school often have high numbers of learning disabled (LED) and at-risk students, perhaps because many students who are considered to be college bound begin foreign language study in middle school. This paper examines FL difficulties as well as effective strategies that others have used to conquer…

  15. 34 CFR 655.3 - What regulations apply to the International Education Programs?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... (Grants)). (7) 34 CFR part 86 (Drug-Free Schools and Campuses). (b) The regulations in this part 655; and... Foreign Language and Area Studies or Foreign Language and International Studies); (2) 34 CFR part 657 (Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program); (3) 34 CFR part 658 (Undergraduate International...

  16. Research in Foreign Language Education in Hungary (2006-2012)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Medgyes, Péter; Nikolov, Marianne

    2014-01-01

    In the past quarter century, Hungary has offered fertile ground for innovative developments in foreign language (FL) education. The appropriate, albeit disparaging, label applied to Hungary in the mid-1970s--"a land of foreign language illiterates" (Köllo 1978: 6)--no longer applies. In the wake of the dramatic changes of 1989, the…

  17. Research on Foreign Language Teaching and Learning in Turkey (2005-2009)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alptekin, Cem; Tatar, Sibel

    2011-01-01

    This is an overview of research on applied linguistics and foreign language education in Turkey, surveying nearly 130 studies from the period 2005-2009. Following a brief presentation of the history and current sociopolitical situation of foreign language education in Turkey, the article focuses on research that characterizes the most common…

  18. Program for the Improvement and Expansion of Foreign Language Instruction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smolen, Lynn

    In response to the changing world economic market, foreign language teachers of the University of Akron and Akron Public Schools (Ohio) began a joint project, federally supported, to strengthen foreign language teacher proficiency in the area of careers in business, education, and government service, strengthen oral proficiency of high school…

  19. Formation of the Foreign Language Discursive Competence of Pedagogical Faculties Students in the Process of Intercultural Dialogue

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ponomarenko, Larisa N.; Zlobina, Irina S.; Galitskih, Elena O.; Rublyova, Olga S.

    2017-01-01

    The article presents the main ideas of concept of foreign language discursive competence formation among university and secondary school students by means of intercultural dialogue. The concept includes fundamental principles, activity stages of educational process, and criteria of foreign language discursive competence formation. Innovation of…

  20. Impoliteness in EFL: Foreign Language Learners' Complaining Behaviors across Social Distance and Status Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wijayanto, Agus; Prasetyarini, Aryati; Hikmat, Mauly Halwat

    2017-01-01

    A growing body of literature has investigated impoliteness in many domains. Nevertheless, little research has examined impoliteness done by foreign language learners. Impoliteness used in interlanguage complaints by English as a foreign language learners was observed. The effects of interlocutors' different status levels and social distance on the…

  1. Government Jobs and Careers in Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leaver, Betty Lou

    A discussion of foreign-language-related jobs available in federal government agencies describes the extent and types of opportunities and suggests methods to use in preparing and applying for them. There are many diverse opportunities for foreign language students in the federal government, but many are hard to locate from the outside, rarely…

  2. Through the Skylight with Foreign Languages: Providing All Students with Challenging Elementary School Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caccavale, Therese Sullivan

    2003-01-01

    Foreign language instruction is known to develop better critical thinking skills in children. Therefore, the teaching of foreign languages should be promoted so that "all" students may attain better creative, divergent, critical, and analytical thinking skills. Research done in past years on cooperative learning models has consistently shown that…

  3. From Surfing to Diving: A Beginner's Guide to Enhancing the Foreign Language Classroom through Templates.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lally, Carolyn

    1998-01-01

    Provides a background to the development of the Internet; discusses Web sites as foreign-language-learning tools; and describes the Nicenet Internet Classroom Assistant that can be used as a software template for teachers to create their own Internet pages for foreign-language instruction. (Author/LRW)

  4. Foreign Languages in the Elementary Schools: Guidelines and Regulations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Philip D., Jr.

    This state handbook details guidelines and regulations for teachers of foreign language in the elementary schools. Principal factors to be considered in the establishment of a FLES program are examined; they include: (1) community and professional support, (2) choice of a foreign language, (3) teachers, (4) students, (5) programs, (6) syllabuses…

  5. Comparison of Primary School Foreign Language Curricula of Turkey, Germany and the Netherlands

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aslan, Yasin

    2016-01-01

    Foreign language education at early ages involves a broad spectrum of communication skills using communication, culture, connections, comparisons and community. The aim of this study is to compare the primary foreign language curricula of Turkey, Germany and the Netherlands in terms of objectives, content, teaching processes and evaluation…

  6. Defence of Foreign Language Teaching in Secondary Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Van Passel, F. J. A.

    1974-01-01

    Shows the necessity of foreign language education for cognitive and attitudinal purposes as well as for utilitarian reasons. Foreign language learning/teaching can be of great educational value when it follows the thread of the logical and psychological steps in the creative/discovery procedure. A learning algorithm is mapped on page 61. See FL…

  7. French Vocabulary in "Encore Tricolore": Do Pupils Have a Chance?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tschichold, Cornelia

    2012-01-01

    British learners acquire very little vocabulary in their foreign languages, compared to pupils elsewhere in Europe, particularly learners of English as a foreign language. Could the materials used for teaching help explain this difference? An analysis of the vocabulary loading of a textbook for French as a foreign language commonly used in…

  8. Examining the Advantage of a Live Instructor vs. Video in a Laboratory Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caldwell-Harris, Catherine; Goodwin, Kimberly S.; Chu, Emma; Dahlen, Kristina

    2014-01-01

    Learners often anecdotally report preferring live instructors to videotaped lectures, but few controlled comparisons exist, and none have been conducted for foreign language learning. College students experienced a single foreign language lesson in an unknown foreign language, Samoan, either from a live instructor or from a videotape of the same…

  9. Integrating the Secondary School Foreign Language Classroom through Multiple Learning Activities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeFalco, Laura

    2011-01-01

    Foreign language teachers experience difficulties in teaching students with learning disabilities. The challenge is to teach students with and without disabilities in the same classroom while having no background knowledge of how to teach towards all these students. Through observations and interviews with two foreign language teachers, the use of…

  10. Intelligence and Metacognition as Predictors of Foreign Language Achievement: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pishghadam, Reza; Khajavy, Gholam Hassan

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the role of metacognition and intelligence in foreign language achievement on a sample of 143 Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Participants completed Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices as a measure of intelligence, and Metacognitive Awareness Inventory as a measure of metacognition. Learners' scores at…

  11. Pedagogical Conditions of Multilevel Foreign Languages Teaching in Pedagogical Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kadakin, Vasily V.; Shukshina, Tatiana I.; Piskunova, Svetlana I.; Babushkina, Larisa E.; Falileev, Alexander E.

    2016-01-01

    This article is devoted to pedagogical conditions of multilevel foreign languages teaching in pedagogical higher education. The purpose of the study is to form the students' skills in foreign language mastering, to form the ability to operate independently and autonomously in this activity, both in the specific learning situation, and in the…

  12. Using Microcomputer Word Processors for Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Kim L.

    1984-01-01

    Describes the programs and modifications needed to do word processing using foreign language characters. One such program, Screenwriter, uses soft character sets -- character sets which can be designed by the program user. This program has a word processing power combined with a foreign language capability that would allow any person to work with…

  13. Proceedings of the National Conference on Professional Priorities. [Curriculum and Materials.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.

    The following papers on foreign language curriculum development for the 1980s are included: (1) "Foreign Language and the Humanistic Tradition: The Relationship to the Coming Decade," by Claire Gaudiani; (2) "Practical Implications of New Trends and Directions," by Wilga Rivers; (3) "Directions in Foreign Language Curriculum Development," by H. H.…

  14. The Study of Foreign Languages Abroad: Mastery and Results

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cherednichenko, G. A.

    2009-01-01

    Knowing a foreign language is of crucial importance in ensuring the effectiveness of an education abroad. Essentially, the practice of teaching and mastering a foreign language serves as a means of intercultural communication, a conduit of interaction in a new sociocultural environment, and a mediator through which to assimilate new norms and…

  15. An Exercise in Exciting Visuals: Building and Displaying on a Foreign Language Kiosk.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ruling, Karl; Lide, Francis

    Detailed, illustrated instructions are given for construction and decoration of an indoor foreign language kiosk to promote interest in foreign languages among students and teachers. The kiosk can be constructed in a home shop or possibly by a college theater department, high school woodworking department, or institutional physical plant. Once…

  16. Articulation and the State Foreign Language Association.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woloshin, David J.

    This paper discusses current problems in the teaching of foreign languages, suggests reasons for its present decline, and proposes a program to be developed at the local level which could serve as a model for a state-wide curriculum. After discussing enrollment trends and causes for the lack of articulation in foreign language instruction at all…

  17. Technology-Enhanced Multimedia Instruction in Foreign Language Classrooms: A Mixed Methods Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ketsman, Olha

    2012-01-01

    Technology-enhanced multimedia instruction in grades 6 through 12 foreign language classrooms was the focus of this study. The study's findings fill a gap in the literature through the report of how technology-enhanced multimedia instruction was successfully implemented in foreign language classrooms. Convergent parallel mixed methods study…

  18. Master Program in Foreign Language Education at New York University Steinhardt (US)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ikonnikova, Maryna

    2016-01-01

    The article deals with master program in foreign language education at New York University Steinhardt (US). Thus, its peculiarities have been revealed. It has been defined that the study program presupposes mastering of foreign language teaching approaches that meet various needs of learners. It has been indicated that students acquire the…

  19. Profiles of Academic Achievement and Cognitive Processing in College Students with Foreign Language Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prevatt, Frances; Proctor, Briley; Swartz, Stacy L.; Canto, Angela I.

    2003-01-01

    This study evaluated the cognitive and achievement profiles of college students experiencing difficulties in foreign language (FLD group). Because past research appears to have generated different results based on the type of comparison groups utilized, we attempted to obtain a better representation of students with foreign language difficulties.…

  20. Mindfulness, Coping Self-Efficacy and Foreign Language Anxiety: A Mediation Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fallah, Nasser

    2017-01-01

    This study sought to explore the relationship between mindfulness, coping self-efficacy (CSE) and foreign language anxiety (FLA) among a sample of 295 Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Further, the capacity of CSE in mediating the relationship between mindfulness and FLA was tested. The participants were administered…

  1. Foreign Language Children's Books for Fun, with a List of Sources.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perritt, Patsy H.

    This paper attempts to identify and explore multiple lists of recommended books, sources of book reviews, and names of commercial supplies, both foreign and domestic, of foreign language children's books. The languages explored were Spanish, French, German, and Italian. A list of United States publishers, distributors, and dealers in foreign…

  2. Foreign Language Anxiety: A Study at Ufuk University Preparatory School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karabiyik, Ceyhun; Özkan, Neslihan

    2017-01-01

    The number of studies carried out regards the effects of certain demographic variables on Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) is rather limited in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Besides, the findings of these studies yielded differential results. This study researched the levels of FLA exhibited by Turkish undergraduates and effects…

  3. Film as Source Material in Advanced Foreign Language Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaiser, Mark; Shibahara, Chika

    2014-01-01

    This paper suggests new ways filmic texts might be employed in advanced foreign language classes. Typically, film has been seen as source material for broadening students' vocabulary or for developing communicative competence. This paper considers what a close reading of a filmic text might offer foreign language educators and students by…

  4. 34 CFR 657.1 - What is the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... institutions of higher education, to students who are— (a) Enrolled for undergraduate or graduate training in a... foreign language training or training in a program for which performance-based modern foreign language... Fellowships Program? 657.1 Section 657.1 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education...

  5. 34 CFR 657.1 - What is the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... institutions of higher education, to students who are— (a) Enrolled for undergraduate or graduate training in a... foreign language training or training in a program for which performance-based modern foreign language... Fellowships Program? 657.1 Section 657.1 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education...

  6. 34 CFR 657.1 - What is the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... institutions of higher education, to students who are— (a) Enrolled for undergraduate or graduate training in a... foreign language training or training in a program for which performance-based modern foreign language... Fellowships Program? 657.1 Section 657.1 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education...

  7. 34 CFR 657.1 - What is the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... institutions of higher education, to students who are— (a) Enrolled for undergraduate or graduate training in a... foreign language training or training in a program for which performance-based modern foreign language... Fellowships Program? 657.1 Section 657.1 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education...

  8. 34 CFR 657.1 - What is the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... institutions of higher education, to students who are— (a) Enrolled for undergraduate or graduate training in a... foreign language training or training in a program for which performance-based modern foreign language... Fellowships Program? 657.1 Section 657.1 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education...

  9. The Impact of Learning Multiple Foreign Languages on Using Metacognitive Reading Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Razi, Salim

    2008-01-01

    This study aims primarily to investigate the impact of learning multiple foreign languages on the use of metacognitive reading strategies (MRSs) by foreign language teaching (FLT) department students. A number of factors such as gender, hand preference, class, and programme with reference to their belief orientation were also involved in the…

  10. The Past, Present, and Future of the Consortium and Foreign Language Instruction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Paine, Ruth

    The proportion of active foreign language teachers working in cooperative or collaborative efforts is very small. Foreign languages have lagged behind other disciplines in this area. Consortia, or groups of postsecondary institutions agreeing to work together toward specific, long-range goals, date back to medieval times, but few have emerged over…

  11. A Study of Foreign Language Learning Outcomes Assessment in U.S. Undergraduate Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ricardo-Osorio, Jose G.

    2008-01-01

    This article reports on findings obtained from an online survey answered by 97 foreign language department chairs. The Web survey was pilot tested for validity and reliability and obtained a Cronbach's reliability coefficient of .80. The results suggest that student learning outcomes assessment in American undergraduate foreign language education…

  12. International Business Culture: Merging Business with Foreign Language Cultural Expertise.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hovsepian, Kristen B.

    This report considers how the different departments of business administration and foreign languages can cooperate to create coursework that will benefit students in both areas of study. The ignorance many U.S. citizens have of the world is taken into consideration. Although foreign language majors have greater exposure to the world, this…

  13. The Importance of Games in Teaching Foreign Languages to Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alpar, Melek

    2013-01-01

    In teaching French as a foreign language, there is a constant development from traditional methods to action-oriented approaches. This development has arisen as a result of students' needs and of innovations in technology. Particularly in the last decade, there has been increasing interest in teaching foreign languages to children. Because of…

  14. Just-in-Time Teaching: A Tool for Enhancing Student Engagement in Advanced Foreign Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abreu, Laurel; Knouse, Stephanie

    2014-01-01

    Scholars have indicated a need for further research on effective pedagogical strategies designed for advanced foreign language courses in the postsecondary setting, especially in light of decreased enrollments at this level and the elimination of foreign language programs altogether in some institutions (Paesani & Allen, 2012). This article…

  15. The Implications of Business English Mock Exams on Language Progress at Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    González Romero, Rocío

    2016-01-01

    Language learning has been increasingly influenced by technology over the last decades thanks to its positive effects on language acquisition. It is thanks to the technology's supportive role towards language learning that an increasing number of online foreign language courses have appeared. Besides, foreign language courses are more and more…

  16. Teaching English in Primary Schools in Vietnam: An Overview

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoa, Nguyen Thi Mai; Tuan, Nguyen Quoc

    2007-01-01

    This paper examines the English language situation at primary school level in Vietnam from a language planning perspective. It examines language policy for foreign language teaching in Vietnam to provide a picture of the role of English in foreign language education. It analyses language-in-education policy, curriculum and teaching materials, and…

  17. How Much Foreign Language Is There in the Foreign Language Classroom?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duff, Patricia A.; Polio, Charlene G.

    1990-01-01

    Classroom observation of 13 college language courses and analysis of student questionnaire and teacher interview responses indicated that teachers varied widely in use of target language with a mean of 67.9 percent; language type, departmental policy, lesson content, and teacher training affected target language use; and students were generally…

  18. Foreign Language Camps.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griswold, Jean S.

    The Colorado State University Foreign Language Weekend Camps (also called the "Poor Man's Study Abroad") are described in this report. Developed to provide an international component and a mini foreign experience for the university's students, the camps are designed to accomplish several purposes including: to offer both foreign and…

  19. 34 CFR 660.34 - What priorities may the Secretary establish?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... or Latin America, or the languages of those regions. (3) Topics of research and studies; for example, language acquisition processes, methodology of foreign language instruction, foreign language performance... described in § 660.10. (2) Specific languages or regions for study or materials development; for example...

  20. Some Pre-Methodological Considerations in Foreign-Language Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Higgs, Theodore V.

    1981-01-01

    Combines studies in cognitive psychology and language acquisition with observations of pedagogical materials and student performance to analyze foreign-language teaching from the perspective of what students and teachers need to understand about language learning and language before meaningful debate over methodology can be undertaken. (Author/MES)

  1. Conflicting Views on Language Policy and Planning at a Colombian University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miranda, Norbella; Berdugo, Martha; Tejada, Harvey

    2016-01-01

    The current internationalization trends in higher education and educational language policies impel universities to plan their provision of foreign languages. Often, universities are developing language policies, redesigning their foreign language programs and seeking to foster bilingual or multilingual strategies within graduate and undergraduate…

  2. A Summary of an Assessment of Fourth and Sixth Grade Basic Skills.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    CTB / McGraw-Hill, Monterey, CA.

    A comprehensive assessment was made of the status of elementary education in Missouri in reading, mathematics, language, and study skills. The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) and the Short Form Test of Academic Aptitude (SFTAA) were administered to a sample of Missouri fourth and sixth graders. For each curricular area, Missouri…

  3. Autism Research: Music Aptitude's Effect on Developmental/Academic Gains for Students with Significant Cognitive/Language Delays

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sobol, Elise S.

    2014-01-01

    This research study was built upon findings in neuroscience of the brain's natural ability to physically change itself through cognitive modifiability by creating new pathways and neural connections. The purpose of the research was to investigate instructional music applications for improvement in basic math skills with students who are on the…

  4. Special Operations Forces Language and Culture Needs Assessment Project: Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB): Perspectives from the Field

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-09-29

    facilities (the room was 100 degrees in the middle of a hot North Carolina summer) and because our drill sergeants did not let us get enough sleep the...inadquate facilities (the room was 100 degrees in the middle of a hot North Carolina summer) and because our drill sergeants did not let us get enough ...environment was too hot. Furthermore, some operators reported they did not receive adequate sleep the night before the test due to other training

  5. Catalog of Training and Education Sources in Concurrent Engineering

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-11-01

    Undergraduate degree in engineering or hard science. TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) of 550 or better for international students and GMAT (Graduate...Graduate Record Examination)of 1000 0 (Verbal + Quantitative); TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) of 550 for students whose first language...Graduate Record Examination) and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) 0 scores. Comments: Recipient of the CASA/SME 1988 University LEAD

  6. Biologie und Fremdsprachenunterricht. Das Prinzip der Einsprachigkeit im Lichte biologischer Erkenntnisse ueber Denken und Lernen (Biology and Foreign Language Teaching. The Monolingual Principle in the Light of Biological Findings concerning Thinking and Learning).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schneider, Rudolf

    1979-01-01

    Draws upon recent publications dealing with brain function (particularly F. Vester, "Denken, Lernen, Vergessen", Munich, 1978) for ideas for foreign language teaching. These include constant use of the foreign language in the classroom, frequent repetition, and avoidance of false associations by explanation in the native language.…

  7. Defining the Essentials for the Foreign Language Classroom. Selected Papers from the 1989 Central States Conference.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McAlpine, Dave, Ed.; And Others

    Selected papers from the 1989 Central State Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages include the following: "From Talk to Action: An Essential for Curricular Change" (June K. Phillips); "Comprehensible Input for Intermediate Foreign Language Students via Video" (Tracy David Terrell); "Developing Extensive Reading Skills: The Transition to…

  8. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety of Arab Learners of English: The Effect of Personality, Linguistic and Sociobiographical Variables

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dewaele, Jean-Marc; Al-Saraj, Taghreed M.

    2015-01-01

    The present study focuses on the link between psychological, sociobiographical and linguistic variables and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety of 348 Arabic learners of English (250 females, 98 males). Data were collected using the Arabic Foreign Language Anxiety Questionnaire (AFLAQ; Al-Saraj, 2011, 2014) and an Arabic version of the…

  9. Guidelines for Evaluating Foreign Language Programs Abroad for High School Students: A Reappraisal.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Council of State Supervisors of Foreign Language.

    Criteria for the evaluation of study/travel abroad programs for high school students of foreign language originally approved in 1966 by the National Council of State Supervisors of Foreign Languages are reevaluated and reexamined in this pamphlet. Guidelines are presented in these areas: (1) selection of students, (2) recruitment of group leaders,…

  10. The Overwhelmed Generation and Foreign Language Teacher Preparation: Developing Strategies to Work with the Mental Health Challenges of Preservice Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schrier, Leslie L.

    2008-01-01

    For the last two decades the foreign language education profession has spent considerable energy establishing professional guidelines for foreign language teacher preparation. This article discusses research that suggests that the profession should now direct its energies toward developing protocols to assist preservice teachers whose mental…

  11. What Has Personality and Emotional Intelligence to Do with "Feeling Different" while Using a Foreign Language?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ozanska-Ponikwia, Katarzyna

    2012-01-01

    The present study investigates the link between personality traits (OCEAN Personality test), emotional intelligence (EI) (Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire) and the notion of "feeling different" while using a foreign language among 102 Polish-English bilinguals and Polish L2 users of English who were immersed in a foreign language and…

  12. Above and beyond the Syllabus: Transformation in an Adult, Foreign Language Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Stacey Margarita; Nelson, Barbara Mullins

    2010-01-01

    While many students in a foreign language classroom are successful at learning the prescribed curriculum, they may never move beyond the grammar and vocabulary to experience transformative learning. On the other hand, students who do not achieve proficiency may experience a perspective transformation as a result of studying a foreign language.…

  13. Beyond Reading: Developing Visual Literacy in French.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sacco, Steven J.; Marckel, Beverly G.

    Reading can and should be a more widely used foreign language skill, and visual literacy in a foreign language goes beyond comprehension of basal reading materials. Authentic, real-life reading need not wait for foreign language mastery, but can begin at an early level if materials geared to the students' prior knowledge and interest are chosen.…

  14. The Future of Foreign Language Teaching on the North American Continent.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bouton, Charles P.

    Following a brief review of the history of interest in foreign languages in America, facts to be considered when interpreting falling enrollment statistics, such as a drop in the birth rate, are discussed. It is stressed that foreign language teaching cannot be neglected in a world having improved and extensive communication between people…

  15. Organizational Principles and Content of Early Foreign Language Learning in the USA

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Biletska, Iryna

    2015-01-01

    According to the results of leading American scientists that convincingly demonstrate the effectiveness and necessity of early foreign language learning the features of teaching foreign languages at elementary level in the United States have been analyzed. It has been found out that the US government is working on the improvement of foreign…

  16. From Cultural Knowledge to Intercultural Communicative Competence: Changing Perspectives on the Role of Culture in Foreign Language Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Piatkowska, Katarzyna

    2015-01-01

    Approaches to the concept of culture and teaching cultural competence in a foreign language classroom have been changing over the last decades. The paper summarises, compares, contrasts and evaluates four major approaches to teaching cultural competence in foreign language teaching, that is, knowledge-based approach, contrastive approach,…

  17. The Influence of Teachers' Anxiety-Reducing Strategies on Learners' Foreign Language Anxiety

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alrabai, Fakieh

    2015-01-01

    This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects on learner anxiety of anxiety-reducing strategies utilized by English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, sources of foreign language (FL) anxiety for Saudi learners of English (N = 596) were identified using The…

  18. THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY AND EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH TO THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    CARROLL, JOHN B.

    THIS ADDRESS, GIVEN AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING (BERLIN, SEPTEMBER 1964), PRESENTS A GENERAL DISCUSSION OF THE PRESENT SCOPE, ROLE, AND POTENTIAL USE OF RESEARCH IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY, AND MAINTAINS THAT THE BEST RESEARCH IS THAT WHICH IS CLOSELY ALLIED WITH THEORY, AND THE HARDEST TO…

  19. Affective Education and Foreign Language Learning. The Challenge of Communication. ACTFL Review of Foreign Language Education, Vol. 6.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Disick, Renee S.; Barbanel, Laura

    The affective education movement and applications to foreign language learning are surveyed. Affective, or humanistic, education seeks to include self-knowledge, improved interpersonal communication, and clarification of one's values. Research studies show that thinking and feeling are intertwined. Emotion is present in the classroom and cannot be…

  20. National and State Needs for Foreign Language Learning in Government, Business, Tourism, and Agriculture.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoegl, Juergen K.

    There is growing evidence that the need for cultural understanding and foreign language competence in the United States and in Illinois is not being met. This need must be addressed through state educational reform. The deterioration in foreign language capabilities affects national security and is a direct result of declining enrollment in…

  1. A Model of Foreign Language Anxiety in the Saudi EFL Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alrabai, Fakieh

    2014-01-01

    Feelings of anxiety are commonly expressed by Saudi learners in their English as a foreign language (EFL) classes. These feelings typically exert detrimental effects on these learners' foreign language attainment. This paper reports on the findings of a large-scale study for which three data collection iterations were conducted over three years to…

  2. Internet Technology-Based Projects in Learning and Teaching English as a Foreign Language at Yakutsk State University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zamorshchikova, Lena; Egorova, Olga; Popova, Marina

    2011-01-01

    This paper discusses recent uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in fostering Internet-based projects for learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at the Faculty of Foreign Languages in Yakutsk State University, Russia. It covers the authors' experiences integrating distance education and creating educational resources…

  3. A National Plan for a Use-Oriented Foreign Language System. NFLC Position Papers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lambert, Richard D.

    The significant progress made in the United States' foreign language education system in recent decades is not enough. If the current system is to expand adult foreign language competency and use, both a change of perspective and a new organizational superstructure are necessary to serve those needs more directly, which in turn demands a…

  4. Foreign Languages at New Jersey Two-Year Colleges.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Willard, George R.

    A study was undertaken to gather data on declines in foreign language enrollment at Union County College (UCC) and other New Jersey two-year colleges and to identify means by which foreign language offerings might be enhanced. Surveys were sent to the 18 New Jersey two-year colleges besides UCC, requesting information on enrollments between 1994…

  5. Utilizing WAIS Scores to Determine Foreign Language Pathways and Learning Assistance for Students with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trammell, Jack

    2016-01-01

    Foreign language (FL) requirements at postsecondary institutions remain a major hurdle for many students with learning disabilities (LD) as well as a significant portion of students without diagnosed LD. Many institutions have developed foreign language substitution (FLS) policies that allow students with LD to take alternate paths to meet the…

  6. Learning Indicators of a Foreign Language in Spanish Public University. Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cáceres-Lorenzo, M-Teresa; Salas-Pascual, Marcos; Afonzo-de-Tovar, Isabel-Cristina; Vera-Cazorla, M-Jesús; Santana-Alvarado, Yaiza; Santana-Quintana, Cristina

    2017-01-01

    This article investigates 292 postgraduate students of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain), through a Likert-scale questionnaire. This inquiry was about private, educational actions and learning valuation of a foreign language and its relation with the learning of one or several foreign languages. The analysis of…

  7. Influencing the Instructional Design Strategies of New Teachers: Foreign Language and Technology Teacher Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cunningham, Ann C.; Redmond, Mary Lynn

    2002-01-01

    Presents the foreign language education program at Wake Forest University as an example of how a content-focused curriculum can be enhanced by a supportive technology program. An emphasis on content, research, and practice supported by integrated, state-of-the-art technology prepares graduates of the foreign language education program to lead…

  8. Object Familiarity Facilitates Foreign Word Learning in Preschoolers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sera, Maria D.; Cole, Caitlin A.; Oromendia, Mercedes; Koenig, Melissa A.

    2014-01-01

    Studying how children learn words in a foreign language can shed light on how language learning changes with development. In one experiment, we examined whether three-, four-, and five-year-olds could learn and remember words for familiar and unfamiliar objects in their native English and a foreign language. All age groups could learn and remember…

  9. Foreign Languages and the Total Curriculum: Exploring Alternative Basics.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crouse, Gale; And Others

    Four alternative foreign language curricula for college students are described. A course in business French may appeal to students who want their foreign language study to be marketable to prospective employers. The instructor in such a course will find his/her chief task to be the collection of suitable materials; a variety of suggestions from…

  10. Cultural Studies and Foreign Language Teaching in Denmark. ROLIG-papir 41.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Risager, Karen

    A description is provided of foreign language and related cultural education (English, French, and German) in Denmark since the 1950s. The first section gives an overview of the development of Danish society in general since the second world war, and more specifically, of developments in foreign language teaching. The second section briefly…

  11. Building on Experience: Building for Success. ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series, Vol. 10.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phillips, June K., Ed.

    This volume on the general subject of foreign language curriculum deals with questions in the areas of program planning, implementation, and evaluation. The following papers are presented: (1) "Developing Foreign Language Curriculum in the Total School Setting: The Macro-picture," by Robert S. Zais; (2) "Identifying Needs and Setting Goals," by…

  12. Choosing Materials that Do the Job. The ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series, Vol. 10.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Carl H.

    The importance of text materials in foreign language classrooms is a crucial issue and choosing a textbook and supplementary materials becomes a major area of concern for every foreign language teacher. While factors both external and internal to the school narrow the possibility of choice, several points must be considered in the selection…

  13. Using Nasreddin Hodja Stories in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yaman, Ismail

    2017-01-01

    Culture is an indispensable dimension of human life and also foreign language teaching and learning process; and as a part of the current trend, diverse cultural elements are covered in recently published English as a foreign language (EFL) coursebooks. These cultural elements are not limited to the target culture but they cover local and…

  14. The Foreign Language and Intercultural Competence Teacher: The Acquisition of a New Professional Identity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sercu, Lies

    2006-01-01

    It has now become commonplace to state that foreign language learning should be viewed in an intercultural perspective. The main objective of foreign language education is no longer defined strictly in terms of the acquisition of communicative competence. Teachers are now required to teach intercultural communicative competence. The aim of the…

  15. Fairy Tales and Foreign Languages: Ever the Twain Shall Meet

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davidheiser, James C.

    2007-01-01

    Fairy tales are not new to foreign language instructors, but on occasion they have been considered wither exoteric or unworthy of class time. Yet today there is a resurgence of interest in fairy tales and a rebirth of their use in the arts, which may serve foreign language instructors. This article presents historical background to inform…

  16. Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language in Belgrade, Yugoslavia: A Need To Overcome the Old Ways.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Savic, Jelena M.

    1997-01-01

    Notes that although the popularity of Spanish as a foreign language has increased in Yugoslavia, little attention has been paid to Spanish teachers' attitudes toward foreign language teaching or to their continuous education. Presents a survey of teacher attitudes regarding curriculum and teaching methods. Results indicate that the teaching staff…

  17. Investigating Students' Perspectives of Foreign Language Distance Education Curriculum According to Some Variables

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Orhan, Ali; Ay, Sule Çeviker

    2017-01-01

    This study was carried out to investigate the students' satisfaction levels of foreign language distance education curriculum in a state university according to some variables. In the study, it was aimed to answer these questions: "What are the students' opinions about the distance education curriculum of Foreign Language I course and do…

  18. Age, Gender and Grade Effect on Foreign Language Anxiety among Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aydin, Selami; Harputlu, Leyla; Çelik, Seyda Savran; Ustuk, Özgehan; Güzel, Serhat

    2017-01-01

    The number of studies on the relationship between certain demographic variables, age, gender and grade, and the levels of foreign language anxiety (FLA) in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context regarding adult and young learners is fairly limited, whereas the findings obtained from prior studies did not reach a consensus on the…

  19. Investigating Foreign Language Learning Anxiety among Students Learning English in a Public Sector University, Pakistan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gopang, Illahi Bux; Bughio, Faraz Ali; Pathan, Habibullah

    2015-01-01

    The present study investigated foreign language anxiety among students of Lasbela University, Baluchistan, Pakistan. The study adopted the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz et al., 1986). The respondents were (N = 240) including 26 female and 214 male. The data was run through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)…

  20. Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language in Taiwan: A Socio-Cultural Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kung, Fan-Wei

    2017-01-01

    This article examines the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context in Taiwan based on Vygotsky's (1978) socio-cultural framework. The historical context is provided after some delineations of the educational system in Taiwan with regard to its foreign language instruction policy and development. Based upon the proposed socio-cultural framework,…

  1. Foreign Language Curricula in Japanese High Schools: A Case Study in Miyagi Prefecture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ball, Daniel

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the foreign language curricula in Japanese high schools for the purpose of gaining insight into alternative views of foreign language education. Teachers, administrators, and staff at two high schools in Miyagi Prefecture were interviewed. Teachers were asked about testing, placement procedures, standards,…

  2. Pedagogy of Language Learning in Higher Education: An Introduction. Advances in Foreign Language Pedagogy, Volume 2.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brauer, Gerd, Ed.

    This second volume in the series "Advances in Foreign and Second Language Pedagogy" is an introduction to the pedagogy of language learning in higher education focusing on learner motivation, classroom environments, relationships for learning, and the future of language education. The book reveals numerous links to language education on the…

  3. How the demographic makeup of our community influences speech perception.

    PubMed

    Lev-Ari, Shiri; Peperkamp, Sharon

    2016-06-01

    Speech perception is known to be influenced by listeners' expectations of the speaker. This paper tests whether the demographic makeup of individuals' communities can influence their perception of foreign sounds by influencing their expectations of the language. Using online experiments with participants from all across the U.S. and matched census data on the proportion of Spanish and other foreign language speakers in participants' communities, this paper shows that the demographic makeup of individuals' communities influences their expectations of foreign languages to have an alveolar trill versus a tap (Experiment 1), as well as their consequent perception of these sounds (Experiment 2). Thus, the paper shows that while individuals' expectations of foreign language to have a trill occasionally lead them to misperceive a tap in a foreign language as a trill, a higher proportion of non-trill language speakers in one's community decreases this likelihood. These results show that individuals' environment can influence their perception by shaping their linguistic expectations.

  4. Foreign Exposure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huebner, Lee W.

    2006-01-01

    The admirable ideal of "total" immersion in a foreign culture privileges students who plan early on for foreign study, establish early language fluency and elect majors and activities that make it easier to leave campus. Other students often find that they lack the language skills to qualify for many foreign programs or are unable to reconcile…

  5. Bringing back the body into the mind: gestures enhance word learning in foreign language.

    PubMed

    Macedonia, Manuela

    2014-01-01

    Foreign language education in the twenty-first century still teaches vocabulary mainly through reading and listening activities. This is due to the link between teaching practice and traditional philosophy of language, where language is considered to be an abstract phenomenon of the mind. However, a number of studies have shown that accompanying words or phrases of a foreign language with gestures leads to better memory results. In this paper, I review behavioral research on the positive effects of gestures on memory. Then I move to the factors that have been addressed as contributing to the effect, and I embed the reviewed evidence in the theoretical framework of embodiment. Finally, I argue that gestures accompanying foreign language vocabulary learning create embodied representations of those words. I conclude by advocating the use of gestures in future language education as a learning tool that enhances the mind.

  6. Allgemeine Sprachfaehigkeit und Fremdsprachenerwerb. Zur Struktur von Leistungsdimensionen und linguistischer Kompetenz des Fremdsprachenlerners (General Language Ability and Foreign Language Acquisition. On the Structure of Performance Dimensions and the Linguistic Competence of the Foreign Language Learner). Diskussions beitraege aus dem Institute fuer Bildungsforschung, No. 1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sang, Fritz; Vollmer, Helmut J.

    This study investigates the theoretical plausibility and empirical validity of the assumption that all performance in a foreign language can be traced back to a single factor, the general language ability factor. The theoretical background of this hypothesis is reviewed in detail. The concept of a unitary linguistic competence, interpreted as an…

  7. Mastering Foreign Language Competence of Ecology and Environment Managers for Mining Industry of Kuzbass

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Greenwald, Oksana; Islamov, Roman; Sergeychick, Tatyana

    2017-11-01

    The necessity to solve nature conservation problems of Kuzbass mining industry demands from postgraduate education institutions to train highly qualified specialists in ecology and environment management. As 21st century education is competence-based one, the article clarifies the concept of competence in education, focuses on key competences, namely foreign language competence and its relevance for specialists in ecology and environment management. Foreign language competence is acquired through the course of "Foreign Language" discipline which covers the following aspects: academic reading, academic writing and public speaking. The article also describes the experience of organizing students' individual work taking into account their motivation and specific conditions of the discipline as well. Thus, both the content of the discipline and the approach to organize students' learning contribute to mastering foreign language competence of ecology and environment managers as inherent condition of their professional efficiency for solving ecological problems of mining industry in Kuzbass region.

  8. Factor analysis of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale in Korean learners of English as a foreign language.

    PubMed

    Park, Gi-Pyo

    2014-08-01

    This study examined the latent constructs of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) using two different groups of Korean English as a foreign language (EFL) university students. Maximum likelihood exploratory factor analysis with direct oblimin rotation was performed among the first group of 217 participants and produced two meaningful latent components in the FLCAS. The two components of the FLCAS were closely examined among the second group of 244 participants to find the extent to which the two components of the FLCAS fit the data. The model fit indexes showed that the two-factor model in general adequately fit the data. Findings of this study were discussed with the focus on the two components of the FLCAS, followed by future study areas to be undertaken to shed further light on the role of foreign language anxiety in L2 acquisition.

  9. A Critical Appraisal of Foreign Language Research in Content and Language Integrated Learning, Young Language Learners, and Technology-Enhanced Language Learning Published in Spain (2003-2012)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dooly, Melinda; Masats, Dolors

    2015-01-01

    This state-of-the-art review provides a critical overview of research publications in Spain in the last ten years in three areas of teaching and learning foreign languages (especially English): context and language integrated learning (CLIL), young language learners (YLL), and technology-enhanced language learning (TELL). These three domains have…

  10. THE LANGUAGE LABORATORY--SELECTED READINGS.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Modern Language Association of America, New York, NY.

    THIS PACKET OF ARTICLES AND BOOKLETS, PUBLISHED FROM 1961 TO 1965, IS DESIGNED FOR PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE USE OF THE LANGUAGE LABORATORY IN THEIR FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS. INCLUDED ARE--(1) "A DOZEN DO'S AND DON'TS FOR PLANNING AND OPERATING A LANGUAGE LAB OR AN ELECTRONIC CLASSROOM IN A HIGH SCHOOL," (2) "MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN HIGH…

  11. Task-Based EFL Language Teaching with Procedural Information Design in a Technical Writing Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roy, Debopriyo

    2017-01-01

    Task-based language learning (TBLL) has heavily influenced syllabus design, classroom teaching, and learner assessment in a foreign or second language teaching context. In this English as foreign language (EFL) learning environment, the paper discussed an innovative language learning pedagogy based on design education and technical writing. In…

  12. Attitudes toward Task-Based Language Learning: A Study of College Korean Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pyun, Danielle Ooyoung

    2013-01-01

    This study explores second/foreign language (L2) learners' attitudes toward task-based language learning (TBLL) and how these attitudes relate to selected learner variables, namely anxiety, integrated motivation, instrumental motivation, and self-efficacy. Ninety-one college students of Korean as a foreign language, who received task-based…

  13. English and Thai Speakers' Perception of Mandarin Tones

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Ying

    2016-01-01

    Language learners' language experience is predicted to display a significant effect on their accurate perception of foreign language sounds (Flege, 1995). At the superasegmental level, there is still a debate regarding whether tone language speakers are better able to perceive foreign lexical tones than non-tone language speakers (i.e Lee et al.,…

  14. A Study on the Approaches to Culture Introduction in English Textbooks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zu, Lin; Kong, Zheqiong

    2009-01-01

    Language is embedded in society and culture, and for that matter, learning a foreign language involves learning its culture. This paper is concerned with the inseparability of culture and language in foreign language teaching, arguing that culture introduction is an effective way to promote students' cultural awareness and language proficiency.…

  15. Contextual Considerations in Communicative Language Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Takala, Sauli

    Ten years of intensive research and development in foreign language teaching in Finland have resulted in a foreign language curriculum with a communicative orientation and textbooks to accompany it. Another outcome of this work was a realization of the complexity of language teaching, which led to models of the language teaching process. One such…

  16. FL 101: A Cultural Introduction to Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keller, Howard H.

    FL-101 is an interdisciplinary, team-taught orientation to foreign languages. It has been designed to accomplish two goals: (1) provide a language-related academic experience for students who would otherwise not have any contact with languages, and (2) attract students to the further study of language. There are nine major components in the…

  17. Examining Emotions in English Language Learning Classes: A Case of EFL Emotions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pishghadam, Reza; Zabetipour, Mohammad; Aminzadeh, Afrooz

    2016-01-01

    Emotions play a significant role in learning in general, and foreign language learning in particular. Although with the rise of humanistic approaches, enough attention has been given to the affective domain in language learning, the emotions English as a foreign language (EFL) learners experience regarding English language skills in listening,…

  18. Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Primary School. Case Studies in TESOL Practice Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCloskey, Mary Lou, Ed.; Orr, Janet, Ed.; Dolitsky, Marlene, Ed.

    2006-01-01

    Although language specialists do not always agree about the best age at which to introduce English language instruction, policy changes are increasingly mandating earlier introduction of English in foreign language (EFL) settings worldwide. In this volume, language educators and program implementers from various countries describe programs and…

  19. Le Jeu des Colis--An Exercise in Foreign Language Communication.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Barry

    1979-01-01

    Teacher prepared taped exchanges of realia between foreign language classes and classes of speakers of the target language provide language lessons through personal contact similar to those gained through a trip to the country of the target language. Sample lessons offer linguistic, cultural, and practical guidelines for implementing such a…

  20. Twentieth Century Modern Language Teaching: Sources and Readings.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newmark, Maxim, Ed.

    One hundred and twenty-two readings from sources published between 1900 and 1947 cover aspects of language teaching in the United States. Chapters on the history of modern language teaching and on programs, projects, and activities are particularly lengthy. Other chapters discuss values of foreign language study, foreign language in the general…

  1. A Practical Guide to the Teaching of English as a Second or Foreign Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rivers, Wilga M.; Temperley, Mary S.

    This text, designed for future teachers of English as a second or foreign language, considers language teaching methodology in the light of recent research in psychology and linguistics. Many aspects of language learning that contribute to effective language use are discussed: oral communication, pronunciation, grammar instruction, listening…

  2. The Commercial Course: Defense et Illustration.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scavillo, Anthony

    The development of commercial foreign language courses by colleges and universities would help to satisfy the need for language enrollments and the expressed need of the international business community for foreign language skills in American business employees. Three major problems inhibit commercial language course development: limited…

  3. Annotated Bibliography of Materials for Elementary Foreign Language Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dobb, Fred

    An annotated bibliography contains about 70 citations of instructional materials and materials concerning curriculum development for elementary school foreign language programs. Citations are included for Arabic, classical languages, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. Items on exploratory language courses and general works on…

  4. Foreign Language Study at Black Colleges.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Turner, James S.

    1992-01-01

    Presents a discussion with James J. Davis, interim chairman of Howard University's Department of Romance Languages. Offers Davis' view that African-American students often are ambivalent about foreign language study and frequently prefer African to European languages. Describes how Davis became involved in the field. (SG)

  5. Teaching Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holmes, Madelyn, Ed.

    1997-01-01

    Articles on second language education include: "Foreign Languages in Schools" (Madelyn Holmes), an overview of the benefits of language instruction in elementary and secondary education; "Japanese across the Miles" (Elizabeth Reiken), describing a high school distance learning program in Japanese; "Teaching Spanish as a Community Service" (Rita A.…

  6. Standardising Assessment to Meet Student Needs in Foreign Language Modules in a University Context: Is Standardisation Possible?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nunan, Anna

    2014-01-01

    The Applied Language Centre at University College Dublin offers foreign language modules to students in ten languages at CEFR [Common European Framework of Reference for Languages] levels ranging from A1 to B2. Efforts have been underway in the Centre to standardise the assessment components across languages to ensure parity between module credits…

  7. Transition in Modern Foreign Languages: A Longitudinal Study of Motivation for Language Learning and Second Language Proficiency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Courtney, Louise

    2017-01-01

    The current longitudinal study examines the similarities and differences between primary and secondary foreign language curricula and pedagogy along with the development of motivation for language learning and second language proficiency. Data from 26 English learners of French (aged 10-11) were collected across three times points over a 12-month…

  8. An Attempt for the Exploration of Academicians' Experiences of the Standard Foreign Language Tests Held in Turkey through Metaphors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yesilyurt, Savas

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to explore academicians' perceptions and experiences about the public high-stakes Foreign Language Test(s) (YDS, formerly UDS, KPDS, and their counterparts in different times and contexts) used to measure foreign language proficiency in Turkey. For this purpose, data were collected from academicians with different…

  9. Public Awareness: What Can the Individual Teacher Do? The Challenge of Communication. ACTFL Review of Foreign Language Education, Vol. 6.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reeves, Dona B.

    The greatest single opportunity for influencing public opinion concerning foreign language study is through the teacher-student encounter. There is some indication that student motivation for foreign language study may be related to general cultural interests and travel facility rather than to research or career requirements. Flexibility in pace…

  10. Differential Influences of Parental Home Literacy Practices and Anxiety in English as a Foreign Language on Chinese Children's English Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chow, Bonnie Wing-Yin; Chui, Barbie Hiu-Tung; Lai, Michael Wei-Chun; Kwok, Sylvia Y. C. L.

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the differential influences of maternal and paternal factors on Chinese children's English as a foreign language development. It took into account both behavioral (i.e. parental home literacy practices, HLP; and children's vocabulary knowledge) and emotional (i.e. parental and children's foreign language reading anxiety,…

  11. Linking Foreign Language to Occupational Education in a Rural High School: Foreign Language with Criminal Justice and Travel & Tourism.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Connors, William R.

    Ticonderoga High School (New York) has succeeded in increasing enrollments in foreign language courses beyond the college bound, Regents-level students who usually choose such courses. The school is located in the Adirondack Mountains, a region that, in the past decade, has seen increases both in prison construction and in tourism by…

  12. The Perceptions of Community College Students to Foreign Language Acquisition Grounded in Multiple Intelligence Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wallace, Richard Le Roy Wayne

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine and gain a clearer understanding of the perceptions of foreign language learning of adult foreign language learners attending a South-West Missouri community college. This study was based on the Multiple Intelligence (MI) theory of Howard Gardner. It examined the perceptions of adult language…

  13. Effect of Distributive Leadership Behaviours of Foreign Language Schools' Principals on the Job Satisfaction of Instructors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tanriögen, A.; Iscan, S.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of distributive leadership behavior of foreign language schools' principals on the job satisfaction of instructors. Sample size of 416 instructors working in foreign language school for the academic year 2013 to 2014 was used in the study. The data was gathered using questionnaires tag…

  14. The Development of Professional Foreign Language Competence for ESP Students: Case of Kazakh National Agrarian University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kunanbayeva, Salima; Zhyltyrova, Zhanar

    2016-01-01

    The relevance of this paper is determined by the needs of modern society for qualified specialists who will fulfill professional tasks in a foreign language society at various intercultural levels. The purpose of the research is studying the development of professional foreign language competence for ESP students. The methodology of the research…

  15. L. V. Shcherba: A "New Slant" on Modern Foreign Languages in the School Curriculum?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Campbell-Thomson, Olga

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, I offer a critical reflection on the thesis of the general educational value of foreign languages developed by Russian linguist Lev Vladimirovich Shcherba. I do so against the background of current debates on the positioning of foreign languages in the school curriculum in the United Kingdom (UK). I argue that Shcherba's thesis,…

  16. A Research into the Pedagogic Formation, Foreign Language and Computer Related Knowledge of Track and Field Trainers in Turkey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pekel, Haci Ahmet

    2014-01-01

    Foreign language, computer programs and social network applications or web sites are widely used by many people nowadays for various aims. In the literature, the number of studies investigating over university departments of physical education or more specifically to say, taking sports students' and teachers' foreign language and social networking…

  17. Harnessing a Nation's Linguistic Competence: Identifying and Addressing Needs for LOTE in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Neill, Shirley; Hatoss, Aniko

    2003-01-01

    Reports research that aimed to identify the foreign language and cross-cultural skill needs of workers in the tourism and hospitality industry in Australia and to develop foreign language competencies for use in industry training packages. Provides evidence for the need for foreign language skills in the industry and gives an account of the…

  18. A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Foreign-Language Vocabulary Learning Enhanced by Phonological Rehearsal: The Role of the Right Cerebellum and Left Fusiform Gyrus

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Makita, Kai; Yamazaki, Mika; Tanabe, Hiroki C.; Koike, Takahiko; Kochiyama, Takanori; Yokokawa, Hirokazu; Yoshida, Haruyo; Sadato, Norihiro

    2013-01-01

    Psychological research suggests that foreign-language vocabulary acquisition recruits the phonological loop for verbal working memory. To depict the neural underpinnings and shed light on the process of foreign language learning, we conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging of Japanese participants without previous exposure to the Uzbek…

  19. Identifying the Perceptual Learning Styles of Foreign Language Learners: A Comparative Study in TR63 (Osmaniye, Hatay and Kahramanmaras)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kurt, Mehmet; Bilginer, Hayriye

    2016-01-01

    In the globalizing world economy, for the realization of international trade is increasing the need for foreign language learning. TR63 (Kahramanmaras, Osmaniye and Hatay) region is increasing its export every day. Besides these advances, interest is awakening in foreign language education among the region. In preparing syllabus for this kind of…

  20. 1973 ACTFL Annual Bibliography of Books and Articles on Pedagogy in Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lange, Dale L., Comp.

    This bibliography is the seventh annual listing, by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, of articles and books on the teaching of foreign languages. It has been compiled from a master list of about 300 journals relating to the field and from various book sources. Books and articles concerned with pedagogy in modern foreign…

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