摘要:

This retrospective analysis seeks to explain why a group of children who had been matched for English proficiency and socioeconomic status (SES) when they started a school year, and who were subsequently taught and tested through the medium of English, differed in their school achievement at the end of that year. Factors considered include relative productive competence in English morphology, syntax, and vocabulary; verbosity; patterns of social interaction; first language performance; and personality factors. Extensive intra‐group variability is reported, but several generalizations are drawn which have relevance for ESL curriculum organization and instructional practice: vocabulary knowledge is the single most important area of second language (L2) competence when learning content through that language is the dependent variable; grammatical accuracy is of little importance to students' immediate academic needs; communicative competence in social interaction does not guarantee communicative competence in academic situations; and the use of the first language (L1) enhances conceptual development, even when it is tested through the medium of the L

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3586690

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Current research on second language development in children has provided teachers and curriculum planners with multiple possibilities for innovations in classroom practice. In the case of oral language development in ESL, this research has made significant contributions both to classroom teaching and to the materials being published for classroom use. Classroom practices in literacy for ESL children, however, have not kept up with research. This article presents several general findings from recent research on second language reading and writing development in children. These findings suggest: that even children who speak virtually no English read English print in the environment; that ESL learners are able to read English with only limited control over the oral system of the language; that the experiential and cultural background of the ESL reader has a strong effect on reading comprehension; that child ESL learners, early in their development of English, can write English and can do so for various purposes. This article also presents classroom applications for each finding.

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3586691

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This article examines the differences between first and second language readers' recall of a written English passage. First, the hierarchical content‐structure analysis developed by Meyer (1975a) is presented and then discussed in terms of the selected English expository prose text. Next, the results of a reading experiment are presented. In this experiment, adult students from three different language backgrounds, English, Japanese, and Spanish, read the passage and wrote immediate recalls. The comparison of the students' recall protocols with the hierarchical content‐structure analysis of the passage revealed that the native English speakers in the sample outperformed the students of English as a second language (ESL) in terms of total recall. Yet, unexpectedly, there was no significant difference between these groups in the recall of the high‐level ideas of the text. Finally, the article discusses discourse features in the recall protocols, such as “perspective” and “pragmatic condition,” which are not included in Meyer's system. Recommendations for future research are suggested, and implications for reading instruction

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3586692

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This article discusses three distinct groups of ESL users and considers some of the language skills which the speakers in these groups need in order to participate effectively in their particular situations. A review of data from observational and correlational studies and from needs analyses conducted by curriculum designers suggests that the communicative skills which need to be taught to second language students preparing for, or already in, these situations vary considerably. Occupational students of ESL, for example, need various types of listening comprehension and conversational skills, while university teaching assistants need to produce phonologically acceptable and fluent connected discourse in order to be rated as successful. Students in elementary and secondary schools need more diverse language skills, some related to literacy, in order to make normal progress in school. Of particular importance in the school setting is mastery and use of context‐reduced language, a text‐related type of language observed principally in formal school contexts. Furthermore, evidence suggests that the language skills which elementary and secondary students need can vary developmentally as well as contextually. Thus,communicative competence, as a concept, can mean different things for different groups of students; program planners, administrators, and teachers will be able to provide better instruction only after considering the specific communicative needs of specific learners in terms of the specific purposes for which the language is to be u

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3586693

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Increasing numbers of foreign students are coming to the United States for university‐level studies. Most go on to professional careers where English is needed for sophisticated and complex uses. Unfortunately, these students and professionals seldom receive English language training adequate for this purpose, either in school or on the job. Using engineering as a case in point, this article argues that there is a growing need for professionally oriented ESL instruction in American colleges, universities, and companies. Such instruction should combine aspects of both ESL and ESP in what is here called “generalized ESP.” Two illustrations of this approach—technical communication courses for university students and troubleshooting for technical professionals—are

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3586694

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This article surveys the literature regarding the use of behavioral objectives in education and in foreign language instruction in particular. It examines the roots of the behavioral objectives movement in both behaviorist psychology and in the scientific management movement of the 1920s. The justifications for the use of behavioral objectives are outlined, as are the most widespread reactions to and criticisms of them. Implications for foreign language learning and ESL/EFL are discussed, and suggestions for further research are presented.

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3586695

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This study analyzes the relationship between field sensitivity and cloze test performance for 286 subjects between the ages of 15 and 19 in six Pacific island cultures. Hawaiian students were found to be significantly more field independent than Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Indian‐Fijian, and Tahitian students. In the South Pacific samples, males were significantly more field independent than females, whereas in Hawaii there was no statistically significant relationship between sex and cognitive style. When the sample was taken as a whole, a significant relationship was found between field dependence/independence and cloze scores. Sizable group differences for subgroups within the sample, however, indicate that the relationship may not be significant for all cultures. Within cultures, the subgroups having lower scholastic achievement showed a significant relationship between cognitive style and cloze test score, while the high achievers did no

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3586696

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Business Concepts for English Practice.Barbara Tolley Dowling and Marianne McDougal.The Functional‐Notional Approach: From Theory to Practice.Mary Finocchiaro and Christopher Brumfi

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3586697

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3586698

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0039-8322    

DOI:10.2307/3586699

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY