Recently added articles from Foreign Language Annals:
A Time to Set Our Course for the Future: Establishing a Research Agenda
Dec 01, 2008; ... Perhaps the largest international research study on foreign languages ever conducted was the 1975 research project The Teaching of French in Eight Countries. Two points from that 300-page study are worthy of consideration even today: 1. The primary factor in learning French . . ....
The Journal Ranking Game
Dec 01, 2008; ... The recent flurry of exchanges on the Council of Editors of Learned Journal's (CELJ) listserv regarding journal rankings and ratings and their value has many members of the scholarly publishing community concerned, including this Editor. Numerous commentaries have recently put this issue in the ...
The Focus on Form Debate: Another Explanation for Grim's Results/Response to "The Focus on Form Debate: Another Explanation for Grim's Results"
Dec 01, 2008; ... Grim (2008) reported that planned focus on form was more effective in the short run than incidental and no focus on form for French as a foreign language at the university level, but differences among the groups were not significant ten days later.1 The author interprets this result as ...
A Study of Foreign Language Learning Outcomes Assessment in U.S. Undergraduate Education
Dec 01, 2008; ... Abstract: 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 ...
Achievement Motivational Characteristics of University Foreign Language Learners: From the Classroom to the Tutoring Table
Dec 01, 2008; ... Abstract: 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 ...
Reflective Practices in Foreign Language Teacher Education: A View Through Micro and Macro Windows
Dec 01, 2008; ... Abstract: As professional development models of teacher education that allow for self-directed, collaborative, inquiry-based learning are increasingly replacing more traditional top-down models, researchers acknowledge the impact of teachers' reflective practices. Although many different ...
ESL Theory-Practice Dynamics: The Difficulty of Integrating Sociocultural Perspectives into Pedagogical Practices
Dec 01, 2008; ... Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine English as a second language (ESL) teachers' sensitivity to their students' social-cultural backgrounds and the kind of constraints they face as they translate sociocultural perspectives into practice. Through both quantitative ...
Exchanging Second Language Messages Online: Developing an Intercultural Communicative Competence?
Dec 01, 2008; ... Abstract: This article reports on a study carried out twice on an online second language course that was set up between a Canadian University and a German University. In that course, students of German in Canada and students of English in Germany exchanged 2,412 messages in 2004 and ...
Language and Study Abroad Across the Curriculum: An Analysis of Course Development
Dec 01, 2008; ... Abstract: Preparing undergraduates and training faculty to succeed in a global society requires colleges to infuse international and intercultural dimensions into the curriculum. A Title VI grant funded the development and pilot of six Integrated Intensive Courses Abroad (IICA). These ...
An Interactive, Instructor-Supported Reading Approach vs. Traditional Reading Instruction in Spanish
Dec 01, 2008; ... Abstract: This study analyzes the effects of the Interactive Reading with Instructor Support (IRIS) model on reading comprehension, as compared to a traditional (direct-teaching/lecture format) instructional model. The IRIS model combines reading strategies and social mediation together ...
An Investigation of Reading Strategies Applied by American Learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language
Dec 01, 2008; ... Abstract: Minimal research has been conducted in reading Chinese as a second/ foreign language (CSL/CFL). In an effort to further the understanding of the reading process, this study, utilizing think aloud and retelling procedures, focuses on the identification of strategies that ...
To Assign a Topic or Not: Observing Fluency and Complexity in Intermediate Foreign Language Writing
Dec 01, 2008; ... Abstract: The present study examines the written products of third-semester German students' written productions during a timed, in-class writing activity. Topic selection control was modulated from instructor to student during eight 10-minute sessions. To account for order of treatment, ...
Improving a Good Thing
Oct 01, 2008; ... The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines were first published in 1989, and they have arguably had a greater impact on the profession than any other initiative undertaken during the last two decades. Providing guidelines that define for teachers and students alike what it means to be proficient in ...
On Belonging to Both the Humanities and the Sciences
Oct 01, 2008; ... Our loosely defined foreign language field emphatically straddles the traditional disciplinary divisions to which we belong-the Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences. Some of us take humanistic approaches to language teaching and learning, and yet others espouse the scientific method. Given ...
Achieving the Advanced Oral Proficiency in Arabic: A Case Study
Oct 01, 2008; ... Abstract: This article is based on a case study of a white American graduate student, Mark, who achieved "Superior" oral proficiency in Arabic according to the ACTFL's Oral Proficiency Scale. Based on multiple data sources (e.g., interviews, observation, document analysis), the study ...
Thoughts on Reporting, Evaluating, and Crediting Coauthorship
Oct 01, 2008; ... Editor: Several factors affecting higher education in recent years promote collaborative research projects that often result in studies written by more than one author. First, the undergraduate curriculum is undergoing review and adaptation at many of our colleges and universities ...
Student Voices: The Missing Link in the Spanish Heritage Language Debate
Oct 01, 2008; ... Abstract: Though much of the research looking at the issue of language in the Spanish heritage language field is intended to guide the Spanish heritage language teacher in the classroom, students' voices are often stifled. This article fills this gap by giving voice to students' opinions ...
A Novel Format for Teaching Spanish Grammar: Lessons from the Lecture Hall
Oct 01, 2008; ... Abstract: This article describes a third-year Spanish grammar course that is taught in lecture/discussion format. The course, which enrolls over 150 students each semester, provides explicit instruction during a weekly lecture and opportunities for students to engage in meaningful output ...
Blogging: Fostering Intercultural Competence Development in Foreign Language and Study Abroad Contexts
Oct 01, 2008; ... Abstract: An essential instructional goal in foreign language education is the enhancement of students' intercultural competence. This article reports on a study that examined how intercultural competence developed between study abroad and at home students (in Spain and the United ...
The Interactive Effects of Pragmatic-Eliciting Tasks and Pragmatic Instruction
Oct 01, 2008; ... Abstract: The effects of data-gathering methods on pragmatic data have been well documented, yet an inquiry into the interactive effects of assessment tasks with pragmatic instruction has received scant attention. This study investigated the interaction between two assessment tasks ...