Second language program evaluation has in recent years included an increasing variety of
cxanalytical methods.
These methods range from experimental or quasi-experimental to
With such variation in research
ethnographic (Alderson and Beretta, 1992; Lynch, 1996).
methods, it has become considerably more difficult to summarize second language program
evaluations in a comprehensive manner that can provide aggregate effect size estimations.
Despite this difficulty, there continues to be a need for general summative overviews of
language education program outcomes.
One motivation for establishing a general
overview of the product of second language program evaluations is that it potentially
provides an aid to program developers and curriculum designers.
Given the wide variety
of instructional options available, task-based, forms-focussed, natural approach, to name
but a few, and rapid changes in instructional technology, characteristic features of programs
that have shown patterns of success may serve to provide a proactive strategy for language
program designers