English has become the dominant global language of communication, business, aviation, entertainment, diplomacy and the internet. Governments as well as some scholars appear to be accepting such a spread of English uncritically. However, we argue that the increasing dominance of the English language is contributing to neocolonialism by empowering…

In this paper I argue that language policies for education have effects on pupils' educational possibilities. With the case of the Karagwe district in Tanzania the research suggests that the policy of "Swahili only" in primary school education favours the small minority of the children that live in a context where Swahili is used. This…

The extensive literature, situated mainly in "first world" contexts, on design and evaluation of distance learning materials, emphasises the importance of student feedback. This paper begins with an account of how two groups of students responded to questions on a text they had used in an inservice professional development programme for teachers…

Many struggling readers, students with English as a second language, and children with disabilities do not engage in the strategies that good readers use when reading for understanding. Reading comprehension depends upon the students' ability to successfully use strategies to monitor and control their own comprehension. Teachers need to help…

In this article, the authors discuss the importance of oral language formation as it relates to literacy and the development of children's skills, knowledge, and understanding with respect to reading and writing. Describing stories as the link between everyday language and literate forms of language, they explain why children need the experience…