Many facilities in American public schools are in disrepair, a situation negatively affecting the morale, health, and learning of students and teachers. Many schools postpone repairs during tight financial times to pay for academic programs. Some school officials and communities are pursuing innovative, grassroots solutions to maintaining school…

Research on adult learning shows that there is no decline in ability to learn as people get older, that except for minor considerations such as hearing and vision loss, the age of the adult learner is not a major factor in language acquisition, and that the context in which adults learn is the major influence on their ability to acquire a new…

This Digest considers language learning as a socio-cultural process, contending that to fully function in a particular language, one not only needs to understand the mechanics, such as the grammar, but also to apply that language across various contexts, audiences, and purposes. The Digest discusses language learning at home, language learning in…

In the situated learning approach, knowledge and skills are learned in contexts that reflect how knowledge is obtained and applied in everyday situations. As an instructional strategy, situated cognition is a means for relating subject matter to learners' needs and concerns. Four major premises guide the development of classroom activities for…

This digest presents eight principles drawn from theory and research on second language acquisition and culturally sensitive instruction to guide teachers who work with linguistically and culturally diverse students. Each principle is accompanied by a brief explanation and suggestions for classroom techniques and activities. They are: (1)…