English practice activities can be a great medium for positive youth development. Worldwide, young people are aware of the increased opportunities available to those with English language skills, creating a high demand for quality English education. As a result, Youth in Development Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) are often asked to teach English.…

Suggests that students in French classes are not given enough practice in using numbers. Offers several suggestions, activities, and texts to help increase comprehension. (EKN)

Presents rationale for basing ESL instruction on notions of reality and authenticity by focusing on inadequacy of grammatically-based approaches in teaching appropriate language use and inadequacy of notional/functional syllabus. Real communication is most likely to occur when speaker and hearer are involved, especially when learner has a stake in…

Methods for introducing and drilling grammatical structures in English as a second language (ESL) are presented for beginning teachers. Emphasis is on realistic contextualization and elicitation of spoken and written language through visual cueing in mechanical or meaningful exercises. The exercises are intended for small groups of college-bound…

The theory and methods of the natural approach to language acquisition in the classroom are described. The natural approach is based on the theory that language acquisition occurs only when students receive comprehensible input. The emphasis is on reading and listening comprehension for beginning students. The seven chapters cover (1) language…

Describes multilevel French reading course at Houston Baptist University in which class time is divided into instructor-directed time where students and instructor work together and student-directed time where students work individually or in small groups with learning modules. Students contract for grades and work at their own pace. (BK)

Presents a learning exercise to help nonnative students "make friends" with "mainstream Canadians." The exercise steers students to places where they may meet mainstream Canadians, learn proper approaches to people, carry on conversations, and express their experiences. Sample activity cards from the series are appended. (CB)

A classroom game designed to promote critical reading and critical thinking in the English as a second language (ESL) instructional setting is described. The game offers problems whose solutions require the use of language. Students are divided into teams facing a screen. They are shown a passage or dialogue while the teacher reads it aloud. Each…

English-as-second-language instructors should take into account the importance of context for the meaning of language and address the varieties of English that learners will encounter in their daily lives. The principal elements of language variation and their implications for learners are described for the benefit of second language teachers.…

This paper discusses research on affective dimensions of foreign language instruction for gifted students, using Krathwohl's "Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Affective Domain" as a framework. The paper suggests behavioral objectives and specific activities to aid foreign language instruction at five levels: receiving, responding,…

Provides a set of priorities and learning activities for a short-term English as a second language pronunciation course. These include: stress/unstress, major sentence stress, intonation, and linking and pausing. (CB)

A course sequence for teaching the forms and formats of scientific and technical writing to English as a second language (ESL) learners is described. The first assignment, a letter of application, serves as a diagnostic indication of the student's ability. The second assignment, a narrative, is designed to define the importance of audience and…

A proposed approach to English as a second language (ESL) curriculum design for kindergarten through grade 12 is based on Bloom's taxonomy and McCarthy's four learning styles for right/left brain learning. Bloom's taxonomy established six levels for learning objectives: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.…

The methods and materials for teaching the vocabulary and writing components of an intensive summer English as a second language (ESL) program for foreign university students are described. Program goals are to improve English language proficiency and orient students to the American academic system and American culture. The approach to building…

An instructional unit presents birthday-related activities for use in German classes. Contents include: questions (in German) relating to birthdays; typical birthday expressions; classroom activities; examples of birthday card designs and good luck symbols; German ways to celebrate birthdays; reading section with vocabulary listing; games; a cake…