Discusses attitude and motivation as macro aspects of second-language learning and empathy and personality as the micro level. Believes learner's attitude, motivation, and personality are as important as intelligence but have nothing to do with capacity to learn. (Author/BK)

Discusses the role of immigrant parents' attitudes toward the majority culture in their children's second-language acquisition and overall educational achievement. (EKN)

Describes some characteristics of the adult learner, including factors that can affect the adult's ability to learn language. Discusses teacher- and learner-centered approaches and "adult" learning environments. (EKN)

Examines the development of the egocentric factor of self-esteem within the context of the acculturation process that immigrant children experience and shows how their self-esteem affects second language acquisition. (EKN)

Explains three elements of English that are particularly difficult for Chinese students to learn: the use of articles, which has no equivalent in Chinese; expression of tense, for which there is no Chinese equivalent; and the concepts of time, locality, and direction inherent in English usage of prepositions. (MSE)

Reports personal viewpoints of two English-as-a-Second-Language learners who emigrated from Hong Kong to Canada, along with commentary from their instructor, who notes the role of memory, pronunciation, dictation, writing, and self-expectation. (LB)

Illustrates how even simple tools and basic ideas do much to embellish the teaching of English as a second language and enhance students' learning as they explore their second language and Canada. (Author/CB)

Defends: (1) the theory that correction of grammatical items in young learners impedes their ability to communicate, (2) the frequent use of trips and activities as ways of teaching natural communication, and (3) the use of story books as appropriate reading material for older children. (EKN)

Two hypotheses explaining the cause of errors in second language production are reviewed and compared. Classroom techniques related to each are described. The viewpoint of each theory on which errors should be corrected, when, by whom, and how is summarized. (PMJ)

The cognitive restrictions on the beginning second language learner's capacity to deal with structural diversity and the concomitant developmental regularities of his sentence structure are examined. Learners utilize the formal features of a language, the syntactic categories, as building blocks in organizing the structure of the language. (PMJ)

Discusses how laughter and joke-telling can be channeled in such a way as to enhance second language teaching. In addition, it is suggested that jokes can act as a dynamic in overcoming problems (such as lassitude) that arise in situations involving group work. (SL)

Proposes guidelines for low cost or no cost field trips, and discusses trip activities. Also gives ideas for incorporating lessons in reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills into trip activities. (EKN)

Individualized reading and writing tasks are suggested for use in a functional approach to teaching English as a second language. The tasks, each of which has a product, an audience, a function, and a linguistic focus, are based on students' communicative needs in various situations. Individualization promotes language learning. (PMJ)

Discusses results of comparison of immersion and minority language programs. By promoting use of the mother tongue inside and outside of school, providing literacy experiences for children who may not have had them, and using culturally relevant teaching approaches and materials, schools can make education a worthwhile experience for members of…

Examines a method of using computers in teaching English as a second language to promote functional use of language. Describes the development of language through a communicative approach where the use of English focuses on the task of graphic design, and where one student teaches another. (EKN)