In the authors' 2017 book "Mastering Formative Assessment Moves" (ASCD), they outlined seven high-leverage formative assessment strategies that promote ambitious teaching and deeper learning. Since then, they've worked with pre- and in-service teachers who are implementing the new English Language Development Standards (2014) in…

Many U.S. schools now have adolescent students who are recent immigrants arrive throughout the school year--sometimes with little English or having had interrupted formal education in their home country. Teachers need strategies to involve such "newcomer" students in classroom work right away. The author describes a framework of…

The authors recommend ways to engage learners in interactions in the classroom to promote second language development and boost learners' self-confidence in using English in real-life situations.

Most second-language learners lack exposure to academic language and have few opportunities to use it; thus, the onus is on educators to create appropriate learning environments for these students. Oral language proficiency is critical for advancing second-language learners' academic success; vocabulary is a particularly critical aspect of oral…

Since Ecuador has determined that it wants to be fully bilingual in ten years, this paper describes the experience of a Fulbright Scholar at a university Language Center in Quito; one helping language teachers improve the language learning skills of their students. The theoretical framework for this work comes from Learner Self-Management (LSM) or…

Emotion is "the primary human motive" (MacIntyre, 2002, p. 61). The human brain is an emotional brain, creating relationships among thought, emotion, and motivation in a complex dynamic system (Dörnyei, 2009). Emotion "functions as an amplifier, providing the intensity, urgency, and energy to propel our behavior" in…

For many years, research effort has been devoted to understanding the nature of listening strategies and how listening strategies used by good listeners can be taught to so-called ineffective listeners. As a result of this line of research, strategy training activities have now become a standard feature of most modern listening coursebooks.…

Increased access to post-secondary education is necessary to advance the global knowledge society. Recognition of the benefits of higher education for individuals and their communities and nations has resulted in a large demand for higher education which institutions are finding difficult to fulfill due to adherence to traditional practices,…

In this study I examine the construct of aptitude in learning Chinese as a second language (L2) to an advanced level. I test 2 hypotheses: first, that L2 aptitude comprises 4 components--working memory, rote memory, grammatical sensitivity, and phonemic coding ability--and second, that L2 aptitude affects learning both directly and indirectly…

The National Science Education Standards are designed to provide a vision of scientific literacy for "all" students--regardless of age, race, ethnic background, English-language proficiency, socioeconomic status, disability, or giftedness. One of the most powerful strategies in science instruction--which aligns with the Standards--is the use of…

Ensuring that English language learning (ELL) students have equal access to content-area curriculum continues to be a challenge for many secondary educators. Although efforts to develop students' English skills are well intentioned, they frequently fall short of addressing each of the four interrelated dimensions of the culturally and…

Research in the field of second language learning indicates that proper use of language learning strategies leads to the improvement of overall Second Language (L2) or Foreign Language (FL) proficiency as well as specific language skills. This essay firstly attempts to build a theoretical framework of learning strategies theories by clarifying the…

There has been a plurilingual tradition of communication in South Asia since precolonial times. Local scholars consider pluringualism as "natural" to the ecology of this region. In plurilingualism, proficiency in languages is not conceptualized individually, with separate competencies developed for each language. The different languages…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) placed a new focus and accountability on the achievement levels of English learners by requiring that they develop English proficiency and meet the same academic standards that all children are expected to meet by year 2014. Administrators and teachers are looking at ways English learners might progress more…

Independent lexical development initiatives empower and equip language learners with skills to boost their lexical repertoires. Language instructors can train learners to be autonomous word learners. A sample activity, namely word of the day, is presented in this article. The activity is an independent lexical learning task, which aims to develop…