In theory, rubrics are useful because they inform students of their level of achievement, providing detailed descriptions of a range of evaluation criteria. Teachers know it's best practice to continually update and tweak their rubrics in response to student performance and feedback. But the question remains: do students actually use these…

The past few decades have witnessed a remarkable surge of research interest in written corrective feedback (WCF). Given its pivotal role in the writing classroom, WCF has remained one of the most vibrant and dynamic areas for scholarly investigations. The aim of this article is to chart future directions for WCF research. To do this, it first…

Learning to read and spell involves learning about the written forms of words and how these are linked to language. Writing systems include formal patterns, which pertain to the appearance of written words, and functional patterns, which pertain to links between units of writing and units of language. We review the evidence that learners of a…

We review cognitive-linguistic approaches to conveying meaning, sound, and orthographic information across scripts in order to highlight the impact of variability in written and spoken language on learning to read and to write words. With examples of word recognition and word writing from different scripts, including Chinese, Arabic, Persian, and…

Research on content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has expanded substantially in the last 10 years. While research interests have predominantly focused on language learning outcomes and the comparison between CLIL and English as a foreign language (EFL) students' competence in the foreign language, recent studies have called for the need…

Rhymes and poems can be a natural starting point for young children as they experience the world and learn to understand spoken, written, and visual languages. Poetry contains highly patterned, predictable language that has unique potential to promote memorable and pleasurable experiences in preschool, kindergarten, and primary classrooms. As…

The effect of irregular English orthography (spelling) on foundation literacy, and in particular on alphabetic decoding, is discussed within the context of the orthographic depth hypothesis. A method for circumventing the retarding effects of traditional English orthography, based on the support provided for Chinese pupils learning their…

Documents a seven-year-old child's early activities as a writer from the perspective of (1) intentionality, (2) conditions and production, (3) learning strategies, (4) composing patterns in other semiotic activities, (5) availability, and (6) literacy community, and attempts to analyze those activities through narrative, explication and argument.…

An interpretive account of two schools participating in the piloting of a new English program in Botswana junior secondary schools is presented in this paper. Methodology involved observation; analyses of school documents and student texts; and interviews with students, teachers, and administrators. Based on the perspective that teaching is an…

With the appropriate software, it is possible to create a pedagogical environment where children can learn to read and write at their own pace; by using the software Fairy-Tale-World, children can print their drawings and texts and learn foreign words easily. (AEF)

Language educators find two kinds of errors in the interlanguages of language learners: developmental and interference. While developmental errors reflect a normal pattern of development common among all language learners, interference errors are caused by the learners' native languages. This paper deals with a number of die-hard types of…