This review highlights some areas of current interest in teaching students to spell and how spelling skills develop. The topics covered in the paper include: theories of spelling acquisition, theories guiding effective teaching, the importance of word study approaches across the age range, the influence of technology on learning to spell, spelling…

In this article we discuss the specifics of reading fluency and provide suggestions for identifying when reading is fluent and when it is not. We then discuss the important role that reading fluency plays in the attainment of literacy achievement and briefly review research results that highlight the relationship between fluency and comprehension.…

Over the past decade, partnerships between a university and a private company to recruit and educate foreign students in a college-preparatory program have become a commonplace in other English-speaking countries. The reason is clear: pathways programs enable colleges to tap into a much broader pool of students, including those who may not qualify…

Any curriculum consists of several components: objectives, attitudes, time, students and teachers, needs analysis, classroom activities, materials, study skills, language skills, vocabulary, grammar and assessment. Before setting up a program or course of study, these components should be determined and described in detail. In fact, these elements…

Suggests one way to begin an English as a foreign language (EFL) study skills program with students whose proficiency in English is not very advanced. Problems that students might have are discussed and practical questions are detailed, with examples from a course completed at the University of Essex. (CFM)

The likelihood that students will make a successful transition to the college environment is often a function of their readiness--the degree to which previous educational and personal experiences have equipped them for the expectations and demands they will encounter in college. A key problem is that the current measures of college preparation are…

Describes an experiment designed to teach note-taking techniques to students of English on the university level. (AM)

This review of literature and discussion focus on the explicit training of second language learners in learning strategies and techniques. The history of learner training--teaching how to learn-in second language instruction is traced from the early 1900s, and its goals (educational, personal, and social) are outlined. Metacognitive strategies…

A Japanese university course in English as a Second Language is described. The course focuses on developing students' independent learning skills. It consists of a series of learning modules, each focusing on a particular learning resource available to anyone in Japan. The resources recommended for independent acquisition of different language…

Offers tips on how to study effectively at home for class and how to benefit from class time. Discusses teacher expectations of the foreign-language learner. (Author/CK)

This book provides practical strategies and tools for assessing and teaching even the most hard to reach English language learners across the content areas. Syrja offers educators the latest information on working with ELLs (including using formative assessments) and provides a wealth of classroom-tested models and measures. These tools have…

The procedures used in an ethnographic study of a classroom language learning community are described. The research was undertaken to gain insights into adult language learning taking place among students who were not foreign language majors in an elementary French class at Michigan Technological University during the 1986-87 academic year. The…

This paper focuses on the development of EAP methodology within an African EAP context. I describe the setting up and implementation of an EAP study skills programme at the University of Asmara, Eritrea, over the period 1994-1998 and its subsequent development up to 2002. The unique social and political context of the EAP programme served as a…

A description of team-teaching at the English for Overseas Students Unit (EOSU) of the University of Birmingham, by T. F. Johns and Tony Dudley-Evans, is followed by "The Current Programme of Materials Development in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at the Universities of Birmingham and Aston" by T. F. and C. M. Johns. The…

Since 1980, the percentage of ethnic minority students at Golden West College (GWC) has nearly doubled. To meet the English language needs of this rapidly growing student population, a speaking and listening course was introduced into the curriculum in 1982, followed by a pronunciation course in 1985. Both courses were part of the…