The authors develop the concept of teaching vocabulary for application (TVA) as a component of comprehensive vocabulary instruction. TVA is instruction that focuses on students' skillful application of small sets of words within academic tasks, such as text analysis and writing. The authors discuss how this instruction, with its extended focus on…

The incidence of co-occurring language and behavior problems has been described and explored for more than 25 years. As many as 62% to 95% of students with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD) have undetected language impairments (LI). Without recognizing language and behavioral challenges, serious learning consequences may result. Solely…

Language is the essence of humanity and the backbone of early childhood education. Academic content clusters on it. Math, science, and social studies, for instance, are best taught through "content area language." Critical thinking and other key math, listening, and reading comprehension skills are mirrored in language. Not surprisingly, spoken…

The acquisition of reading vocabulary is one of the major challenges for deaf children in bilingual education programs. Deaf children have to acquire a written lexicon that can effectively be used in reading. In this paper, we present a developmental model that describes reading vocabulary acquisition of deaf children in bilingual education…

For future literacy teachers just beginning their professional education, nothing's more important than the first core text that builds their foundation for classroom success. That's why every preservice teacher should start with this introductory reading textbook, ideal for teaching fundamental literacy skills to students in pre-K-Grade 6. Based…

This paper discusses the use of a web-based concordancing program using an interface design similar to the one used at the MICASE concordancing site to help students appropriately choose reporting verbs. Appropriate reporting verbs are important for asserting credible claims in academic papers. An interface was created that asked the students to…

In this strategy, students individually select and record 10 important words on self-adhesive notes as they read a text. Then students build a group bar graph displaying their choices, write a sentence that summarizes the content, and then respond to prompts that ask them to think about words in powerful ways. Several prompts are suggested, each…

Vocabulary knowledge contributes to comprehension, fluency, and student achievement. The goal of vocabulary instruction should be to build students' independent word-learning strategies. This article provides research and theory in support of nine key ideas about words and vocabulary instruction. These ideas are important for middle and secondary…

The vast majority of American-born adults are exposed to written language from a very early age. Most Americans live in a print-based society where letters and words are everywhere! Drive, walk, or bike down any American street and you will see numerous eye-catching billboards, signs, and storefronts. Our towns, cities, neighborhoods, and homes…

Both language students and language teachers can be troubled by new words, expressions, or usage in Chinese. A new use of an old word or expression is particularly difficult for a more advanced or experienced speaker, less so for a beginner. The growing popularity of abbreviations is another kind of change creating problems. Two kinds of…

Vocabulary development includes learning to recognize, comprehend, and produce alternative ways of communicating a word, an image, or a concept. Instruction in such language alternatives can increase the effectiveness of students' communication skills, making their vocabulary usage more appropriate, precise, descriptive, and interesting.…

Describes the compilation of the Future Teachers' Frequency Vocabulary, based on 236 written compositions by students at a teacher training college in Belgrade. Results were compared with the Child Frequency Vocabulary compiled in 1983, based on children's compositions. (LET)

Discusses the language problems in Roch Carrier's French Canadian short stories, as well as his concise, nostalgic writing style. The article gives examples of vocabulary in his characters' dialogue; reviews the evolvement of French in Quebec and the question of "joual," in particular; and focuses on expressions posing difficulty for…

Describes two programs that involved teachers using closed-captioned television materials to develop skills in the areas of reading comprehension, vocabulary, and oral reading fluency with hearing, remedial readers. (FL)

Surveys earlier examples of course-based software and compares them with MacZi-known as Chinese Character Tutor in the Intel format, a program designed and produced at the University of New South Wales, Australia to teach students a basic vocabulary. Also reviews a student evaluation of the software's effectiveness and discusses how the program…