One of the challenges facing second and foreign language (L2) teachers and learners in primary and secondary school settings is the limited amount of time available. There is disagreement about how to meet this challenge. In this paper we argue against two 'common sense' recommendations for increasing instructional time -- start as early as…

In these days of standardized assessments in education that seek to measure the rate of learning in all subject matters, the question is seldom asked, "Just how long does it take to become proficient?" No matter the subject, we all agree that some amount of practice is necessary for basic proficiency and that more will be needed to…

Stuart McLean refers in this commentary to Jeffrey Huffman's article "Reading Rate Gains during a One-Semester Extensive Reading Course" (v26 n2 p17-33 Oct 2014) [See: EJ1044344], in which Huffman reports that extensive reading (ER) was an effective way to provide large amounts of comprehensible input to foreign language learners, but…

This paper analyzes the phenomenon that reducing hours of EFL instruction to non-English majors in Chinese universities gets no response. It first depicts the phenomenon, pointing out that this phenomenon differs greatly from people's response to similar events that happened in the past. It then analyzes the complicated underlying factors from…

In his 2016 article, "What Can Readers Read after Graded Readers?" (EJ1098660), Jeff McQuillan provided data to show that there is an adequate amount of reading material that can be read at or above 98% vocabulary coverage to provide sufficient input to acquire most of the word families from the 2,000- to the 9,000-word-family levels.…

Adult learners of English as an Additional Language (EAL) in Canada do not receive sufficient instruction through classes alone to achieve distinguished levels of proficiency or develop high levels of expertise. This article will explore what is meant by proficiency and look at language learning in terms of the model that has commonly become known…

This study applies the model of expertise developed by Ericsson et al (2007) to second and foreign language learning. Ericsson et al posits that in order to achieve expertise (as they define it) requires 10,000 or longer of "intense training". Applying this model to language learning, equating an expert level of competence with fluency, various…

Using a low-inference observational instrument, the authors empirically described and compared pedagogical behaviors in bilingual and structured English-immersion programs serving Spanish-speaking English language learners in a large urban school district in Southeast Texas. The two programs included both intervention/control of each type during…

This study examines out-of-school use of Irish and motivation to learn Irish among final year post-primary students from three different instructional backgrounds: mainstream students studying ordinary and higher level Irish as a subject only and immersion students. Information on motivation and use is linked to student proficiency in Irish.…

This study examined the relationship between time spent on reading and reading comprehension in a second language (L2). Eighty-one French-speaking learners of English, from beginners to advanced, were tested for reading comprehension in French and in English as well as for English grammar and vocabulary competence. Low-proficiency learners showed…

The present study used a within-subjects design to examine the effect of the type of written exercise on L2 vocabulary retention. Using input for the meaning and usage of the new words from a specially prepared minidictionary, university intensive English program students (n = 154) practiced target vocabulary in three types of written exercises…

Based on a literacy interdependence theory, uses findings from the Ramirez et al. study on programs for Spanish-speaking, limited-English-proficient students to refute theories opposing bilingual education. Expresses concern that all three program types in the Ramirez study reflect transmission models of pedagogy in which students have little…

This paper reviews the results of research on various programs for learning French as a second language from kindergarten to grade 11 or 12 in selected Canadian school systems. Generally, it examines the effects of a number of factors on French learning, such as student selection procedures and student ability, starting age, total amount of time…

What happens to English academic achievement when valued class time is devoted to a foreign language in the elementary schools (FLES) program? Is there a reduction in achievement as suggested by a time-on-task hypothesis, or is there some form of compensation, as suggested by additive bilingualism? The school district in this study started a FLES…