This article concerns the contribution that feedback makes to valid classroom assessment of the writing of young learners (YLs), defined here as approximately 9-13 years old. It shows that a scale of descriptors adapted from the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" (CEFR; Council of Europe, 2001) can play a central role…

Among the plethora of studies conducted thus far to explore the factors affecting EFL reading effectiveness, scant attention seems to be paid to the why of poor reading comprehension of most EFL learners. In this regard, the present article capitalized on qualitative research on a small scale, for the purpose of addressing the not-so-often debated…

We examined the progress of kindergarteners who entered the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in 2008-09 and in 2010-11 who were identified as limited in English proficiency (LEP). For the 2008-09 cohort, English proficiency increased steadily over time. Few were able to exit LEP status in their first three years in WCPSS (10.5%); this…

This study investigates the pragmatic knowledge of Turkish EFL students in using certain request strategies. Data were collected through a type of DCT, open item- verbal response only production questionnaire, as categorized by Kasper (2000) from 40 undergraduate students, studying at the Department of English Language Teaching, Faculty of…

The practical writing course aims at helping students have a comprehensive understanding of writing subjects and improve their abilities of analyzing and understanding texts. This paper has explored how writing textbooks are used in the writing course and pointed out that the aim should be to help students improve their ability of analysis and…

Experiments in Content Language Integrated Learning have been carried out most of the time at primary and secondary education. However, not much is known about what higher education institutions are doing in this respect. This article aims to present an experience that occurred in the Languages Department at Universidad Central (Bogotá, Colombia)…

The purpose of the study was to conduct a comprehensive review of the research and best practices of exemplary elementary school World Language and Culture Programs. Specifically, (1) to assess the degree to which various program designs had most closely met the measurable goals of the American Council of Teachers of a Foreign Language, commonly…

This article aims to share with teacher-educators a pedagogical proposal which we have applied in the past year. This investigation analyzes issues linked to critical pedagogy using movies connected to educational themes and readings based on critical pedagogy. We have used this study to generate class discussions in order to analyze educational…

This article describes an action research project in which the members of a basic English class for adults over 50 at a Colombian public university undertook the mission of discovering their potentialities as autonomous learners. By means of the reflective use of the language portfolio, the members of this course guided the planning and execution…

The study investigated the effect of note-taking on comprehension of lectures by 44 undergraduate EFL students who are in the first year of their undergraduate level in the Department of Foreign Language Education in Middle East Technical University. The participants were divided into two groups, namely experimental and control groups. The…

This instrument was developed to assist Ohio schools in their endeavors to improve the secondary school program in foreign languages. The checklist is organized into seven major categories (philosophy, organization and administration, class management and instruction, staff, curriculum, facilities and equipment, and evaluation) which represent…

This paper reports a videotaped self-observation of a 47 minute ESL reading lesson. The focus of the lesson was on intensive reading. The entire teaching session was videotaped; the videotaped data were analyzed using (a) ethnographic microanalysis, (b) selective verbatim transcripts, (c) Seating Chart Observation REcord (SCORE), (d)…

The present study expands the design of Warschauer (1996) surveying freshman foreign language students at a Turkish university. Motivating aspects of computer assisted instruction in terms of writing and e-mailing are explored through an exploratory factor analysis conducted on the survey developed by Warschauer (1996). Findings suggest that…

Student attitudes toward the study of literature in a foreign language were examined, based on a survey of introduction to literature courses in French and Spanish. Most students revealed positive attitudes. A review of previous research and the survey instrument are included. (38 references) (LB)

The Ainsworth School Spanish Partial Immersion Program (Portland, Oregon) was established in 1987 to provide an elementary foreign language magnet program to children in the district. The program's major goals are bilingual proficiency and increased understanding of the second language culture. During 1989-1990, the program enrolled 205 students…