Describes a shock language activity exercise that gives mainstream students a realistic taste of the challenges faced by their English language learning peers and a greater respect for linguistic and cultural differences. The activity transforms the typical U.S. classroom into a typical Japanese classroom. (Author/VWL)

Offers specific suggestions to teachers of elementary and middle school English-as-a-Second-Language students for helping their students develop a positive attitude toward reading. Teachers can help students become readers by developing their sense of control and competence in tasks, materials, and the environment. (Author/VWL)

Describes a genre-based approach to content writing instruction used in a fifth-grade social studies class in which the majority of the students came from English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) backgrounds. A unit on explorers and exploration used narrative, descriptive, persuasive, and expository writing assignments to improve the students'…