Debating in English is a vital part of second-language acquisition. Not only does it help students with their speaking skills, but it also is an excellent way to prepare them to write opinionated essays. This article explores how educators can use "place mats" to organize a debate that gives each student the chance to speak, and then how…

Discusses the various aspects of writing instruction from teaching English script to teaching composition. (EKN)

Presents a model of written language that can guide the instruction of hearing-impaired students, and strategies and techniques for improving writing skills, using research and theory from such areas as fluency, syntax, vocabulary, content, conventions, student motivation, guided practice, student interaction, and selective feedback. (CB) (Adjunct…

Four techniques are suggested for tutoring students of English as a second language in writing: taking a "writing history" of the student's experiences, failures, and successes at writing by asking open-ended questions in a non-judgmental way during an informal interview; brainstorming about a given writing topic, with the tutor taking close notes…

Literature is the ideal vehicle to enable English-as-a-Second-Language students to better recognize their own and other viewpoints and values. Students can develop academic skills by focusing on point of view and multiple perspectives through reading short stories and by completing related writing assignments. 38 references. (Author/CB)

In response to the plateau of achievement advanced English-as-a-Second-Language students often reach, where they see little need for improvement, an instructor developed a program to help these students apply and improve writing skills outside of the immediate academic context. (CB)

Focuses on advantages of video as a tool in teaching literature in a foreign language class. Emphasizes that use of visual aids, such as video, can help the reader overcome his limitations in comprehending vocabulary meanings and context of sentences and lists two ways in which a film version of a story can be presented: in nonstop viewing or in…

Presents activities found to be useful in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes, including a game in which the teacher guesses the meaning of words in students' native tongues; an exercise in which students write predictions, such as weather forecasting, in English; a game in which students explain the meaning of selected idioms in their own…

Encouraging students of English as a foreign language (EFL) to write family oral histories is an excellent way to teach academic writing and spark student interest. Oral history is defined, steps in writing oral histories are outlined, advantages and disadvantages of having undergraduate EFL composition students draft them are examined, and…

To help provide writing instruction to elementary school children who are taught English as a second language, a writing project was designed for three ESL students: a third grader from Japan, a fourth grader from Costa Rica, and a fifth grader from Indonesia. The goals of the project were to help the students find writing to be enjoyable and…

A teacher of writing in English as a second language shares techniques and exercises that have inspired students to revise the rhetoric, vocabulary, and grammar of their own writing. They include: having students write about an unfamiliar classmate and having the classmate check the description for accuracy; distributing a model essay (Bertrand…

Reports findings of an investigation in New South Wales (Australia) of the different demands made on pupils by the kinds of writing tasks they were required to attempt from primary to secondary school. (HOD)

The University of Wyoming English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program replaced a laboratory drill with a weekly, one-hour writing tutorial (WT) in which small groups of ESL students meet with a writing tutor. The role of the WT in community building and developing writing and oral skills is described, along with sample questions for a WT group.…

Describes a letter exchange project which links university students with bilingual and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. Finds that letters are relevant and meaningful communication; provide strong motivation to write; and offer an emotional link with another individual who can serve as a role model of the target language. (MG)

This booklet contains the writings of international students enrolled in the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at Onondaga Community College (New York). The contributed writings were viewed as bridges to understanding among the world's peoples. The collection of essays, poems and short stories includes: (1) "Our Lives in the…