This work reports, from a qualitative research perspective, the development of an English Corner project for a preschool Children's House classroom in central Mexico over the course of a 3-year period. It shows the transition of a language specialist over six consecutive periods of work, from a traditional understanding and practice of teaching…

First language learners acquire vocabulary in the context of participation in discourse, and the quantity and richness of that discourse is the best predictor of their progress. Similarly, we argue, engagement in discourse, in particular debate and discussion, is an effective component of classroom instruction for second and foreign language…

This paper describes an embedded approach to learner support in online English language courses. The support model is based on language acquisition, transactional distance, and self-regulated learning theories. Based on these theories, courses were designed to provide the interaction necessary for academic English language gains, decrease the…

How do second-language learners become successful readers and writers? This article examines the importance of social networks to English language learners' reading and writing development. It describes different family, peer, and virtual social networks that ELLs can utilize to engage in online and offline reading and writing (especially related…

As English increasingly becomes the international language, many ministerial and educational organisations have identified the need to improve the competence of Thai students in speaking English. While there is significant research devoted to developing software tools to support the teaching of English as a second language, they are mostly…

Author visited twenty-four school districts set throughout Canada in order to learn how they each approached the problem of teaching non-English-speaking immigrant children. Five different types of programs for E. S. L. students were evaluated. (Author/RK)

After a brief consideration of the language situation in Wales, this research explains the need for the Schools Council "English in Wales" Project (1973-7) and describes the work of the project to date. (Editor/RK)

This book provides a collection of essays on the practical applications of experiential cross-cultural education, as well as specific exercises, simulations, and other activities. Its intent is to provide a guide in assessing the educational impact of this type of experience. The essays are divided among three parts: Ideas; Activities; and…

This work proposes to show that second language acquisition can take place when adults surround themselves with a target language and have ample opportunity to participate in its use. The hypothesis tested is that methods and strategies utilized in the acquisition of a second language for adults should be essentially the same as those manifested…

An overview is provided of eight training sessions for teachers of pre-school children who are speakers of English as a second language (ESL). Developed by the Vancouver Preschool ESL Committee and a community college, the course had the following goals: (1) to explore teachers' cultural assumptions and understand how they affect relationships…

This yearbook describes the program undertaken by the Montebello, California Unified School District to assist children's development in the area of language arts by giving them the opportunity to use cameras to record their visual experience and by then using the resulting pictures, slides and films as the basis of language arts experiences. It…

The Carpinteria school district in California has developed a model preschool program to bring Spanish-dominant preschool children up to a level of readiness for school that compares favorably with that of English-speaking children in the same community. That goal is achieved by developing skills in four major areas: Spanish language, cognition,…

During the 1979-1980 school year Project Primary Reading Objectives for Bilingual Education (P.R.O.B.E.) was involved in improving the rate of reading growth and cognitive development of four and five year olds from the Bronx, New York. In bilingual classes that were conducted primarily in Spanish, the 153 program participants received instruction…

This collection of readings on teaching bilingual and bidialectal students, particularly the American Indian, the Spanish speaking, and the urban black, is divided into three sections, headed by a general overview of the problems. The first section deals with bicultural understanding; the readings are intended to help the teacher assess his own…

This book describes the characteristics of secondary schools in the United States that make it difficult for immigrant students to succeed. These include the following: fragmented school days and instructional programs in which English-as-a-Second-Language and content area teachers work in separate departments and rarely interact; the complex…