As one of the essential skills for success in work and studies, English communication is often made a key component in the GE curriculum of tertiary study programmes. In addition to the provision of required English proficiency courses, many tertiary institutions have established English centres of some description to promote English learning on…

The social nature of language learning and development has been widely acknowledged, as has the importance of family relationships in language learning processes. The role that the first language plays in the literacy development of English language learners (ELLs) and their families is irrefutable. Advocates of family literacy programs have…

Two cross-cultural workshops are outlined and discussed, one designed for graduate students in a training program for teachers of English as a second language and one for public school teachers and administrators. Activities used in each workshop and the rationale for their selection are described in detail. Each workshop included a combination of…

This collection contains 16 papers that focus on various problems and challenges relating to the design and implementation of training programs for international or foreign teaching assistants (ITAs or FTAs). It includes: (1) "An Outline of Analysis for Program Design" (Larry L. Loeher); (2) "A Survey of ITA Orientation Programs:…

This article describes the design features of a mentoring program that evolved from a university/school system partnership. Findings from participant interviews suggest key issues to be considered in designing and implementing a school systemwide mentoring program such as recruitment of mentor teachers, incentives for mentor teachers, release time…

The annual evaluation of a Texas regional resource center is presented. The center provides training and technical assistance for school district personnel participating in programs for limited English proficient (LEP) students. Federally funded and housed in the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, it serves 800 school districts with a…

A 4-day inservice teacher workshop, held so that teachers from a number of countries could share ideas and experiences about foreign language teaching at the elementary school level, is described. Speeches and events of each day are summarized briefly, and plenary sessions are chronicled in somewhat more detail. The latter include: a description…

The report describes a federally funded project for the development of an innovative approach to bilingual curriculum and instruction and inservice teacher training. A needs assessment and research process resulted in development and field testing of a set of bilingual Spanish-English instructional materials for limited-English-speaking urban…