Second language learners need to be given tools with which they can make language learning a personal experience. In writing, this means that they are given the skills needed to collect, organize, and present information that stimulates acquisition of new vocabulary and production of authentic writing that encourages language-related risk-taking.…

A unit used in an Australian school to teach English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students how to write a discussion is described. The 3-week unit was planned and implemented jointly by an ESL resource teacher, class teacher, and teacher librarian. The class was divided into three heterogeneous groups, two of which were observed for this study and…

The case study of a Bulgarian immigrant child's literacy education in English as a Second Language (ESL) is presented. Focus is on the boy's literacy development within the context of a mainstream kindergarten/first grade classroom in Australia. The report details the teacher's observations in the classroom and particularly in the child's writing…

A teacher of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to adults in a non-English-speaking country describes use of classroom writing conferences to improve student language use and introduce writing into the communicative syllabus. The approach is based on a conference format and focuses on self-directed inquiry. Students are provided with monolingual…