The present study was exploratory in nature and its aim was threefold. First, it probed the language learning beliefs of Tunisian pre-service primary school teachers. Second, it sought to examine if those language learning beliefs would determine and shape the pre-service teachers' future teaching practices. Third, it investigated the impact of…

Conventional wisdom holds that children learn languages implicitly whereas older learners learn languages explicitly, and some have claimed that after puberty only explicit language learning is possible. However, older learners often receive more explicit instruction than child L2 learners, which may affect their learning strategies. This study…

Recent currents in language learning research highlight the social and emergent aspects of second language (L2) development and recognize that learners need opportunities for interaction in meaningful contexts supported by explicit attention to language itself. These perspectives suggest new ways of conceptualizing the challenges faced by children…

This teacher-friendly guide is packed with motivating lessons designed to improve the content learning and literacy skills of English language learners (ELLs) in K-8. Offering research-supported strategies that teachers can implement immediately, the book explains how to use content-area texts to support ELLs' growth in five crucial areas:…

The paper offers a case study of two bilingual girls aged 10, born in London, of Albanian-speaking families who arrived in the UK as refugees. An earlier study, when the girls were aged six, explored the strategies they used as they learned to read with their mothers in Albanian using dual language books. Four years on, supported by a primary…

Many English language learners (ELLs) require extra support to become successful writers. This book helps teachers understand the unique needs of ELLs and promote their achievement by adapting the effective instructional methods they already know. Engaging and accessible, the book features standards-based lesson planning ideas, examples of student…

Reports on an investigation into the level of grammatical knowledge among 503 primary teacher trainees following a one-year Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) course. Found that although postgraduates had a significant amount of grammatical knowledge, they felt considerable anxiety about their level of understanding when they entered…

Reports on an experiment designed to compare the linguistic ability of English-speaking students of French to that of native French-speaking students, through sentence repetition, in order to draw some conclusions regarding approximative grammars. (AM)

Views on the role of speech in the early stages of English as second language (ESL) acquisition are discussed in relation to experiences with elementary school children. In examining the roles of speech and grammar in the early stages of ESL acquisition in an English speaking elementary school environment, six types of expressive language were…

Reports on the objectives and phases of a research project seeking to discover the relationship between grammar as learned in the native language and as learned in a second language. (AM)

Studies the elicited and naturalistic speech of elementary school English-as-a-Second-Language students and argues that variability exists in the language acquisition process but is not a necessary component of mental competence. Implications for the teaching of grammar to children in an academic context are examined. (32 references) (JL)

Presents a study of the relationships among error types, feedback types, and immediate learner repair in four French immersion classrooms at the elementary level. The database is drawn from transcripts of audiotape recordings of 13 French language-arts lessons and 14 subject-matter lessons totaling 18.3 hours and including 921 error sequences.…

Investigated specific patterns for a reactive approach to form-focused instruction: corrective feedback and its relationship to error types and immediate learner repair. Data is drawn from transcripts of audio recordings made in four French immersion classrooms at the elementary level, totaling 18.3 hours and including 921 error sequences.…

Describes diverse aspects of the speaking proficiency of novice-low to novice-mid level foreign language in the elementary school students and to identify the syntactic knowledge underlying such behavior. Data were collected from students who had been studying Japanese continually for 6 and 7 years on a variety of oral production tasks.…