The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the ways in which the selection of educational materials results in implications that impact access to these materials. This is necessary considering the evolving nature of educational materials offered by traditional publishers, and the increase in the availability of online learning materials, among…

Material development is important for training beginner student interpreters, as it guides the direction of interpreting learning. One key principle is difficulty progression, which requires a good knowledge of the indicators of difficulty. Since text structure outweighs words and sentences in the information processing of consecutive…

This study examined students' ability to select and pay attention to appropriate learning material when exposed to an instructional lesson delivered with an animated PowerPoint presentation (i.e., information presented one part at a time instead of all at once). A total of 169 students were randomly assigned to watch a multimedia presentation that…

As forty-six states and the District of Columbia implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), questions abound regarding implementation, including the implications for curriculum and pedagogy. In this report, researchers analyze what texts English teachers assign their students and the instructional techniques they used in the classroom. The…

This paper aims to find out two outcomes of feedback in the novice writers' graphic organizers, which are the novice writers' ability to align their ideas to their writing goal, and their perceived germane, metacognitive, extraneous and intrinsic cognitive loads when generating and revising ideas based on the feedback. Data was gathered from the…

There is growing evidence that the best way to prepare students to cope with authentic oral and written texts they will encounter in actual situations is to introduce such texts into the classroom as early as possible. The selection of texts appropriate for beginning students involves examination of the texts themselves and consideration of the…

A 16-item evaluation form is presented to aid in selection of appropriate computerized game materials for preschool children. The form was derived from a 32-week-long study involving 66 children 3, 4, and 5 years of age who were allowed to play computer games during free play or work time while attending a modified Montessori preschool program. In…

In addition to using films in the German classroom to introduce students to German culture and history, it is important to show and study the film as film. This procedure emphasizes the importance of the film as a part of creative arts in Germany and demands student participation in observation and discussion. Many German silent films are…

A rationale is presented for using humor as a French language teaching tool, and several class activities designed for different language skill levels and using humor as a central element are described. Some suggestions are offered for selecting appropriate instructional materials. (MSE)

A study examined the effectiveness of English dictionaries in assisting in error correction by beginning learners of English as a second language. Lexical errors made in examinations were collected and coded by type, and the usefulness of the "Longman Active Study Dictionary", designed for ESL learners, in helping to correct the errors was…

A readability formula for elementary Spanish instructional materials was developed by building on previous research, particularly in regard to the application of the Fry readability graph to Spanish language materials. The study began with the selection of average sentence length and number of syllables per 100 words as independent variables.…

The annotated reading list cites works of fiction and non-fiction felt to be appropriate for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Most are suitable for students at the "professional proficiency" level, although some may be read by students at the "limited working proficiency" level, and some are…

Oral production (the speech act) and the comprehension of written and oral texts have long been treated as separate entities when they could be used in an integrated approach to teach a broader range of language skills. The receptive aspects of the speech act should be brought into language instruction and used to select materials for teaching…

It is argued that non-academic texts should be included as instructional materials for teaching college-level reading and writing skills, and recommends dialogues such as edited transcripts of interviews. Advantages cited include: better student comprehension of contemporary modes of discourse; clear relationships between grammar and communicative…

French news broadcasts by Satellite Communications for Learning (SCOLA) may prove overwhelmingly difficult for typical intermediate-level students because it is written discourse in an audiovisual medium. However, thoughtful selection of material and careful preparation of related exercises can make SCOLA features rewarding even for students with…