Whether a second language is learned as a child, teenager, or as an adult, second language acquisition research has noted certain patterns that can help ESL/EFL teachers prepare their lessons. This book explains these issues including the three essential components of ESL/EFL students' learning: input, output, and interaction. Learn how material…

Argues that oral grammar correction in second-language classrooms produces overwhelming problems both in making corrections and dealing with their harmful side effects, and that the practice should be discontinued. Research evidence suggests that oral correction does not improve learners' ability to speak grammatically, and no good reasons have…

An intensive discussion of the immediate phonetic correction approach in second language instruction looks at the rationale for phonetic correction, describes the immediate method, and refines it into seven specific methods. The first chapter, on phonetic correction in general, examines the past and present reasons for using the technique, its…

Teachers are encouraged to learn to codify student errors of selection and usage and to promote use of dictionaries and other lexical tools so students can achieve proper pronunciation and identify colloquialisms, misuse of idioms, and lack of grammatical logic in complex constructions. (MSE)

Formative evaluation of language learning is recommended, using as an example a coding method for correcting errors and indicating progress made on written assignments. The technique focuses on student self-correction and has the additional advantage of helping the teacher monitor instructional needs. (MSE)

Discusses routine classroom language teaching techniques and conventional teacher behaviors that are resistant to change and that may inhibit the use of more effective language teaching strategies. Makes suggestions for alternatives, such as emphasis placed on discourse rather than grammar, and self-evaluation as an alternative to normative…

A discussion of the use of feedback in process-oriented second language writing instruction focuses on students' need for feedback, the most effective ways of providing it, appropriate timing for feedback, and how students use this information. Literature on feedback in process-oriented writing instruction is reviewed in light of each of these…

Three essays on second-language instruction are presented. One describes a letter exchange between teachers as a means of exploring and understanding classroom and instructional issues; another (in French) describes a teacher's reflective examination of the immersion teaching experience; and a third reports on a classroom study of the…

An electronic mail project designed to create personal dialogue between native speakers and college students in a modern French civilization course is described. It was found that French participants added nuance to generalizations about their culture and brought understanding to certain historical events occurring during the course. Linguistic…

An advocate of the Natural Approach to second language instruction discusses problems associated with error correction, highlighted in her personal experience when she visited Italy to explore her heritage and use her Italian language skills. After requesting to have her errors corrected by a native-speaking friend, the visitor experienced great…

Outlines issues in the teaching of discourse organization to learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). Describes such discourse features as turn-taking, turn-allocation, transaction, exchanges, repair strategies, topic selection and change, and error correction, and suggests classroom techniques and activities for teaching them. (MSE)

The guide offers instructors a system for responding to their English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students' writing, and is designed to accompany an ESL student guide to editing. It include information on how to: respond as a collaborator and constructive critic; respond to content; respond to sentence-level errors; assign grades; help students…

A discussion of classroom research on language teaching looks at what researchers have learned so far from attempts to study what happens in the language classroom. The discussion is based on the idea that it is not the currency of instructional method used that matters most, but rather a fuller understanding of classroom interaction. The first…

A discussion of intonation instruction in second-language teaching looks at the role, objectives, and scope of such instruction; the tools teachers need to accomplish it (background in theory, practical guidelines, a method, appropriate research, and equipment); and the need for and possible design of related software. (MSE)

The book provides over 1,200 conversation topics for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction, grouped into six kinds of conversation activities. An introductory chapter describes the monitored conversation procedure, a classroom technique for recognizing language usage errors and reinforcing the correct form or vocabulary item. Subsequent…