This study explored English reading instruction in foundation courses for non-English major undergraduates in Thai universities. 163 teachers completed an online questionnaire and eight teachers participated in semi-structured online interviews. Key findings revealed that building reading comprehension, teaching reading strategies, and building…

There is a lack of research evaluating the effects of digital textbooks and digital apps on learning for early elementary school learners. Therefore, this study conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate how an iPad application for learning English as a foreign language impacted children's grammar understanding, satisfaction, persistence,…

Materials are important parts of the language teaching process; and developing these materials are of the important subjects of teaching Turkish as a foreign language. Although there are certain criteria for the development of course materials, the teachers, who would use these materials, should also be a part of this process. Both the process of…

Intriguingly, at a time when the ELT market is inundated with state-of-the-art coursebooks teaching modern-day English, a 30-year-old series enjoys continuing popularity in some secondary schools in Hungary. Why would teachers, several of whom are school-based teacher-mentors in the vanguard of the profession, purposefully choose materials which…

A discussion of authentic materials for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction focuses on the necessary balance between authenticity and comprehensibility. A variety of definitions of authentic materials offered in the literature are considered, and then compared with published ESL materials that are claimed to be authentic. A new…

In much current language teaching using the communicative approach, the use of texts in the classroom is overly restricted. This is true of both the types of texts used and the activities based on them. Three conventional "communicative" uses of texts illustrate this: using texts to practice processes of language use, to serve as models,…

The annotated bibliography of print and non-print materials for students and teachers of German includes standard student texts, audiovisual materials, student and teacher references, and other media. It is intended to guide teachers in the selection of student and instructional materials for the teaching and learning of German at the elementary…

A well-designed set of French language instructional materials, consisting of storybooks, cassette tapes, and oral and written activities designed for five to eight year olds, is reviewed. (MSE)

Two former teachers of French as a foreign language reflect on their experiences in that role and more recently as French native language instructors at the same level, focusing on differences in audience, objectives, texts, and methods of instruction and student evaluation. (MSE)

This paper discusses criteria for evaluating foreign language textbooks. First, common textbook dislikes, concerning both content and format, are outlined. Then three desirable characteristics--authenticity, communication, and integration--are discussed at length, divided into subcriteria, and arranged as a rating scale for textbook evaluation.…

The vocabulary used in textbooks and standardized tests for English as a second language (ESL) is examined to determine how much variation exists. Word lists were compared for six difficulty levels in five frequently-used ESL textbook series (a total of 30 books). Three series of standardized proficiency/placement tests at different levels were…

The Kinder Lernen Deutsch (LKD) materials evaluation project identifies materials appropriate for the elementary school German classrooms in grades K-8. This guide consists of an annotated bibliography, with ratings, of these materials. The guiding principles by which the materials were assessed were: use of the communicative approach; integration…

The materials status report for Uigur, a Turkic language spoken in the Sinkiang-Uigur Autonomous Region in northwest China and in the Soviet Socialist Republics of Kazakh and Uzbek, is one of a series intended to provide the nonspecialist with a picture of the availability and quality of texts for teaching various languages to English speakers.…

The materials status report for Tigrinya, which is spoken in Ethiopia, is one of a series intended to provide the nonspecialist with a picture of the availability and quality of texts for teaching a given language to English speakers. Each report consists of: (1) a brief narrative description of the language, the areas where it is spoken, its…

The materials status report for Zulu is one of a series intended to provide the nonspecialist with a picture of the availability and quality of texts for teaching a given language to English speakers. The report consists of: (1) a brief narrative description of the language, the areas where it is spoken, its major dialects, its writing system,…