High-quality oral language interventions support children's readiness for formal literacy instruction, and yet guidance for multilingual classrooms is not available. To address this gap, we drew on the empirical literature on linguistically diverse learners, classroom linguistic environments, and usage-based theories to identify principles for…

Noise, although ubiquitous, is seldom considered as a factor that may impede learning. In South Africa, most learners are multilingual and learn in English, which is their second language. Most noise studies have been conducted in the Global North, where the school context differs from the Global South. In this article, using questions selected…

This research paper tends to focus on comparison and contrast between first and second language learning. It investigates the different factors that have inhibiting influences on the language learning process of the learners in the two different environments. There are many factors involved in this respect. The age factor is one of the vital…

This paper explores the idea that young children's emergent literacy practices can be tools for mediating peer interaction, and that, therefore, literacy, even in its earliest stages, can support oral language development, particularly for emergent bilinguals. The paper draws on data collected during a year-long ethnographic study of 11 Nepali-…

Research Findings: This study evaluated the impact of a self-monitoring intervention on preschool teachers' use of language and on children's language growth. Nineteen classrooms from Santiago de Chile participated (10 intervention, 9 control). Twice a week, intervention teachers filled out a checklist to monitor the language stimulation they…

It is well documented that general classroom teachers have not been adequately prepared to address the unique needs of the English language learners (ELLs) that many are now teaching for the first time (Cartiera, 2006; Giambo & Szecsi, 2005; Short & Echevarria, 2004). With ELLs' presence growing in U. S. public schools (e.g., August, 2006;…

Increasing numbers of Spanish-speaking preschool children require attention to improve the likelihood of success in school. This study, part of a larger 2-year ethnographic study of a Head Start classroom, elaborates the role of teachers' interactions with students who were learning English. Using an interactional ethnography approach, the authors…

From 1969 to the late 1980's, most French programs in schools were based on a traditional foreign language instructional model, usually offering 30 minutes a day of French language instruction in elementary grades, increasing to 50 minutes a day in middle school. Contingent on funding and political swings over time, programs expanded from…

Preschool and early elementary science provides engaging opportunities for integrated content-based language learning. This instruction uses the concepts of other content areas as a springboard for language acquisition and self-expression. It is through the active interpretation of content standards by foreign language teachers that the ideas and…

Compares the ways students acquire their native language and learn a foreign language. Findings revealed additional areas in need of investigation, including the kinds of activities which tap students' ability to acquire language and the ways in which formal learning can use these activities. (CB)

Explores the implications of the principles and parameters theory of Universal Grammar for language teaching. Classroom acquisition depends on the provision of appropriate syntactic evidence to trigger parameter setting, and certain aspects of vocabulary are also crucial. (33 references) (Author/VWL)

As the number of English language learners in mainstream classrooms increases, all educators will need a basic understanding of second language acquisition as well as a working knowledge of instructional strategies that are particularly effective for these students. This issue of "Focus On" discusses second language acquisition and ways to…

The author presents a rationale for kindergarten English instruction for the five-year-old Spanish-dominant child. To support his view, he cites research on cognitive development and language acquisiton during early childhood and discusses the appropriateness of the kindergarten environment for language learning. (SJL)

A discussion of research on naturalistic second language acquisition (SLA) focuses on its relationship to the foreign language classroom context. It is argued that to attempt to relate natural SLA to classroom foreign language learning (FLL), a coherent and consistent theoretical framework is needed. The Cognitive-Interactionist Model is developed…

A first grader of Vietnamese descent (recently arrived in Hawaii from China) participated in the class activities in a 6-week summer course that focused on language arts and mathematics but only found his "voice" and the acceptance of his peers through art activities. The course included many language arts activities such as silent…