Analysis of "tutor talk" occurring between native or proficient nonnative speakers of English and limited- or non-English-speaking elementary students found that, although tutors used little sentence-level simplification, they made extensive use of conversational and tutorial strategies similar to those used by native and nonnative adults. (59…

This paper focuses on an information gap task that was part of a larger critical action research project that sought to expand talk opportunities for children in multilingual classrooms. Little of the previous research on tasks and language learning has focused on children learning English as an additional language in the context of diverse,…

The development and use of verbal and nonverbal communication by children in the early stages of second language acquisition were investigated in a natural setting. Twenty young speakers of Japanese, Korean, Hebrew, Spanish, Icelandic, and Polish, enrolled in a multilingual program and ranging in age from 7 to 12 years, served as subjects. All of…

Physical Verbalization (PV) is a program designed to encourage language/speech development by combining movement with appropriate verbal patterns. Using the normal developmental stages of listening/watching, imitating, and initiating, the program allows the child to "play" with standard English in a nonthreatening and rhythmic fashion and to be…

This pilot study investigates the performance in French of five English-speaking children, who are enrolled in their sixth year of a primary French immersion program in a Toronto elementary school. From speech data obtained in individual interviews, an analysis is made of the students' control of the French verb system. The subjects are found to…

If children in a bilingual education program are to be equally competent in Spanish and English, there is a clear need for teaching Spanish. This can be done indirectly, by presenting curriculum material such as math, science and art bilingually or in Spanish, by telling stories in Spanish, and by using Spanish for various classroom and playground…

A study investigated how native Korean-speaking children living in the United States tell stories in English, focusing on structural characteristics, cultural constructs, and second language development. Subjects were three children born in Korea and attending American elementary schools; two had been in the United States for less than a year.…

A study of the dialogue journal writing of six sixth grade students of English as a Second Language (ESL) examines the interaction with the teacher. The subjects had been in the United States for less than a year, and came from Korean, Vietnamese/Chinese, Burmese, and Italian language backgrounds. Data for the study were drawn from the students'…

Five position papers resulting from a conference on the teaching of FLES discuss recent theory about elementary education and are intended to initiate a dialogue among teachers of foreign languages directed toward the exploration of ways and means of managing educational change. The report suggests how a broader rationale and a new curriculum base…

FLES programs are generally viewed from the vertical dimension, as the beginning classes in a continuing language program. This paper treats the horizontal dimension, the interrelationship of the foreign language program with other curricula such as literature, history, and language arts. Three current trends in language arts have implications for…

Project H-200 is a series of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) lessons for the primary grades. To supplement direct language instruction by the Project H-200 classroom teacher, two mechanical aids have been devised. These units are designed to reinforce the language patterns that the children learn in the daily lesson. One type projects a…

This study sought to address concerns that high levels of literacy in both English and local languages are not being attained by children in U.S.-affiliated Pacific entities served by Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL). The study was designed to answer the following question: Do classroom language use and instructional practices…

Papers on foreign language education include: "Beliefs About Language Learning: A Study of Korean University Students Learning English" (Susan N. Truitt), which looked at the influence of cultural background and experience on language learning attitudes; "Motivation as a Two-Sided Coin: Motivational Differences Between College-Level…