Lesson planning is a core skill teachers need to develop in implementing lessons effectively in the classroom. While metaphor research has been used in a range of contexts including in teacher education, metaphors associated with lesson planning among teachers in developing regions in the world remain underrepresented. Due to the importance of…

A critical incident is an unexpected event that occurs in the classroom. Teachers can uncover a new understanding of the teaching and learning process through reflecting on these critical incidents. This study explored the writing and discussion of critical incidents among six student teachers with their cooperating teachers in a practicum under…

In this column, the three authors address the teaching of ELs within the content areas. Specifically, they highlight the difference between having language and content objectives, utilizing small-group work to maximize involvement, and inclusion of beginning English speakers into the learning process. Currently there is a gap of 36 points between…

Investigates the influence of formal instruction on natural second language acquisition processes by an experiment in which investigators tried to force other than "natural" learning processes in learners' natural acquisition of a second language. The informants in the experiment were ten Italian children attending elementary school in Munich.…

A review of recent research and language acquisition theories indicates a need for new teaching principles for second language instruction. The importance of matching language instruction with developmental processes of language acquisition, and considering the effect of social context, emotional climate, and the nature of the language learning…

Some of the problems encountered by elementary grade second language pupils when they do uncontextualized written exercises in numbered lists from a course book are discussed. Ways to partially overcome such problems are suggested. (RM)

Notes the great demand for information on promising practices for teaching language-minority students. Introduces the succeeding articles in this issue, noting how all the authors argue for the need to pull together what is known about effective teaching, second-language acquisition, applied cognitive research, and cross-cultural communication…

A study is made of ways in which three children forgot a foreign language in which they had been immersed. Specifically considered are whether the last things learned are the first things forgotten, and whether forgetting entails unlearning in reverse order from the original learning process. (Author/RM)

This article discusses the question of the optimal age for second language learning by providing some background and by comparing relevant British and Canadian language teaching programs. (CLK)

Reports on an experiment designed to compare the linguistic ability of English-speaking students of French to that of native French-speaking students, through sentence repetition, in order to draw some conclusions regarding approximative grammars. (AM)

The keyword method helped elementary school children learn Spanish vocabulary, especially when they were provided with relevant visual images. The Spanish word was associated with an English keyword sounding like the foreign word, and the picture illustrated some interaction between the keyword and the English translation. (GDC)

Reports on the objectives and phases of a research project seeking to discover the relationship between grammar as learned in the native language and as learned in a second language. (AM)

This article discusses the historical background of bilingual education and the directions bilingual education has taken in the United States, Canada, Britain, France, and other European countries. Findings concerning the effectiveness of bilingual programs are reported. (CFM)

Discusses results of a study of language arts and literacy instruction of language-minority students in 18 urban classrooms. Delineates a framework, based on the study, for identifying critical instructional practices that appeared to facilitate both learning and language development for language-minority students. Includes several examples of…