With the provisions of both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 1997 and 2004), educators must ensure that all students have the opportunity to participate and progress in the general curriculum. These requirements are further bolstered by the No…

George Roberts has been teaching ninth-grade Earth science in Gardston, Iowa, for 10 years. This year, as chair of the Gardston High School's science department, he agreed to have all the English Language Learner (ELL) students assigned to his classes. George's goal was to learn more about the needs of these students and arrive at a set of…

Although many studies have described the L2 learning opportunities created by individual tasks, considerably less research has investigated task-based syllabi and courses (Bruton, 2002; Candlin, 2001; Ellis, 2003; Skehan, 2003). This case study investigated teachers' and learners' reactions to a task-based EFL course at a Thai university. A team…

Key characteristics of an efficient and effective English language teacher are fundamental pedagogical knowledge and understanding, awareness of meaningful classroom practices, linguistic capabilities, and positive attitudes and skills. Nurturing these traits among preservice teachers is difficult, especially when preservice teachers are working…

Prior research in the area of language policy and planning (LPP) has been focused primarily on macro decision-making and the impact of national, local, and institutional policies in educational settings. Only recently have scholars begun examining the everyday contexts in which policies are interpreted and negotiated in ways that reflect local…

In an effort to better understand student perceptions of communication in blended (online and traditional) learning courses, a 22 item questionnaire was developed and sent to all students registered for these courses at a large technology-focused college during three quarters of instruction. The respondents were divided into four groups: 1)…

The role of explicit and implicit acquisition of grammatical rules in second language learning was examined by assessing high school students performance after several years of study on the correct use of the Spanish verbs "ser" and "estar". These two verbs are essentially equivalent in use to the English verb "to be," but there is a complex set…

There are numerous publications on language learner strategies, and this bibliography of books is by no means exhaustive. They have been selected because they can be considered classics in the field and are easily available as this special issue of the "Language Learning Journal" goes to press. Though some of the books were written several decades…

The Languages Review Consultation Report recommends exploiting the potential of communications technology for the enhancement of curricular offerings. Newly developed instructional software is credited with opening doors to the cultures of young people while serving as an infinitely patient and supportive tutor. Thus, in the UK as in the US,…

Despite the increase of teacher preparation programs that emphasize the importance of training teachers to select and develop appropriate computer-assisted language learning (CALL) materials, integration of CALL into classroom settings is still frequently relegated to the use of selected CALL activities to supplement instruction or to provide…

In recent years, educational technology has come a long way. Technological advancements and significant investments in computer equipment and training have opened new opportunities for foreign language teachers. In addition, instructional technology (IT) is now an accepted component of teacher training and foreign language teaching. This study…

Reflection is a commonly accepted practice and considered advantageous in teacher education programs. Teachers are encouraged to think critically about their beliefs and teaching styles with the intended goal of fostering greater professional and personal development. Nonetheless, researchers have noted the challenges inherent in encouraging…

International teaching assistants (ITAs) teach undergraduate science courses in American universities in ever growing numbers as they contend with a host of pedagogic, cultural, and language issues in an unfamiliar educational setting. Yet little is known about their experiences and development as new teachers. This study focuses on six ITAs who…

A survey of research on French as a second language (FSL) education in Canada suggests that French immersion (FI) students enjoy significant linguistic, academic, and cognitive benefits. We organize our summary of the advantages of FI around these three themes, comparing students' proficiency in French and English across various FI programs, and…

The cell phone, now the most widely used medium in Asia, has major educational implications. Most users, however, do not realize the cell phone's potential for education, nor even for the communication functions for which it was originally designed. Most educators still see the computer and the cell phone as unrelated devices, and the tiny cell…