Suggests that the use of collections of authentic, thematic resources can facilitate research writing for English for academic purposes students and can form a unifying curricular thread in a variety of English teaching settings. (Author/VWL)

Explores whether and how an offering of authentic texts can be made useful for a German class that is focused on German culture and geography. Learning goals and practical strategies are derived from the unique characteristics of the texts. (Author/DMK)

Presents a case study of vocabulary learning in Japanese for five students under different instructional conditions. Examines whether output activities facilitated the retention of words more effectively than input-dominant activities, which require students to comprehend questions involving target words but do not encourage them to use the words…

Analysis of 12 teacher-fronted language lessons revealed highly repetitive structuring in the flow of discourse, frequent verbatim repetition in the collective reconstruction of texts, and restrictive turn-taking norms. Uses discourse analysis to redefine the relationship between ritual and negotiation in "lock-step" teaching in light of…

What is second language acquisition like from the learner's perspective? I examined published autobiographies authored by those who have documented their language learning journeys. One theme that recurred across the texts was Writing; a sub-theme was Writing life 1 in language 2. Some narrativists/learners described the dissonance, while others…

Over the last 5 years we have developed, produced, tested, and evaluated an authoring software package to produce web-based, interactive, audio-enhanced language-learning material. That authoring package has been used to produce language-learning material in French, Spanish, German, Arabic, and Tamil. We are currently working on increasing…

Learning a language is closely connected to learning to think critically in specific subject matter. Teachers need to teach not only the technical basics of reading and writing to English language learners but also the critical thinking skills that these students need both in and out of school. Various question-seeking activities can promote…

Chemistry is a unique language in and of itself that can be difficult for students to understand. For instance, a white powder can be translated down to the atomic level in a chemical equation, thus creating a chemical word that needs to be decoded. In this article, the author shares an approach to a basic curriculum that makes chemistry…

There is a growing body of research indicating that mechanical drills do not facilitate the development of explicit or implicit knowledge. This study identifies the inadequate aspects of mechanical drills and offers alternative activities for the early stages of language practice, whose formats and features comply with recent research in the…

This article reports on an investigation into the language learning beliefs of students of French in England, aged 16 to 18. It focuses on qualitative data from two groups of learners (10 in total). While both groups had broadly similar levels of achievement in French in terms of examination success, they differed greatly in the self-image they…

In the last decade, the total student enrollment in public schools in the U.S. has increased by only 14%, whereas the number of English learners grew by 70% and is projected to grow even more (U.S. Bureau of Census, 2003). In 2003-2004, the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Educational Programs…

Using the methodological framework of conversation analysis (CA) as a central tool for analysis, this study examines a peer interactive task that occurred in a Japanese as a foreign language classroom. During the short segment of interaction, the students shifted back and forth between the development of an assigned task and the management of…

Project-based instruction is a valuable way to promote the simultaneous acquisition of language, content, and skills, provided that students in academic ESL classes can see the value of learning through projects, which the literature notes has not consistently been the case. This article introduces a methodological tool called "The Project…

A visit to the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis provided one teacher with a vehicle for improving the language and literacy skills of a group of students from varied backgrounds. Using art as a basis for lessons that used academic language, cultural expertise, and writing, Saurino links creative expression with a host of skills and perspectives to…

Teaching vocabulary to primary grade children is essential. Previous studies of teaching vocabulary (word meanings) using story books in the primary grades reported gains of 20%-25% of word meanings taught. The present studies concern possible influences on word meaning acquisition during instruction (Study 1) and increasing the percentage and…