This paper reports on an empirical case study conducted to investigate the overall conditions and challenges of integrating corpus materials and corpus-based learning activities into English-language classes at a secondary school in Germany. Starting from the observation that in spite of the large amount of research into corpus-based language…

The purpose of this experimental study was to compare the effects of different types of computer-generated visuals (static versus animated) and advance organizers (descriptive versus question) in enhancing comprehension and retention of a content-based lesson for learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Additionally, the study investigated…

Without being able to see people's facial expressions, their mouths moving, or their body language, it's sometimes difficult to understand them. This, of course, is why English as a second language (ESL) students need so much help in this area. The Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council started its Telephone Conversation Program to address these…

Numerous publications, including the "Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century" (National Standards, 1999), emphasize the importance of cultural understanding in the development of intercultural competence in foreign language learning. However, there is no agreement on how culture should be defined operationally in the context…

Although a substantial amount of professional literature argues for the potential benefits of content-based instruction, limited research exists on how this type of instruction actually is appropriated, understood, and carried out in practice by foreign language teachers. This study examines the role of two sixth grade Spanish teachers' discursive…

Increasing calls for equity and accountability in U.S. secondary schools have led to intensified scrutiny of the academic literacy development of English learning (EL) adolescents. This paper discusses some of the challenges that EL secondary students face in achieving the language and literacy skills that will enable them to succeed in their…

The growing use of both computers and the Internet in adult English language classrooms has widespread implications for English language programs. As computer access increases, so do new learning technologies in adult literacy education. Specifically, this paper is interested in the case of adult English language instruction, also commonly…

This study investigates the effect of a cross-cultural bilingual communication project on students' second language learning. A collaborative key-pal project was conducted between Japanese university students learning English and Canadian university students learning Japanese. Ethnographic data were collected from the students' exchanged messages…

Teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students must serve as language models for their students. However, preservice deaf education teachers typically have at most only four semesters of American Sign Language (ASL) training. How can their limited ASL instructional time be used to increase their proficiency? Studies involving deaf and hard of…

With the purpose of highlighting the lessons to be learned from immersion programs, this digest presents selected findings from research carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of immersion programs in Canada and the United States. These lessons are related to the importance of: (1) integrating language with content instruction (when second…

Realia and interdisciplinary approaches help foreign language teachers to provide an active teaching-learning situation for their students and to bring students into direct contact with cultural features of the language that they are studying. This paper reports on an interdisciplinary project conjoining French and art. Under the direction of both…

The Greensboro Area Mathematics and Science Education Center and the Center for School Accountability and Staff Development sponsored a conference in May, 1998 which focused on the similarities and differences in teaching and learning in mathematics and science compared to learning in other content areas. This document contains the background…

Project-based learning is an instructional approach that contextualizes learning by presenting learners with problems to solve or products to develop. For example, learners may research adult education resources in their community and create a handbook to share with other language learners in their program, or they might interview local employers…

The Concept Attainment Model is a teaching strategy based on analysis of the nature of concepts and how they are acquired. Using this theory, three strategies for second language instruction have been developed: the reception, selection, and unorganized materials strategies. In the reception strategy, the most structured, students must be guided…

This review of research considers both the similarities and differences between adult learners and learners who are children, and applies the findings to second language instruction. First, similarities between children and adults have to do with involving as many senses as possible in learning, allowing for emotional involvement of learners,…