Many mainstream content teachers are encountering, for the first time, K-12 students who are in the process of learning English as a second language (English language learners or ELLs), and this new population presents a significant challenge. Teachers are already familiar with many of the techniques available to help their ELLs comprehend…

One of the most controversial issues in foreign language (FL) teaching is the age at which language learning should start. Nowadays it is recognized that in second language contexts maturational constraints make an early start advisable, but there is still disagreement regarding the problem of when to start or the best way to learn in foreign…

This study examined literacy instruction in 14 first-grade classrooms of English learners (ELS) in three schools in a large urban school district in southern California over a two-year period. Pre- and posttest measures of oral-reading fluency for 186 first graders, representing 11 native languages, were the outcome data. Reading-fluency data were…

In this article, the author describes a program of Eastern Cherokee ancestral language restoration in Cherokee, North Carolina. One of the primary goals of the program is to enhance the self-concept of the children and motivate the students to experience academic excitement and success. The use of authentic legends and stories is one method…

The article argues that Norton Peirce's (1995) concept of a language learner's investment should figure centrally in how instructors address the needs of adult learners in ESL classrooms. Investment is discussed in relation to second language acquisition research that addresses the role of social factors in second language acquisition. The article…

''Rhythm is one of the most pervasive aspects of the human condition; it is in the world around us and in the world within us, in our bodies and our minds, our living and our thinking'' [Auer, P., Couper-Kuhlen, E., & Muller, F. (1999). "Language in time: the rhythm and tempo of spoken interaction." New York: Oxford University…

This article analyses factors affecting L2 learning, using Regression and Correlation Analysis. Some of the the results are in line with those reported in the literature: for example, the positive role of "Reading" and the negative role of "L1" transfer. Other results, however, are surprising, such as the current use of…

The literature suggests that teachers may rely more often on intuition when making course planning decisions than on informed assessment of learners' needs (Barkhuizen 1998; Spratt 1999). This article proposes a more principled alternative to the intuitive approach, based on the use of teacher-designed class-specific questionnaires intended to…

Today, teaching and learning tend to be viewed from a constructivist perspective. Learning is regarded as a self-directed process of constructing meaning, which takes place in interaction. The teacher supports the learning process by selecting input and approaches that can scaffold the learning process and guide learners towards independent…

This paper looks at the employment of metalanguage by advanced English L2 users engaged in Dictogloss, a form-focused collaborative writing task, and compares it with that in an earlier study of intermediate learners. First, three commonly employed types of metalinguistic terms are recognised, listed and compared with those reported in a study of…

This essay describes how interclass collaboration in the context of an in-depth interdisciplinary discussion and analysis of global problems can yield significant benefits in the development of ESL students' sense of efficacy, their literacy, and their critical thinking skills. Collaborative lessons expose the students to new and varied…

This paper analyses classroom discourse in Finnish EFL classrooms where English is the object of study and content-based (Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)) classrooms where non-language subjects are taught in English. The students in both groups are Finnish teenagers. Approaching the data from a discourse-pragmatic perspective, the…

Sixth and eighth grade students who are English language learners must be able to read and interpret 39 math word problems in order to successfully calculate the answers on the Massachusetts state math assessment (MCAS). The first year that MCAS was administered, many ELL students read the questions, found them confusing, and left them blank,…

Csikszentmihaly's (1997) concept of flow describes a mental state resulting from peak experiences in which the level of challenge is high, but manageable given a person's skills. Because flow occurs at peak moments, these moments can motivate teachers, possibly shaping their classroom practices and giving them insight into their teaching beliefs.…

A great deal of research has been carried out over the past two decades related to the effectiveness of computer-assisted teaching and learning. This large body of work, however, has not produced unequivocal findings, especially in the area of CALL. Our study takes a systematic look at what dedicated meta-research since 1991 might have contributed…