The "K-12 Guidelines for English Language Proficiency" were developed as a supplement to the Nebraska State Standards. All English Language Learner (ELL) students are required by the Nebraska Department of Education to meet or exceed the Nebraska State Standards (LEARNS) or district approved standards. These guidelines present districts, content…

This fact sheet is a declaration of rights for parents of English language learners under No Child Left Behind. President George W. Bush had a vision that all children could achieve academic success by receiving a high-quality education. He knew that something had to be done to close the large achievement gap that exists between minority children…

Recent political imperatives have pushed the issue of teacher quality to the top of the reform agenda in U.S. education (Cochran-Smith & Fries, 2001; Darling-Hammond & Youngs, 2002). While the recent focus on teacher quality may give us the illusion that it is a new topic, questions about the preparation, recruitment, and retention of good…

In this report, Christopher Jepsen and Shelley de Alth conclude that there are numerous obstacles to students being reclassified from English learners to Fluent English Proficient. To start with, over 50 languages are spoken in California's public schools. Although 85 percent of English learners speak Spanish as their first language, the sheer…

In language learning, the psychological factor of group reference is crucial. In its absence, the best efforts of the English teacher are ineffective. In its presence, nonstandard dialect speakers will learn standard English regardless of formal teaching. (JM)

Clues in the answers given to the Spanish Advanced Placement Examination questions can identify the test-taker as having learned the language in the classroom or as a native speaker. The Educational Testing Service has found mechanisms to ensure that the tests are equally suited to the two groups. (MSE)

Describes an advanced, nonliterary Spanish course which can be adapted to high school classes. (EKN)

Offers a model which can be used to describe any given second language teaching method, as well as analyze different methods for their internal adequacy, similarities, and differences. (EKN)

Proposes that instructors of advanced ESL courses for executives adopt the case method, which allows these executives to use the managerial skills they have developed over the years. Explains this method and describes the role of the instructor/consultant. (EKN)

Meaningful, comprehensible instructional materials that take into consideration the student's proficiency level are recommended for teaching communicative skills. Formulae developed for teaching various language functions (forms of socializing, showing emotion, judging, and getting information) and functional language rhetorical strategies are…

In teaching French to English majority-group students in the Canadian bilingual setting, teachers must be sensitive to the students' natures and personalities. Because specific orientations and attitudes act as motivational supports during the language acquisition process, differential treatment of personality types during second language teaching…

Discusses problems associated with teaching physics in English and students' native languages. Reviews studies on the topic, including Whorf's linguistic relativity. Includes suggestions for further research. (SK)

Discusses difficulties in perception of English /r/ and /l/ and concludes the error pattern is not predictable on the basis of contrastive phonological analysis but might be the result of acoustic-phonetic factors. (EKN)

Combines studies in cognitive psychology and language acquisition with observations of pedagogical materials and student performance to analyze foreign-language teaching from the perspective of what students and teachers need to understand about language learning and language before meaningful debate over methodology can be undertaken. (Author/MES)