Students registered in courses for English for special or occupational purposes usually already have a good command of the language. Their objective is not to acquire fluency in the language as such, but rather to learn to use the language adequately in specific professional contexts. The filed of international negotiation and peacekeeping…

This document is an outline of a conference presentation on developing and implementing authentic oral assessment instruments. Among the topics covered are the following: alternative, authentic, direct, descriptive, portfolio, and performance assessments. A detailed comparison and contrasting is undertaken of alternative and performance…

This paper reports on a 2-year project carried out in a foreign language department at a research institution in the United States that intended to professionalize the language teaching faculty. A change in the university's core curriculum resulted in the implementation of the foreign language requirement for undergraduate students. This led to a…

This paper offers a current overview and a commentary on the current state and future directions of research in second language learning. It begins by outlining the ways perceptions of the world influence research and teaching. It then explores the contexts in which one individual has explored learning in second languages. Then an opinion is…

In Australian two-way immersion programs approximately 20-40% of instruction takes place in the target language. While much has been written about such programs targeting French and German, little has been written about Japanese immersion programs. The aim of this research is to provide a better understanding of children's second language…

This advanced level teaching guide, answer key, and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) textbook package, provides nine career and personal profiles of immigrants to the United States from a variety of countries presently working in the field of environmental protection and regulation. A glossary translates numerous more specialized,…

Articles in this publication address the writing process, teaching writing, and research on the teaching of writing, and take the form of personal experience or opinion, or explore the work of others who have contributed to the field. Articles in the first issue of this volume include: "From Grief, Poetry: Expressive Writings from the…

This study examined the role of multilingualism in the Kyrgyz educational system, noting how language learning and language attitudes are related. It analyzed language biographies (semi-narrative interviews in which informants discussed their lives as speakers of two or more languages) and observed language classes. Participants were bilingual…

This study investigated whether or not Hong Kong Chinese adults would benefit from hearing, or phonologically processing, unfamiliar English words upon first encountering them. Participants, who represented different levels of English proficiency, included Chinese undergraduate students, postgraduate students, and adult native speakers of English.…

This book contains 44 chapters and an appendix of pictures for teachers to use with Arab learners in Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) classrooms. Each lesson describes goals, materials needed, and the activity. Many lessons offer sample worksheets, answers to anticipated problems, alternative uses, and suggestions for optimal utilization. With…

This report outlines several critical issues that should be addressed in order to allow states to explore and understand relationships between the performance of ELL students on NAEP and on state assessments in this policy context. The results of this study can be useful to a variety of education stakeholders who are interested in improving the…

This paper addresses an important topic--the isolation and or lack of inclusion of immigrant children in U.S. schools. Immigrant children constantly pour into U.S. schools and, especially as newcomers, their opportunities for authentic interaction with mainstream peers are limited. How can schools provide authentic language opportunities for…

This guidebook gives educators an exciting new approach to improving language and writing skills for all students. Developed through a decade of work with elementary and middle school children, the Writing Lab Approach uses computer-supported activities to encourage student progress in each stage of the writing process, from organizing to editing.…

A study investigated the relationships between anxiety experienced by students in the second language classroom (usually associated with test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and communication apprehension), irrational thoughts associated with these anxieties, and classroom achievement among three groups of language learners. The Foreign…

A study used error analysis to examine and compare the English language proficiency and language learning patterns of two native Japanese speakers, aged 15 and 17. Data were elicited verbally from the subjects, with more elicited from the older, and analyzed for error patterns. Results indicate striking similarities in error patterns; however, a…