It is generally recognized that students' feelings about learning affect their ability to learn. One of the three strongest influencing factors on second-language learning is classroom anxiety. This paper focuses on student emotional distress in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom, and suggests that one of the primary causes of this…

The experience described by Kay Hoag, Advocacy Chair of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL), exemplifies the threat of program elimination and/or cutbacks that elementary school foreign language programs across the nation experienced with increased frequency during the 2002-2003 academic year. Reports of these threats…

A study of the listening strategies of college students for whom English is a second language analyzed their oral and written responses to listening selections. The analysis resulted in 17 individual strategies classified in six broad categories. More and less proficient listeners were distinguishable by the frequency of the strategies they used…

Some research has been done on culture shock, and some lesser-known research has looked at the phenomenon in older elementary school age children. Studies have examined the stages of culture shock, its effects on the already largely formed personality, immigrant experiences in America and its public schools, language use in the home, second…

A 3-year pilot bilingual program based on the Manitoba curriculum was evaluated to determine the degree to which program objectives had been achieved. The program uses Ukrainian as the language of instruction for 100% of the time in kindergarten and for 50% of the time in grades 1 and 2. The study investigated the following: (1) the extent to…

Two case studies of students learning to write academic discourse, particularly to maintain cohesion and relevance, are described. The two college students were part of a fourth-year biology class: one was a native English speaker, and the other spoke English as a second language. Both had a good command of spoken English grammar at the sentence…

As part of a larger study of instructional issues for English as a second language (ESL), current literature is reviewed and summarized in four major areas affecting the teaching and learning of ESL in grades K-12: ESL instructional approaches, patterns of curriculum organization, instructional materials, and language learning theories. In the…

Arguing that eliminating formal grammar instruction and concentrating instead on instruction in style and organization will improve the program, this paper describes Tulane University's language orientation program for foreign students in the M.B.A. program. Following an introduction, the paper describes the students in the class and the nature of…

On the basis that English as a Second Language (ESL) writers encounter cross-cultural interference when dealing with the five-paragraph essay, a study was conducted to examine the writing of three ESL writers in a basic writing class. The case study of one of the subjects, a woman from Hong Kong, focused on her comments relating to the structure…

For second-language learners, the narration of highly personal experiences that entail strong affective relations relies on the conceptual processes underlying language. Relating personal narratives in a second language may be a highly successful communicative use of language even though extensive linguistic information for that language is…

A method for teaching French oral reading is presented. Prior to the actual oral reading, the student should: (1) read the text attentively for meaning and in order to decide on the appropriate tone; (2) determine the rhythm appropriate to the text; (3) indicate, by means of arrows, the general intonational curve; (4) indicate the "liaisons" to be…

This business education unit in French was prepared for use in a bilingual education program at the twelfth grade level. The purpose of the unit is to improve typing skills in French. The unit covers the following objectives: (1) the location and typing of French characters on the keyboard; (2) the format of a business letter in French; (3)…

Presented here are a series of classroom exercises in cross cultural communication for teachers of English to students whose native language is Spanish. These classroom exercises focus on a variety of topics including: (1) the definition of a culture; (2) stereotypes; (3) cultural conceptions of space and time; (4) societal values; (5)…

This paper examines the parallels between suggestopedia and Soviet sleep-learning for learning foreign languages. Both systems are based on the idea that the acquisition of information can occur in states below the optimal level of consciousness. Hypnopedia makes use of the period of paradoxical or light sleep that usually occurs just as one is…

The learning modules presented in this document were developed as part of the continuing Career Education and the American Indian Series. Intended for use with the early elementary grade levels, these modules were designed to meet the following career education objectives: awareness of self; awareness of others; awareness of culture; awareness of…