Age is an essential factor in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), impacting the success of students and instructional methods. The purpose of this study is to examine the age factor in SLA by examining three age categories -- children, adolescents and adults. In doing so, the study considers the Critical Period Hypothesis as a base of linguistic…

This paper presents a critique of a set of teaching strategies known as "contemplative pedagogy." Using practices such as meditation, attentive listening, and reflective reading, contemplative inquiry focuses on direct first-person experience as an essential means of knowing that has historically been overshadowed and dismissed by an…

Learning is not limited to a certain age group or a formal study environment. However, the first eight years, and particularly the first three years, are the most important because the effects of the care and attention provided to the child during this period will continue throughout his/her life. A child's early learning processes develop his/her…

The aim of the current study is to determine what language activities Norwegian preschool children took part in, and to examine whether these language activities predict children's language comprehension. We tested children (n = 134) with language measures at age 4/5 and age 5/6 and interviewed their teachers (n = 71) about the kinds of language…

This study analyzes Achieve3000, Lexia Core 5, and Imagine Learning software programs designed to increase student literacy levels in a six-week summer school program. The Brainology program was also used with 4th to 6th grade students to determine if there was an increase in growth mindset. Three elementary schools with the highest percentages of…

A central goal of intergroup dialogue (IGD) is to strengthen individual and collective capacities to foster social justice commitments by supporting new ways of thinking about oneself, others, and the social structures in which we live. Relatedly, IGD assists individuals with building multicultural competencies and skill sets that support peoples'…

This paper sets out to show: (1) Teachers of English to young learners need to support their learners' general cognitive development and learning along with language learning; (2) The use of stories has a very important role in teaching English to young learners (TEYL); (3) The use of stories and books can provide scaffolding for our young…

Listening skills are fundamental in the author's approach to teaching music to children. As a Suzuki instructor, the author is always looking for ways to help students listen more effectively. This article sets forth ways listening can be fostered, both in private instrumental study and in general music preschool and elementary classrooms. The…

Music learning and music performance involve all aspects of the individual: cognitive, emotional, social, and psychomotor. John Feierabend shows that music requires a special kind of intellectual process that is unique to the discipline. Brain density reaches its peak in a child's first few years of life; hence, as with language, music learning…

"Fast Track" is a pseudonym for an accelerated, advanced language arts program for verbally gifted and high potential students in grades 6-8. The critical thinking model used for "Fast Track" was gleaned from Coalition of Essential Schools founder Ted Sizer's Habits of Mind: significance, evidence, connections, perspective, and supposition, as…

This qualitative study examined the impact of teacher curriculum approaches (curriculum-transmitter/curriculum-developer/curriculum-maker) on student cognitive change (reading, writing, speaking, and listening abilities) and their affective change (motivation and interests). This study's conceptual framework was grounded in teacher curriculum…

To assess the outcomes of using a resource guide which provides for individual student needs in the teaching of listening skills, a multi-criterion instrument (consisting of the STEP-Listening Test, questionnaire, interview, and log) was administered to 15 fifth grade students, who had received instruction by three different methods. Based upon…

The goal of the Toledo, Ohio, Support Teacher Programs has been to improve the learning of math and science concepts at the junior high school level. This goal involves some basic changes in the way teachers interact with each other and with their students. The greatest changes have been in the movement away from the…

In the spring of 1971, an initial version of a program to teach selected prereading skills was tried out in three kindergartens. The three visual skills to be taught by the program were attending to letter order, letter orientation, and word detail. The sound skills to be taught were sound matching and sound blending. The program materials for…

Project CHIME (Children with Hearing Impairments in Mainstreamed Environments) was developed to create a curriculum for use by professionals who are providing mainstreaming opportunities for hearing-impaired preschoolers. The CHIME curriculum is divided into five activity areas that are part of the growth and development process for all…