The efficacy of different methods of teaching English for Special Purposes (ESP) was studied, with focus on whether the communicative method is compatible with the goals of ESP teaching. The role on ESP learning of general English taught at high school was also examined. (Contains 15 references.) (LB)

The preparation of second-language students for the academic mainstream is discussed. Consideration is given to the essential role of personal experience in learning, language acquisition, and academic reading/writing and to assessment of the implications for the English-as-a-Second-Language classroom. (Contains 56 references.) (Author/LB)

English-as-a-Second-Language data show number and person play a role in establishing cognitive continuity of textual occurrences. In such cases, number/person errors are global, affecting text comprehension. Global grammar proposed here can present language features that are to be learned in contexts that render those features cognitively and…

Discusses the use of Chinese-language television commercials from Taiwan in intermediate courses on Chinese as a foreign language. Television commercials have been found to be stimulating aural, visual, and cultural input that can provide intermediate learners with interesting, even provocative, topics to discuss. (11 references) (MDM)

Examines second-language instruction at the primary school level in Ireland, where there is significant demand for instruction in languages other than the mandatory Irish and English. An argument is made for a language awareness approach to introduce students to a third language. (39 references) (MDM)

Discusses the role of picture storybooks in developmental education, indicating that these deceptively simple books can provide interest and variety to the classroom, offer self-confidence to hesitant and language-diverse students, and easily remedy gaps in background knowledge for many different content areas. Includes possible example…

Drawing primarily from theory and research in the cognitive literature on learning, this paper defines and illustrates the various components of task knowledge and attempts to show the functional relationship between task knowledge and autonomous learning. An approach to learner training that is (task) knowledge based is discussed. (54 references)…

Discusses the pedagogical advantages in using live dramatic sketches in the classroom. These include drama as an interactive activity, repetition of language points, use of body language as an effective visual aid, personalized messages to the students, and a display of language in action. (CK)

The characteristics of linguistically gifted students are classified into four areas: language traits, conceptualization traits, socialization traits, and productivity traits. Curricular modifications to meet the needs of linguistically gifted students involve changes in the content, process, product, and learning environment. (JDD)

The Orton-Gillingham method, a multisensory structured language approach which adheres to the direct and explicit teaching of phonology, is presented as an alternative instructional strategy for dyslexic/learning-disabled or other "at risk" students learning a second language. A method for adapting this approach to teaching Spanish is…

In a college-level introductory French literature course, one teacher uses a highly structured curriculum of lecture, class discussion, written assignments, improvisation, and dramatic performance. This approach encourages students to practice all language skills while learning to become independent critical readers and interpret literary works as…

Presents syllabus and discusses methodology for a course on British Industrial Relations for economics majors at the University of Bergamo taught in English. Course was successful in extending the subject matter in the second language (L2), and it allowed participants to learn more of the language, practicing it in an environment other than the…

Promotes student-as-teacher strategies in general, while extending their definition to include the peer teaching arrangement usually referred to as "group study." Cloze passages and rehearsed dictee are examined as well as the theoretical suggestion that these exercises are especially apt to encourage a variety of learning styles. (six references)…

Presents an overview of third-grade bilingual students and their literacy curriculum. Discusses a series of instructional lessons ("strategy wall charts") developed to provide the students with various tools to work their way through literacy blocks as they read and wrote in English. Looks at patterns of internalization that occurred when the…

Ten guidelines, along with corresponding teaching techniques and learning activities, are offered for developing students' communicative proficiency as described in the "ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines." The objective is to improve students' Spanish and Portuguese communication ability in authentic, situational contexts. (16 references) (LB)