This literature survey was conducted to provide information on Aboriginal language learning and teaching in Alberta. Specifically, it provides an overview of the current literature relating to: the language-to-culture connection, aboriginal language pedagogy and instructional practices, and parental and community involvement. The Aboriginal…

Learning to read and write is a psycholinguistic and social process. That is why mother-tongue speakers of minority African languages find learning to read in the language they speak is a qualitatively better learning experience than learning to read in a language they are unfamiliar with. However, reading methodologies used for teaching reading…

A modified version of Sylvia Ashton-Warner's approach to literacy training, originally developed to teach Maori children, is described. The adapted method was used in Ecuador in an international literacy education program. With this method, rather than using a text, learners are taught written words important to their lives and are encouraged to…

A collaborative research effort to investigate the relative strengths of selected vocabulary development techniques was conducted by the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and the Taiwan Provincial Institute for Elementary School Teachers' Inservice Education. Parallel studies of children in grades 4 through 6 compared the two prior knowledge…

Presents a selective bibliography of dictionaries, books, and articles. References are grouped under three sections: I. Lexicology, II. Dictionaries and III. Didactics. Each item is followed by a concise critical note. The compilation is by the "Centre d'Etudes du Lexique" (CELEX, Paris-Villetaneuse). (MES)

Offers an alternative to the two approaches to teaching Spanish to adolescent and college-level bilingual native speakers interested in developing their Spanish abilities. This theory draws heavily from Freire's problem-posing procedure for critical dialogue and Vygotsky's theory of social learning. (28 references) (Author/VWL)

English language learners (ELLs) who experience slow vocabulary development are less able to comprehend text at grade level than their English-only peers. Such students are likely to perform poorly on assessments in these areas and are at risk of being diagnosed as learning disabled. In this article, we review the research on methods to develop…

A seminar held in Italy was in line with the Council of Europe's project activities for dealing with educational problems caused by the rapid transformation in social groupings, in the wake of increasing labor-market mobility and migratory phenomena. Four themes were discussed: (1) official strategies set up in certain European countries with…

This article presents an overview of the literature on program models for teaching Spanish to heritage speakers, noting definitions, intake and placement procedures, typical offerings, and effective approaches, and covering a proficiency orientation, infusion of subculture materials, study of sociolinguists, community involvement, and cooperative…

Two principles necessary for integrating the native language and second language approaches to language instruction are discussed: (1) that such an integration must be viewed as a meeting, not of subject areas but of professional competencies and (2) that languages must be considered not as separate systems but as a continuum. (MSE)

Discusses methodological problems in the teaching of legal and other technical language in Quebec. (AM)

Examines the relationship between linguistic theory and pedagogic practices in the teaching of French at the elementary school level. Discusses two trends emerging from current literature, one denouncing the remoteness of linguistic theory from psychological research findings, the other focusing on the teaching process and its need for theoretical…

Examines methods and materials for teaching beginning reading and Mandarin Chinese (the standard dialect the People's Republic of China) to Chinese children of different dialects. Finds value in the integration of language arts with peer tutoring, multimodal approach, and teaching with mnemonics, but reports excessive memorization, little silent…

The main themes of a broad interpretation of literacy are discussed in this digest, and examples of approaches to literacy education in use and resources are cited. The information presented is focused on native language literacy, but the themes, recommendations, and materials are relevant for adults of English as a Second Language. Specific…

This teacher's guide is intended for the instruction of both French as a first language and French as a second language in immersion programs. It provides a host of strategies for teaching listening skills in the classroom in Grades 1 through 7. The first section is designed to bring the teacher's awareness to the training procedure. It discusses…