Discusses the case study approach incorporated into a course in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Administration for graduate students at the University of Aston (Birmingham). Authors cite the need for such a course, noting that a good knowledge of course design, methodology, and materials production will not turn an ESP teacher into a future…

Describes "Imitation Exercise," which has been developed to help beginning language learners cope with hearing and recognizing a collection of sounds they are unfamiliar with. By conducting the exercise entirely in the students' native languages, they are not threatened, and in addition, they are allowed to listen to sounds in a familiar,…

Applies findings from 1978 Children's English and Services Study to the 1980 census. Estimates a minimum of 3,400,000 childen are limited in English language skills needed to succeed in schools designed for English-speaking majority children. Emphasizes necessity to understand differences in estimates to appreciate extent of need for special…

Evidence for transfer of prior knowledge across first and second language inputs was shown when 211 kindergarten through sixth grade students, both monolingual English and Spanish/English speakers, were presented Aesop's fables and were tested for retelling the fables, responding to questions about fable character's motives, and extracting lessons…

Discusses the "fill-in" test, explains how to construct it, and gives statistical evidence for its effectiveness in testing English as a foreign language reading comprehension. In addition, a comparison is made between this test and the more conventional multiple-choice and cloze tests, citing the advantages and disadvantages of each.…

The use of the Language Background Questionnaire is analyzed, and the following criticisms are offered: (1) the varying nature and range of questions used, (2) the inclusion of indirect language background questions, and (3) previous methods of categorization of individuals into groups using language background scores. (SL)

This paper contends that communicative competence should be the organizational principle in foreign language teaching, and outlines a proposed communication-oriented language teaching unit. Its advantages in both teaching and learning are discussed. (CHK)

Task-specific language demands should be established by study of language in use on the job. The main components of the Casualty doctor's communicative competence must be specified, and the course in English for Special Purposes must reflect these components in its simulations. (CFM)

The North Carolina Second Language Standard Course of Study establishes competency goals and objectives directing the teaching and learning of foreign language, heritage language, and classical language in North Carolina. This document sets high expectations for all students, it supports extended sequence of language learning and it takes into…

This document provides an overview and analysis of how a series of national conferences held in the fall of 2003 framed conversations around high schools and high-school-age youth This analysis explores the underlying assumptions of these frameworks and the extent to which they coalesced or diverged. The report also examines the content of the…

Researchers, policymakers, taxpayers, and others have wondered whether "money matters" in the academic achievement of public school students--in other words, do the schools and districts that receive the most (in terms of financial resources) produce the most (in terms of measurable student achievement)? This issue is particularly…

Who or what is to blame for the inadequate quality of English-language learner (ELL) teachers? The general shortcomings in teacher education (both preservice and inservice) with regard to students outside the "mainstream" could be a possibility. The continued low achievement among ELLs and the prospect for continued ELL population growth in U.S.…

This brief is written for the practitioners: teachers, teacher trainers, curriculum writers, and program administrators who work with adult English language students in English as a second language (ESL) classes or in mixed adult basic education ABE classes (with native English speakers and English language learners). If educators are not…

Now in a thoroughly revised and expanded third edition, this evidence-based book distills the latest knowledge about literacy teaching and learning into clear strategies for helping all children succeed. Within a comprehensive conceptual framework, the field's leading authorities provide eminently practical recommendations to guide instructional…

To what extent does Universal Grammar (UG) constrain second language (L2) acquisition? This is not only an empirical question, but one which is currently investigable. In this context, L2 acquisition is emerging as an important new domain of psycholinguistic research. Three logical possibilities have been articulated regarding the role of UG in L2…