This paper reports on a qualitative study that examined English as a second language (ESL) teachers' perceptions of classroom-based reading assessments. ESL teachers' use of classroom-based reading assessments, their understanding about the function and effectiveness of this assessment method, and the factors influencing this assessment process…

A first-grade reading and language development intervention for English language learners (Spanish/English) at risk for reading difficulties was examined. The intervention was conducted in the same language as students' core reading instruction (English). Two hundred sixteen first-grade students from 14 classrooms in 4 schools from 2 districts…

The education industry has obviously been influenced by the Internet revolution. Teaching and learning methods have changed significantly since the coming of the Web and it is very likely they will keep evolving many years to come thanks to it. A good example of this changing reality is the spectacular development of e-Learning. In a more…

This report examines the readiness of Latino (Hispanic descent) high school students for college-level academic work based on their reading comprehension and verbal reasoning skills. Pertinent college admissions test data and educational survey data are reviewed, and findings are discussed from a variety of research fields that sharpen the…

An introduction to contemporary views of second/foreign language course design is intended for even relatively inexperienced teachers wishing to meet the somewhat sophisticated current expectations for language training. First, it provides theoretical background concerning the concepts of communicative competence and second language proficiency,…

This book examines the school failure and success of Chicano students from a wide variety of perspectives. It attempts to promote further understanding of what constitutes, maintains, and helps shape school failure among Chicano students, and to present research and policy agendas that may help to realize Chicano school success. Five sections…

A series of partial studies aimed at understanding how much progress students can make in 1 year of second language study are described. The first concerns Swedish university students in their first year studying Spanish as a third language in higher education. Students were tested and interviewed for their perceptions of their language ability…

A study investigated the processes used by bilinguals for organizing vocabulary by presenting subjects with bilingual word recognition tasks in two modalities (aural and visual) and using a repetition paradigm. Subjects were asked to decide whether a word presented to them was a nonsense word or a real word. Two separate experiments are described.…

Two groups of Japanese students, 40 university students (aged 18-25) and 34 high school students (aged 13-15), assessed their own English language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) after having lived in an English-speaking country for at least a year before returning to Japan. This evaluation was compared with objective listening…

A study investigated: (1) the communication strategies (CSs) used by Turkish learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) when interacting with native English speakers, and (2) the influence of gender on use of CSs when communication difficulties occur because of limited English proficiency. Subjects were ten native Turkish-speaking ESL learners…

A survey investigated the attitudes of educated Greeks about possible modifications in the orthographic representation of written Greek. Subjects were 82 students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program in English Language and Literature offered at the University of Cyprus. The subjects were administered a 20-item Likert-type questionnaire…

A collection of essays on second language vocabulary learning includes: "Historical Trends in Second Language Vocabulary Instruction" (Cheryl Boyd Zimmerman); "The Lexical Plight in Second Language Reading: Words You Don't Know, Words You Think You Know, and Words You Can't Guess" (Batia Laufer); "Orthographic Knowledge in L2 Lexical Processing: A…

This guide is designed for Ivatan (Ibatan) language training of Peace Corps workers in the Philippines, and reflects daily communication needs in that context. It consists of: phrase lists for a wide range of daily activities and needs; a list of targeted core language competencies, at three proficiency levels, for those daily activities; an…

This lesson plan for the first grade uses information on transportation, with sub-themes of communities and careers, to provide history/social science education for limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in San Diego, California. Activities and materials from the State scholastic science kit are also used, as are songs, poems, music, and games.…

The linguistic purposes of this research were to focus on content, themes and topics, and to analyze the way the target language (English) was used in e-mail. Communicativeness and the roles of the communicator (writer-reader) became central, emphasizing the multidirectional character of e-mail communication. The basic tenet of communicativeness…