Focuses on complexities and challenges of the social and cognitive enterprise involved as young children learn English as a second language. Summarizes research on various types of bilingual programs and identifies effective program components. Presents implications for early childhood teachers, focusing on the importance of teachers having high…

Presents findings from a 9-month ethnographic study of cross-cultural learning for the purpose of helping teachers better understand classroom conditions and behaviors that support and hinder students' comprehension of teachers' spoken language. Follows an 8-year-old native English speaker in an Icelandic classroom. Suggests that…

FACETS many-facet Rasch analysis software was utilized to look at two consecutive administrations of a large-scale second language oral assessment in the form of a peer group discussion task with Japanese English-major university students. Results are discussed. (Author/VWL)

One English-as-a-Foreign-Language teacher describes how she encourages students to extend their reading skills by undertaking a range of tasks that lead to the production of a portfolio of work connected with a particular title. Provides an overview of the work carried out over a period of 3 years with seven groups of students at university and…

Examines participation of language students in on-line discussion groups with native speakers of the target language. Examines the threads started by four anglophone students of French when they post messages to a forum on the Web site of the French newspaper "Le Monde." Investigation of these examples points to the ways in which electronic…

Reviews basic procedures and theories supporting the Language Experience Approach as it applies to second language learning and literacy instruction. (Author/VWL)

Examines the shifting role and status of English within social, economic, and political contexts in China from a historical perspective in order to understand state educational policy regarding the language. Argues that since the mid-19th century, the government of China has avoided the potential pitfalls of cultural transfer by adopting a…

Examined Grade 8 French immersion students use and accuracy of pronominal verbs within one of two tasks--jigsaw or dictogloss--while working in pairs. Two groups of students viewed a videotaped mini-lesson on pronominal verbs, while another two did not. Found that the mini-lesson had a significant impact on students' use of pronominal verbs in…

Discusses project work, describes what it is, why it should be used, and how its aims are defined. Highlights classroom management during project periods and provides a list of project goals that relate to domains and benchmarks of the English-as-a-Foreign-Language curriculum in Israel. (Author/VWL)

Explores the most visible expression of a writer's presence in a text: the use of exclusive first person pronouns. Shows that not all disciplines follow the same conventions of impersonality, and that there is considerable scope for negotiation of identity in academic writing. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the use of teacher-generated biographical material as a vehicle for introducing culture-based content into the classroom. The rationale behind the concept of teacher-generated biography is described with reference to adult general English students in Japan. (Author/VWL)

Investigates self- and peer evaluation of writing in the English-as-a-Second-Language classroom. The investigation is examined in two parts: (1) adapting and implementing an appropriate evaluation scale, and (2) studying the various end-of-term effects use of the scale had on students. (17 references) (GLR)

Describes the differences between majority- and minority-language learners learning a second language in a publicly funded schooling environment in England, highlighting the difficulties faced by minority language speakers and the need for the development of a more rigorous and informed pedagogical practice in a multilingual classroom. (24…

Explains the Monitor Model of adult second-language development. Describes a study conducted at Queens College to assess the value of mandatory reading laboratory attendance for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. (DMM)

A survey-interview exercise is described as it evolved through English-as-a-second-language students' efforts to develop better spoken language skills. The exercise provided students with experience in using spoken English in interaction, learning first-hand about local ideas and attitudes, and reflecting on and discussing the experience in the…