A project to identify alternative strategies for assessing the academic language of English language learners is reported. First, literature on the concept of academic language is reviewed, and then findings from classroom research are used to propose an alternative conceptualization of academic language, one which focuses on the role of stylistic…

This report examines patterns related to academic performance and language development in the lives of 16 children of Mexican descent in grades 3-5 who were identified as learning disabled. Research questions focused on factors that made these students eligible for referral for learning disabilities, patterns in the development of students' oral…

The Success for All model of instruction, which seeks to prevent academic problems in elementary school by addressing reading difficulties with early, intensive intervention, is described. The approach, begun with native English-speaking students at risk academically, provides tutoring from prekindergarten or kindergarten onward, particularly…

This paper discusses the importance of listening comprehension in the learning of English as a Second Language (ESL). It is argued that more emphasis needs to be given to the neglected skills of listening comprehension, since most training in oral communication at the secondary and college level focuses on effective speaking. The paper outlines…

A study conducted in the English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) class of 11 Southeast Asian refugee parents of several nationalities and language groups investigated changes in the parents' relationships with their children through four months of the acculturation process, focusing on the strategies the parents used to guide and assist their children…

The roles that pragmatics can play in the development of communicative competence are discussed, and three uses are examined in greater detail, with examples offered: (1) for the refinement of the study of speech acts as they occur in different cultures; (2) to help determine the extent to which explicit instruction can increase the rate at which…

This book is divided into three parts. It begins with fundamental principles about reading, texts, and teaching which underlie the way the book approaches its subject; the second part looks more closely at some of the theoretical issues and how they affect reading teaching. The third focuses on the importance of exensive reading, the choice of…

Materials presented here include a variety of resources for teachers of Esperanto: a brief guide to Esperanto teaching, including suggested teacher qualifications, a listing of instructional materials and resources, including serials, with details of publication, activities in preparation for teaching, grade-level class activities, notes on…

Testing language skills is difficult, but testing writing, and the writing of students of English as a Second Language, poses two major problems. The first is making decisions about the matter of control, objectivity of the evaluation, and naturalness in the writing test. The second major problem is that, if the test is done in a way that cannot…

Peer coaching develops from a leadership role on the part of educators of linguistically and culturally diverse (LCD) students, together with an interdisciplinary cooperation between bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) and mainstream staff. Peer coaching is a professional development method in which teachers share their expertise and…

This report describes eight exemplary schools serving minority students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) in Texas, California, Illinois, and Massachusetts. Schools were chosen by nomination. The report is divided into 10 chapters. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the report, and provides background information on how the eight schools…

This report defines and describes audiotaped dialogue journals produced by fourth year, Chilean university students in their English class. The taped journals were used as a way for students to obtain additional practice in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in an environment where school was the only place they practiced their English. The…

This book contains 14 essays on reading and vocabulary learning in second language acquisition. Chapters include: "Research on ESL/EFL Vocabulary Acquisition: Putting It in Context" (James Coady); "Implications for L2 Vocabulary Acquisition and Instruction From L1 Vocabulary Research" (Fredricka Stoller and William Grabe); "Patterns and Perils of…

This study examined the contribution that formal strategies-based instruction might offer learners in University of Minnesota foreign language classrooms, focusing particularly on speaking skills. Of 55 intermediate students enrolled in college-level French and Norwegian foreign language classes, 32 participated in the experimental group who…

This paper explores what is meant by "thinking" in a target language. Factors that determine both unplanned and planned use of more than one language for thinking are discussed, and empirical data from a mini-survey and from personal language learning and language using experiences are presented. The role of target-language thinking in improving…