This book is one in a series of publications intended to help improve secondary instruction by addressing a central educational issue: teaching children how to think. This volume focuses specifically on how students can be encouraged and helped to think critically from the outset of learning to read in a foreign language. It draws on both recent…

The guide, intended as working materials for a teacher workshop, introduces second language teachers to principles and practices of student dialogue journal writing. It begins by outlining nine principles to follow concerning second language writing at all instructional levels. It then offers two sample journal entries with spaces for teachers to…

This guide is designed to help program developers establish a literacy program geared to specific occupations. It uses examples from English second-language literacy education for the hotel housekeeper. The guide consists of seven sections addressing the following aspects of program development: getting started and overall planning; selecting a…

The proceedings of a two and one-half day symposium concerning the assessment of functional language ability through the oral interview process included the following papers: "The FSI/ILR/ACTFL Proficiency Scales and Testing Techniques: Development, Current Status, and Need Research" (John L. D. Clark, Ray T. Clifford); "The ACTFL…

This book describes the conception, implementation, teaching, and evaluation of an experimental course in corrective phonetics for students enrolled in the Certificate in French as a Second Language (FLS) at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal (Canada) during the winter and summer sessions of 1992. It also discusses the principles of a proposed…

The report presents preliminary findings from a study of middle school American history classes with English language learners. The study investigated the construction of social studies knowledge in these classes and the development and implementation of lessons that address the cultural and educational backgrounds of the learners while…

The collaborative curriculum development process in a postsecondary language education program in Japan is described, looking specifically at the work of five curriculum development teams, or focus groups: needs assessment; curriculum aims, goals, and objectives; cognitive development and learner strategies; materials development; and learner…

The Capacity Building Alternatives Program, an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII-funded project in its first year of operation functioned at 8 schools, serving 139 students of limited English proficiency whose home language was Albanian, Chinese, Haitian, Polish, Russian, or Serbo-Croatian. Students targeted showed an achievement…

A review of research bearing on second language teaching methodology looks at what it tells about language processing and production, classroom interaction and second language learning, and learning strategy preferences. The perspective taken is that methodology consists of classroom tasks and activities. Implications of the research for the…

Content-based language instruction is an integrated approach to language instruction drawing topics, texts, and tasks from content or subject-matter classes but focusing on the cognitive, academic language skills required to participate effectively in content instruction. It is of growing interest to teachers of both English as a Second Language…

A study investigated the relative effectiveness of three kinds of computer-mediated support for developing reading comprehension among learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL). Subjects were 24 first-year students of AFL at the college level. The students were given computer-assisted reading instruction at four levels of treatment: control…

This paper presents several methods of reading instruction that teachers can use with young readers, particularly learners of English as a Second Language (ESL), to help them cope with potential negative effects of background knowledge. Insufficient or inaccurate background knowledge may cause readers to make inferences or interpretations that are…

An experiment using audiotaped student journals for course evaluation is described. Subjects were 200 native Cantonese-speaking technology students taking credit-bearing courses in English communication skills for building. One of the required tasks in the course was to indicate, in their oral journals, what they liked about an instructional…

Satellite television is proposed as a useful source of authentic materials for French language instruction at the college level. It is argued that this medium illustrates to students that the language is used in a wide variety of everyday situations and contexts. The discussion begins with a brief description of common satellite technology,…

A strategy for English second language instruction in the Greek schools of Cyprus at the elementary and secondary level is described. Central to the strategy is assignment of student projects, either individual or small-group, integrating independent language learning and use of research and planning skills. An introductory section presents the…