Forty-four computer programs specifically designed to help students learn English as a second language (ESL) are listed. The programs chosen focus on a linguistic activity, are appropriate for any proficiency level, are considered appropriate for students of high school and adult age (excluding college-level foreign students), and have been…

This manual, the first of three curriculum guides for an electronics course, is intended for use in a program combining vocational English as a second language (VESL) with bilingual vocational education. A description of the VESL program design appears first. The next section provides a format on developing lesson plans for teaching the technical…

The University of Illinois' Language Learning Laboratory began the process of developing its own videotape materials in 1979 with limited resources. Interest grew gradually among faculty and the graduate teaching staff, who generally designed and produced their own materials and then shared them with colleagues. A wide variety of tapes has been…

A second language teaching technique using relaxation, imagination, and music to accelerate the learning process is imagination, and music to accelerate the learning process is discussed. Part 1 describes the classroom setting and the stages and processes of the technique. Part 2 outlines the theory and sources of the method in the literature of…

A symposium of language learning specialists reviewing C.C. Fries' Oral Approach to English language instruction developed and used at the English Language Institute of the University of Michigan is summarized. The thesis of the symposium was that the basic Oral Approach concepts had and continue to have a profound and far-reaching, though largely…

An analysis of phonetics and Chinese character learning done with 1928 character frequency data was reproduced with a more modern data base. The study tabulated the 500 characters of the Elementary Chinese Reader, volumes 1 and 2, and supporting statistics to analyze the characters' phonetics by microcomputer. The objective was to find phonetic…

All teachers are teachers of language, whether they recognize it or not, but the importance of language for learning, training, and vocational competence is underemphasized in much postsecondary education. As a result, performance in language for specialized purposes is declining and employers are dissatisfied. An adequate education in language…

A review of the literature on a variety of issues related to testing vocabulary knowledge in a second language addresses these topics: problems in estimating vocabulary size, including the related questions of what constitutes a word, how a sample should be selected, and what are the criteria for knowing a word; sampling the basic and specialized…

The problems faced by limited-English-proficient workers in the United States, particularly Indochinese immigrants with low-level English skills and little understanding of American culture are discussed. Classroom techniques and activities to familiarize LEP workers with the training process and to teach them workplace communication skills are…

This guide explores three ways for teachers to increase speech and culture samples in the foreign language classroom: using foreign exchange students, using U.S. students returning from overseas experience, and identifying and using community resources. The guide includes six chapters, which cover the following topics: the value of bringing in…

The University of Moratuwa (Sri Lanka) developed two courses in English for engineering students, one for technician-level diploma students and one for bachelor's degree-level students. The first step was a needs analysis, conducted through questionnaires and informal meetings with students and faculty, observation of subject lectures and…

Numbers 1 through 5 of the 1983 TECFORS newsletter include these articles: "Topic Schemas (LL): In the Classroom" (David A. Ross); "Using Diagrams to Teach Reading Comprehension" (Tia Johnson, Judy Sheetz-Brunetti); "Correcting ESL Compositions" (Nancy Hooper); "A Schema Theory Bibliography" (Ann M. Johns);…

Language problems are likely the strongest single barrier to success facing limited English proficient (LEP) immigrants to the United States. Therefore, instruction in English as a second language (ESL) for immigrants must be given a high priority. Vocational ESL (VESL) provides adult immigrants with English skills on an as-needed basis in…

This collection of conference papers includes: "When Does Teacher Talk Work as Input?"; "Cultural Input in Second Language Learning"; "Skilled Variation in a Kindergarten Teacher's Use of Foreigner Talk"; "Teacher-Pupil Interaction in Second Language Development"; "Foreigner Talk in the University…

This guide was developed to meet the needs of the increasingly large number of nonliterate and semiliterate adult English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners in the Chicago metropolitan area. It is suitable for learners who are illiterate or semiliterate in their native languages, or who are literate in a language using a non-Roman alphabet. The…