The Technology Enhanced Accent Modification (TEAM) project created multimedia software to improve the oral proficiency of international teaching assistants (ITAs). Objectives were to: (1) develop reliable accent modification software that would operate on computers found at most colleges; (2) determine how TEAM-based accent modification…

A program designed to improve the oral second language skills of high school students in second-year Spanish is reported. Initial analysis attributed the students' low level of oral Spanish skills to lack of motivation and insufficient practice of oral language. Three major interventions were implemented: incorporation of more oral practice of…

This book is intended for graduate teaching assistants and undergraduate teacher education majors who might benefit from a directed exploration, reflection, and application of particular topics related to communicative language teaching and for practicing teachers who need a resource manual for developing tasks and materials for their classrooms.…

Over the past decade, education reforms have raised the educational bar for all children in the United States--including newcomers. These reforms place tremendous pressures on children and teachers. In addition to mastering the content-area curriculum, children must become skilled users of language. They must be highly competent in reading and…

The report, entirely in French, describes Alberta's curriculum for ninth-year French immersion, as revised in 1998. An introductory section offers background information on the curriculum revision, links between the core curriculum and French immersion, underlying principles of second language instruction, the revised curriculum's objectives and…

Aligned with its 1998 standards for first and second language learning, Alberta Learning has published lesson plans that aim for a closer relationship between learning and evaluation. Each volume in this series presents a specific task for students that involves planning, carrying out and evaluating their work. The task for seventh grade students…

Extensive research over the past 30 years has established the classroom and home experiences that support independent reading by the end of third grade. This set of eight six-page pamphlets draws on this research in providing teachers with practical suggestions on improving children's reading achievement. It includes practices easily incorporated…

This report includes statistics of 168 schools for the deaf for the year 1926-27. Of this total number of schools, 69 are supported by the State and are wholly or partly under State control, 83 are parts of city school systems, and 16 are under private control. Seventeen schools have departments for blind children, in addition to departments for…

Compares five commonly used English-Spanish language dominance instruments according to area of language measured, domain assessed, developmental comparability, and language variety or dialect. Examines the proficiency information provided and the validity, reliability, and norming of the instruments. Concludes that the tests are not comparable…

Reports a study of the production of Thai vowels, consonants, and tones by native English speakers using two forms of evaluation: acoustic measurements and auditory evaluation by native Thai-speaking listeners. The study focused on the differences in acoustic parameters between the two groups and the acoustic parameter influencing native…

Examines the learning and use of academic English words by students who differ socioculturally. Argues that the Greco-Latin vocabulary of English offers various levels of potential difficulty for students from different class, cultural, or linguistic social factions. Infers some changes to practices in native and second language academic English…

Examines the effects of different kinds of rich contexts for vocabulary learning based on second language oral input. The article compares the number and kinds of words learned through exposure to a dialogue or video, or by first listening to an oral account of the dialogue situation and then hearing the audio soundtrack without visual support.…

Examined open-ended production tasks in higher level testing in French-as-a-second-language courses in the United Kingdom. The article studied the effect of teachers' linguistic background, training, experience, and ability on their marking of students' oral language tests; the reliability of marking criteria; and the validity of assessing…

Discusses how the appropriate interweaving of assessment and teaching encourages students to participate actively in their own learning. The article describes one teacher's efforts to enhance the proficiency of the English language-math learners in her class by encouraging the students to work toward an exhibition of student-built models of famous…

Presents a hypothesis-generating study of advanced university English-as-a-Foreign-Language learners' incidental vocabulary acquisition from oral and written dialogue journals over a semester. Teacher and student entries were analyzed and transcribed using WordCruncher (1993). Analyses compare characteristics of the input to the learners in the…