The textbuilding conventions of courtship narratives told by older women of contrasting ethnic minorities are examined. Listener responses to the stories indicate that storytelling conventions are not shared or understood by all listeners. It is proposed that membership in different speech communities based on factors such as age, sex, ethnicity,…

The teacher's manual for Peace Corps volunteer language training in Ciluba is designed for introductory oral language instruction. It is intended to assist trainees in functioning in the language within at least 6 weeks, and to transmit cultural information about the host country through linguistic structures, texts, and discussion topics. It…

Language learning is complex and mysterious--because of the many diverse factors that affect its development and because of the many unanswered questions about its nature. Even so, the efforts of countless researchers have provided sufficient knowledge to prompt some recommendations about how adults may nurture the language and literacy…

By emphasizing the similarities between writing and speaking, writing instructors can help students generate coherent, natural sounding prose. Instructors can point out the connections between speaking and writing by (1) reading good student writing aloud, (2) having students read their work aloud in class, (3) encouraging students to develop…

The goal of instruction in mainstream dialect (MD) acquisition should be to expand students' oral communication skills to include skills needed for academic and economic success, thereby making alternate dialect speakers bidialectic. This implies recognizing students' home dialect as a valid linguistic system and a part of their identity. Although…

Since 1985, Tarrant County Junior College, Northeast Campus, in Hurst, Texas has offered workshops and classes for secondary school teachers of foreign languages. The series of 10 16-hour workshops held during summer 1987 were intended primarily as in-service training for secondary school foreign language teachers and secondarily as a retraining…

A combined teacher's manual and learner's manual for the Lorma language of Liberia presents materials for about 300 hours of study and is the equivalent of a first-year college language course. The basic text introduces all of the syntactic constructions of Lorma that learners are likely to encounter in the language, and introduces 1,000…

First grade is a year of important new experiences for students and teachers alike. Some students will arrive knowing how to read, others will know a few letters of the alphabet, and most will be somewhere in between. Including dozens of reproducibles, this book guides first-grade teachers in the many decisions they face about how to orchestrate…

This document is part lesson planner and idea resource and part annotated bibliography of electronic resources. The lesson planner is divided into four parts. Part one, "Tables to Go," contains different tables that can be used for a variety of exercises at all levels of the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom. Part two, "Exploring the…

For students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities--and for their peers--creative teaching methods that use two or more senses can dramatically improve language skills and academic outcomes. That is why every current and future educator needs the second edition of this definitive guide to multisensory teaching. A core text for a variety of…

The manual is designed to be used in workshops to train English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers and contains a series of exercises for teaching oral skills from dialogues to pronunciation, with some practice in listening comprehension included. An introductory section contains notes to workshop participants and facilitators. The exercises are…

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

Focusing on students who are often referred to as "at risk," this book discusses the theory supporting whole language learning for all students and describes, in detail, the practical strategies used to help these students become readers and writers. The book, through its explanation of theory as well as presentation of individual…

This compilation presents materials associated with the 5-week summer session of the Samford University Writing Project, 1994. The compilation begins with curriculum vitae of staff, teacher consultants, and guest speakers. The compilation also presents lists of group and committee members. Summaries of 14 presentations (on such topics as…

An approach to the teaching of English as a Foreign or Second Language (EFL/ESL) that uses Turkish shadow puppetry is described and discussed. The method uses traditional theater characters and contemporary scripts in the form of dialogues and group discussions to provide oral skill practice. The activity has the advantage that even shy students…