The author really enjoyed reading the study by Cheng and Good (2009). The results of their study seem especially interesting from the point of view of reading comprehension. Indeed, their results mirror to some degree Joyce's (1997) study, in which glossing actually had a somewhat negative effect on third semester second language (L2) readers'…

Authenticity has been a part of the intellectual resources of language teaching since the 1890s but its precise meaning and implications are contested. This commentary argues for a view of authenticity which recognizes the limits of the concept as a guide for pedagogic practice and acknowledges the fact that texts are processes rather than…

Notes an extreme shortage of Vietnamese teaching resources available in Australia. Recounts how a migrant teacher from Vietnam had to go back to Saigon to buy video tapes and illustrated books for LOTE and bilingual programs. (NH)

Points out the many different kinds of texts people read and write, and how literacy is used for a wide variety of purposes. Argues that teachers should make available for students different kinds of texts in addition to the more conventional ones seen in classrooms, and offers a list of such materials. (SR)

Similar trends are occurring in schools. Lenhart, Simoin, and Graziano (2001) found that 94% of teens online use the Internet for school research projects, and according to the U.S. Department of Education (2004), "even students from low-income groups without access to technology at home seek and find it-using computers at schools, libraries, or…

Discusses the problems facing educators and children in developing nations, who must often use instructional materials prepared in English, depicting a lifestyle that is alien to them, and presented to them in books which are unavailable outside of the classroom. (FL)

Discusses the capabilities and limitations of contemporary reading software designed for microcomputers. (Available from: Modern Learning Publishers, Inc., 6517 Liggett, Oakland, CA 94611, $14.) (AEA)

Discusses the Unesco Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Materials (the Florence Agreement), enacted in 1953, which facilitates the free flow of information among countries and cultures. (FL)

Reviews at length books for younger readers dealing with animals such as hippopottami and opossums. Also reviews books on mosses and plant pathology. (CRH)

Describes the many kinds of materials that English teachers can draw upon to enrich and expand students' experiences with literature. Outlines ancillary materials used to supplement the study of various literary anthologies. Argues that anthologies should be viewed as points of departure and not as destinations. (HB)

Highlights current adult books of interest to young adult readers. (CRH)

Describes the many kinds of materials that English teachers can draw upon to enrich and expand students' experiences with literature. Outlines ancillary materials used to supplement the study of William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." (HB)

Second language (L2) instructional texts often lack genuineness. Rather than instances of real language use, these texts are adaptations or simplifications of genuine texts or texts created with the intention of illustrating selected features of the L2 system. The purpose of simplification, adaptation, exemplification, and control is to facilitate…

In 1984, parents of a Minneapolis, Minnesota, ninth grader came before the school district's "Students' Right to Learn Committee" to object to what they described as a bowdlerized version of "Romeo and Juliet" in the Scott, Foresman text, and the publisher's failure to acknowledge in the text that the play was abridged. The…

Reports on the wide-spread use of children's literature in the French primary school. Discusses the benefits and problems resulting from the use of children's literature in the school and considers prospects for the future use of this resource. (GEA)