Focuses on modifying children's environment so as to optimize the situational context of reading and emphasizes that three ingredients are basic to reading: time, reading materials, and a purpose for reading. The article also emphasizes that encouraging native speaking students to read at home requires partnership with parents. (CK)

Discusses the use of puzzles and jokes to encourage student interest in an English-as-a-Second-Language class. The object of this project was to relate to a more human context, the playfulness that pushes aside arbitrary school time each spring when Purim comes. (CK)

Focuses on the merit of extensive reading in English as a tool for advancing the reading comprehension of non-English-speaking students. The article emphasizes that students who read more will eventually surpass their classmates who have not developed the reading habit. (four references) (Author/CK)

Discusses the Mabar experiment underway at WIZO High School in Rehovot, Israel. The experiment aims to make Bagrut exams accessible to students thought incapable or uninterested in taking the exam. (CK)

Discusses a project to transform a short story into a play and perform it on stage in order to enhance student understanding of the Japanese cult of obedience and of the political events that led Japan to join the Germans in World War II. The article emphasizes that students become more motivated when they are exposed to subject matter in an…

Describes support given to Israeli teachers and several students who could not keep up in an advanced English-as-a-Second Language classroom. A special program allowed the teacher to meet with them two extra hours per week immediately before class. As students' motivation to learn increased, they began completing their homework, improving…

Discusses the creation of a reading niche for second-language learners to motivate their development as independent readers, emphasizing that book selection for this niche should cater to student interests and that informal discussion of the books' subject matter should take place. (six references) (CK)

Examines the role of playgrounds that use discarded items or "junk" as an integral part of kindergarten classes in an Israeli kibbutz. Suggests that play in the junkyard, by including the whole person--muscles and senses, emotion and intellect, individual growth and social interaction--can offer the experiential foundations on which…

Studies the attitudes and achievements of immigrants from the Soviet Union studying at the tertiary level at Haifa University in Israel. A series of questionnaires probing the students' language use and attitudes were administered in order to provide a general description of their linguistic profile in first, second, and third languages. (15…

Presents four categories of motivational characteristics for science students: achievement, curiosity, conscientiousness, and sociability. Asserts that most students exhibit one or more of these traits. Discusses changing correlations among characteristics, gender, and grade level. (MJP)

Israel's AMAL Aleph High School combines advanced technology with regular high school academic studies. This article describes how one English-as-a-Second-Language teacher joined a project to develop an online English student magazine for the Center for Educational Technology Internet site, then used to the project to improve students' English…