Describes how to set up a science project that concentrates on the language arts skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing as a means of introducing students to the reading and study skills they will need in their content area subjects. (FL)

Uses oral-language skills assessment to illustrate sound classroom assessment practices, stressing interrelationships among teaching, learning, and assessment and viewing assessment as a continual, ongoing reference in a dynamic process, not an end in itself. Describes supportive classroom environments, explains oral language profiles, and…

A discussion of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction begins with a review of the English language teaching situation in Singapore today and goes on to examine issues in the production of ESL instructional materials. The focus is on oral language instruction. The first section, concerning Singapore, outlines the structure of syllabuses…

Intended for use by both elementary and secondary school teachers, the two papers in this report stress the importance of developing students' oral and written communication skills. The first paper, "Relationship of Oral Communication to Reading," by Phil Backlund and John Johnson, argues that ability in oral communication is a prerequisite to the…

Intended for use by teachers, school administrators, curriculum designers, and others as they begin to organize and define oral communication instruction within their schools, this guide provides a framework from which to develop instructional programs that will produce effective speakers and listeners. The first section of the guide reviews the…

Noting that schools have long neglected the verbally talented student, this booklet is designed to stimulate educators first to identify such students and then to develop programs that will meet their needs. The first section of the booklet reviews a number of models that have been used to identify students gifted in reading, writing, foreign…

Intended for language arts teachers, this resource guide contains general goals for a language arts curriculum for kindergarten through grade 12, objectives for varying school levels, learning activities, and selected resources designed for a wide range of student abilities. Sections of the guide focus on listening, speaking, reading, writing, and…

The resource guide provides migrant educators with activities to implement the National Migrant Education Oral Language Skills List, serving as both a starting point for developing oral language and as a model for the kinds of activities compatible with the stated purpose and rationale used to develop the Skills List. All listening and speaking…

The Oral Language Proficiency Scale is used to determine initial placement of Spanish-speaking students in English as a second language (ESOL) programs, at one of five ESOL proficiency levels. Proficiency is assessed in four areas: oral comprehension, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary. The scale is based on student responses to a 20-question…

The purpose of this program was to provide instruction in the English language with emphasis on oral English to eligible non-English speaking pupils enrolled in Title I non-public schools. The major objective of the program was to enable the pupils to achieve competency and fluency in the use of the English language and to assist them in attaining…

In 1998, Roger Beard of the University of Leeds wrote an account of the research underpinning the emerging National Literacy Strategy (NLS). Since Beard published his review, there have been developments both in terms of age groups covered and within the field of literacy research. This document attempts a fresh review of the relationship between…

This digest presents an overview of the auditory-verbal approach to teaching communication skills to children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The goal of auditory-verbal practices is for children who are deaf or hard of hearing to grow up in "typical" learning and living environments that enable them to become independent,…

This report discusses a study that examined the perceived credibility of children with learning disabilities once they received instruction in a procedure to increase recall during narrative testimony. Narrative Elaboration Training (NET) helps children to develop memory skills by teaching strategies for remembering the details that are expected…

Discusses why many girls relative to boys experience difficulties when required to speak in formal, public, or unfamiliar contexts. While girls are recognized as good at using collaborative talk in small groups, the public voice is valorized in the world outside school. Reviews current debate in Britain on underachieving boys in light of the…

An attempt is made is this paper to examine the validity of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale through a comparison of the scaling of speaking tasks and speech performances by the scale and by a Rasch analysis of judgments made by "naive" persons. The results of the multi-faceted Rasch analysis seem…