The study reported here deals with the problem of determining what testing device can best indicate a foreign student's readiness for satisfactory performance at the college level, especially in courses requiring a good command of reading and writing skills in English. The study considers several standard proficiency tests and devises a formula…

Results from research with eye movement photography (EMP) are discussed with a view to defining differences between native-speaker and non-native reading processes. The greatest contrast is in terms of the duration of eye fixations; non-native speakers at the college level require about as much time for a fixation as an average native-speaker at…

Find out how a simple and inexpensive program of sustained silent reading--where students read independently during class time--can be a sure-fire way to improve student vocabulary development, literacy skills, and background knowledge. Teacher-author Steve Gardiner updates you on the research studies that validate sustained silent reading as a…

This study investigates whether the growing use of standardized testing methods may impact learners differently across language proficiency levels. Survey and language proficiency data from 22 second grade native (African American) and non-native (Hispanic and Vietnamese) English speakers were analyzed to examine whether worry, or test anxiety,…

"Recipe for Reading," a highly structured phonetic approach to reading, helped remediate Navajo students having reading difficulties and equip younger students with essential decoding skills. The program could serve as supplementary material or program basis in developmental or remedial settings. Recommendations for teaching reading to…

This article discusses Japanese students' difficulties in reading English, overviews some of the problems of college English textbooks, presents the results of research on the subject, and discusses characteristics of measures of readability. Teaching methods that have proven effective with Japanese students and activities for engaging students in…

Intermediate level students of English as a second language reach a critical stage in their language learning after which motivation wanes if no specific attainable goals are offered as encouragement to progress. The ability to enjoy recreational reading can provide those goals, but students must make the transition from dependence on the teacher…

The New York State core curriculum for English as a second language (ESL) in the secondary schools, which is a recommended minimum inventory of areas to be covered, is presented. The curriculum is divided into four instructional levels: beginning, intermediate, advanced, and transitional. At each level, language skills are further subdivided into…

An evaluation of the Honolulu (Hawaii) School District's program of supplementary instruction to limited English proficient students is presented. The program was designed to aid in the adjustment to the American culture and school life in Hawaii. The evaluation addressed whether the program is meeting its objectives, whether English second…

Reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities and exercises that use folders of interesting material that students can use alone or in small groups are described. The folders contain pictures or other material of interest to the students, instructions in English and Spanish, and answers. The folders are color-coded by type of activity.…

A directory of United Kingdom (UK) organizations and centers that provide services of interest to language teachers and researchers is presented. The organizations are associations and societies that are concerned with language, linguistics, language teaching and research, and the most important groups concerned with educational technology and…

Prior to registration at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP), most potential new students are given a battery of tests to place them into appropriate courses, specific areas of study, or special support programs. Most students are tested on one day and then asked to return on a subsequent day for counseling and registration. Between…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 10 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of bilingual memory on learning vocabulary through the device of semantic mapping; (2) native American and Anglo use of compliance-gaining…

A thirty-hour skills-based reading program was designed for beginning-level ESL (English as a second language) students in the intensive English language program at Boston University. Reading was included as an essential component in the low-level college-preparatory ESL class for several reasons: (1) reading instruction and practice begin to…

A project was undertaken to develop and validate English-as-a-second-language (ESL) materials for use with the occupational knowledge section of the Indiana adult basic education (ABE) curriculum guide, "Learning for Everyday Living." Developed during the project were 10 units designed to develop the ESL skills necessary to understand…