This paper examines the questions of whether or not previous knowledge of Spanish (oral and/or written) interferes with an English as a second language (ESL) student's acquisition of English reading skills, which skills are affected, and what classroom techniques are successful in dealing with it. Two contrasting views of reading are examined:…

Spanish for second graders is explored in the instructional and assessment activities of the unit six Spanish as a Second Language strand. The function of the strand is to help provide the English-dominant child with the structures and vocabulary needed for effective communication in a bilingual environment. Focus, objective, and materials for…

The question of the relationship between children's play and more formal, literate uses of language is explored in the 9 studies described in this volume. Chapter titles and authors are as follows: (1) "The Influence of Discourse Content and Context on Preschoolers' Use of Language" (Lucia A. French, Joan Lucariello, Susan Seidman, and Katherine…

The materials described here are used to teach English for special purposes at the University of Birmingham. Using the communicative or functional approach to language teaching, they deal with a "common core" of skills, leaving for later in the program special sub-units relating these skills to texts, tasks and problems peculiar to a particular…

This report documents the design, development, and psychometric characteristics of the assessment instruments used in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K). The ECLS-K is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. The ECLS-K was designed to assess the…

Although English-as-a-second-language (ESL) practitioners are generally making good progress in teaching listening and speaking skills, the entire area of teaching literacy skills to ESL students is barely in the formative stage. The teaching of ESL is further complicated when students are not only lacking in English literacy skills but are also…

The questions investigated in this study concern the adequacy of the current comprehensive English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, the need for a separate but complementary reading program, the relative merits of a classroom-based or an independent reading laboratory method, and the relationship between native language reading proficiency and…

Two separate research reports are presented in this paper. In the first report, we have identified through literacy research three sets of job-related reading tasks for adults: (1) those involved in getting a job, (2) those concerned with learning a job, and (3) those concerned with doing a job. National surveys have indicated that the black,…

A first semester course in French, originally developed for executives of a major international company, is presented here. As its objective is to provide the "survival skills" useful in everyday situations in France, primary attention is given to the intelligibility and comprehensibility of communication. The context of the dialogues, vocabulary,…

This document is the syllabus of a Latin course developed by the Indianapolis Public Schools for elementary school children, based on the Latin FLES materials of the Philadelphia Public Schools. The program is based on the theory that the study of a second language will increase the student's understanding and control of his native tongue. The…

This curriculum guide is designed to help special education adult educators enable adult handicapped students to develop, enhance, and maintain basic skills and competencies commensurate with their interests and ability levels. In addition to an introduction, this guide contains instructions on how to use the Individual Handicapped Adult Education…

The generic skills studies in Canada have as their objectives the formulation of generic skills, the identification of their uses for certain occupational groups, and the preparation of specifications for instructional modules in an attempt to provide greater flexibility to workers, employers, and vocational training programs. Another objective of…

The second semester course intended to follow "Getting It Done in French" is presented here. In line with the comprehensive goals of the program as presented in the first volume, the primary objectives of this second course are directed toward achievement of communication skills needed for daily living. Specifically, these objectives are: to…

This guide introduces a program of foreign language instruction intended for a wide variety of students with various interests and competencies. The program provides for a basic course, two strands (The State Diploma and the Local School Credit) and several options. During the basic course, a diagnosis is made of individual students' aptitudes and…

This handbook, intended for language teachers at all levels, is an introduction to foreign language testing. It is a revision and expansion of the edition that appeared ten years ago. This edition reflects contemporary concerns in measurement and evaluation and contemporary changes in teaching aims, particularly toward communicative competence.…