Classroom communication in the second-language class is examined from an ethnographic perspective, highlighting the role of students in helping each other learn. Turn-taking, patterns of addressing teacher and peers, and different kinds of interaction that promote learning: cooperative; didactic; competitive; theatrical; personalized. (MSE)

Discusses Citizenship Service Learning (CSL) where students prepare immigrants for legal-status citizenship by providing English as a Second Language discussion groups, citizenship classes preparing immigrants for naturalization, and assistance with citizenship applications. Presents the Bentley Service Learning Center program that adopts the CSL…

Ninety students in a Hong Kong course in English as a second language were asked to list 20 topics they considered to be of interest for classroom study. The most popular topic areas, in descending order of popularity, were education, the students' home country (Hong Kong), family life, money, human relationships, marriage, nationalism and…

There is a risk of second language teachers becoming emotionally overcharged about innovative methods and techniques. Innovators promoting particular methods often claim comprehensive answers to instructional problems, and in spite of an apparent concern for scientific respectability, new approaches take on some characteristics of religious…

Foreign language instruction should focus on developing in students a coordinated set of basic language learning skills, the acquisition of which would make it possible for the student to learn more than one language. Such an instructional package would fit well into the communicative approach to language instruction, and would provide a common…

Describes three projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development that used new methodologies for educational radio with elementary students: (1) the Radio Mathematics Project of Nicaragua; (2) the Radio Language Arts Project of Kenya; and (3) the Radio Science Project of Papua New Guinea. (LRW)

The communicative language teaching approach is described, its theoretic history is reviewed, and classroom techniques are presented. The origins of the approach are found in research on the development of linguistic competence. Characteristics of the approach include: the goals of language use for communication; use of real-life communicative…

This paper examines trends reflecting changes in the role of the classroom foreign language teacher, particularly as these trends affect English-as-a-Second-Language instruction. This study is based on relevant literature and research being carried out in the English Language Institute at Kanda University of International Studies (Japan). Past and…

A master's degree program for teachers of English as a Second Language is described, focusing on a method of student evaluation that emphasizes learner autonomy and seeks to extend that principle to trainees' classroom practice. The approach is based on the concepts that involvement in learning, including assessment, is vital to effective learning…

Three interrelated pedagogical elements--approach, design, and procedure--are basic in a discussion of language teaching. Approach defines those foundational assumptions, beliefs, and theories about the nature of language and language learning. Design specifies the relationships of theories to both the form and use of instructional materials.…

This guide provides second language teachers at all educational levels with background information about educational psychology to assist them in daily classroom instruction and to provide a framework for viewing teaching and learning situations. The first two chapters are a brief introduction to educational psychology, noting important influences…

Basic principles and methods of ethnographic research are outlined for students who may wish to undertake this form of qualitative research. Ethnographic research is defined as a form of study based on observation of human action, discourse, and self-perception, and is suggested as an appropriate form of research when experimental research is…

This qualitative research study used the interactional sociolinguistics approach (Goffman, 1959; Gumperz, 1982) to analyze the expectations of learners and tutors participating in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Drop-in-Center (DIC) environment. Analysis focused on the learners' and tutors' expectations of the conversation and participation…

Recent innovations in technology allow foreign language learners and their instructors to interact both inside and beyond the classroom using a variety of communicative tools. As a consequence, the classroom has been transformed into an extended learning environment which has had a profound effect on both student and teacher roles. However, the…

This digest identifies some of the cultural factors that can influence learner and teacher behavior during classroom English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. Four topic areas are discussed: roles of learners and teachers, gender-related issues; appropriate topics for instruction, and behavior at the site of instruction. Given the diversity…