Ideas and step-by-step instructions for creating and using chants, poetry, and songs in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom are presented. The technique is offered as an alternative to conventional pattern practice, emphasizing rhythms of the spoken language and reinforcing structures, sounds, and functions of American English. Ideas…

Use of group story writing in second language classes is discussed, and specific instructional techniques are outlined. In this activity, students sit in a circle and each begins to write a story. The story beginning is passed to the next student, who adds a portion and passes the story on. This pattern continues until stories are completed and…

A required reading course for first-year English majors at Hokusei Junior College (Japan) is described. The course is intended to teach students to survey a text, read through it, form an opinion about its content, and skim portions that are less important. At the same time, students are encouraged to guess at the meaning of unknown vocabulary,…

In choosing to have students use the computer in unstructured writing activities, the instructor may prefer to cover basics during classroom sessions and have students use technological aids to expand on these basics in outside assignments. Out-of-class composition assignments force students to create with these basics on their own. Students use…

Examples are presented of worksheets designed to help students prepare for discussions of literature in terms of the language, plot, and literary aspects of a particular work. All examples are from an introductory course in German literature. Benefits of using such worksheets include increased students comprehension and class participation. (LMO)

Describes an initiative that enabled applied linguistics' students to collaborate on academic writing assignments outside the classroom using a network of wireless laptops to facilitate flexible meeting times and locations. (Author/VWL)

While the use of a search engine to find secondary sources is now a commonplace practice among undergraduate writers, recent studies show that students' online searches often lead to materials that are wholly or partially unsuitable for academic purposes. Accordingly, this project set out to determine whether using a more specialized search…

As advances in information communication technology have continued to affect business communication, the challenge for teachers over the past decade has been to stay abreast of new developments by integrating into the curriculum current theoretical and practice-based perspectives that can inform their students how to effectively create, manage,…

A system of different types of tasks can be used to help language learners achieve their learning goals, which may include learning of: discrete language items (sounds, vocabulary, grammatical constructions); content or ideas of the subject studied (geography, literature, mathematics, cultural understanding); language skills (listening, writing,…

Two assignments used in a commercial French course are modeled after case studies often required in business courses. They serve three functions for commercial French students: (1) to increase awareness of foreign investments and business in the United States as well as American business activities abroad, (2) to give students valuable experience…

Discusses the use of writing assignments to improve the capacity of literature students to read and analyze assigned texts in the foreign language. The approach provides a higher level of motivation for self-correction that will enable students to overcome, rather than formalize, their errors. (Author/JL)

Suggests an approach to compositions that addresses the special character of intermediate foreign-language writing through process assignments that involve strategic corrections and a series of interrelated, in-class writing activities, including expansion exercises intended for use during the revision period. This essay design also coordinates…

Presents the results of two groups of Spanish compositions from fifth-semester students. The purpose of the study was to assess the students' ability to observe cultural differences between the target culture and the native culture as presented in a commercial and to assess how the procedures to view the commercial affected the quality of their…

An individualized approach to second language reading instruction in a large class is described. First, characteristics of the large class as a teaching and learning environment are examined, and the instructional advantages of individualizing assignments are noted. Two forms of reading materials used with first-year college students are then…

The syllabus of an introductory course in linguistics intended as a foundation for studies in bilingual/bicultural education, Alaskan native languages, and anthropology is presented. The course was designed for a program for teachers of Yupik as a second language. The course objectives are to introduce students to the internal structure of…