This book details the experiences of a teacher in a Haitian-populated preschool in an urban area of the United States, focusing on the development of literacy and English as a second language. An introductory chapter describes the children, some of their personal and cultural background, their classroom demeanor, and the context in which they were…

Argues that acquisition of English-as-a-Second-Language research must take into account social context and power relations in order to explain language learning processes. Uses interview data and writing samples to demonstrate how a student in South Africa is influenced in his written discourse in English by his power relations and experience as a…

This case study argues that teachers are ill-prepared to give English-as-a-Second-Language students the instruction they need for integration into mainstream classrooms, and advocates ongoing teacher study groups as a replacement for traditional one-shot workshops. (Contains 21 references.) (LR)

Considers the use of pre- and posttest results as formative evaluation tools and describes a small group evaluation of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) courseware dealing with French for banking. Test design is discussed, including standards, validity, and reliability; and results from user questionnaires are examined. (Contains 14…

A discussion of the cultural dimension in foreign/second language learning focuses on the need for research and theory development in this area. The first chapter addresses the role of culture in language learning and proposes areas in which theory may be developed. The second chapter looks at methodologies for teaching language and culture in…

This report presents findings of a case study of the education of second language learners in a middle school of approximately 2,000 students undergoing middle school reform in California. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of the challenges faced by a school experiencing rapid demographic changes in a predominantly…

This report explores ways in which instructional conversations between a teacher and her students contributed to building an academic community in a transitional bilingual fourth-grade classroom. Through an analysis of reading lesson transcripts, classroom events, and student essays and journal assignments, the report shows how classroom…

The rationale for using critical autobiography projects in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction is discussed, and procedures for implementation are outlined. Writing a critical autobiography involves the student's presenting a personal narrative while exploring external factors influencing his life. Critical experiences in life provide…

Two years of language study is a requirement in most colleges and universities for many degree programs and, at the high school level, an expectation for college-bound students. However, some very capable students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) have difficulty learning a second language. Recent research has identified characteristics of…

This case study focuses on a team of middle school teachers in a two-way immersion bilingual education program. The report explores the following questions: How does the organizational structure of the middle school under study promote or impede professional networks among the teachers? What type of teaching-learning practices do these forces…

This article presents the results of an investigation into the place of English in the curriculum in several countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The study indicates that the emergence of English as a global language is having considerable impact on policies and practices in all countries surveyed. However, it also reveals significant problems,…

Mainstream educators tend to assume that families should follow a school-prescribed pathway, centred on parent-child storyreading sessions, to help their children become literate and achieve educational success. The research discussed here focuses on case studies of bilingual families with six-year-old children growing up in London, and shows that…

A study investigated the writing of incipient bilinguals (students who were in the initial process of acquiring a second language). A total of four Chinese-speaking children were chosen for final, in-depth study over a 2-year period at a middle school in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Data included initial interviews and observations,…

A report describes "Television as a Meeting Place" (TMP), a series of sixteen 30-minute television programs/modules. TMP concentrates on enhancing the acquisition of German as a second language for the approximately 200,000 young immigrant children 7 to 10 years old, particularly Turkish children, living in the Federal Rupublic of…

Several research and evaluation studies completed in bilingual education programs for language minority children in Canada are presented to support the claim that heritage, or first, language (HL) literacy plays an important role in the acquisition of a third language. A study completed by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education…