Second language pragmatics are not easily acquired by second language learners for a variety of reasons including negative first language transfer, insufficient grammatical competence, and inadequate instruction. For adult learners living in the second language environment, adequate pragmatic knowledge is essential even for beginning level…

The author is responsible for teaching reading classes and overseeing the reading curriculum at an intensive English program in the United States. The institution strives to make reading fluency a priority in the classroom, but after conducting a basic overview of the literature on the topic, the author realized that the approach could be improved…

Research on Arizona State University's intensive English program indicates that the majority of students learned about it through family, relatives, or friends in the local community, not through its extensive overseas recruiting techniques or electronic technology. Local recruiting strategies include local English media features and advertising,…

A two- and three-week Intensive English Holiday Courses held for high school students at Beit Jann Druse village in December and August each year is described that could be adapted to other villages in Israel. (two references) (LB)

One university professor's use of French comic strips as the focus of an advanced, intensive language course is described. The approach addresses the visual and iconic in the comics as much as the linguistic element. (27 references) (MSE)

Although intensive English programs (IEPs) in the United States have mushroomed in recent years, this trend may be slowing, an indirect result of changes in government policy toward immigration, reduced foreign student enrollment growth, and increasing competition from other English-speaking countries. In addition, evidence suggests some IEP…

The role of participant attitudes in the effectiveness of two teacher education program types, English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and intensive English programs (IEPs), are discussed. Three factors are viewed as influencing participant attitudes: professional separation of ESL and IEP instruction as fields of study; physical separation of ESL and…

An overview of how reading has been used in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing classroom is offered, example of changes in reading and writing models are examined, current views of the connections between reading and writing are discussed, and application of these connections in one advanced ESL writing class is reported. (85…

This paper describes how comic books are used as instructional materials in an intensive English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) course and discusses the rationale for using them. The students in the course have low-intermediate English language skills with limited discourse and interactive competence. Comic books are used because they are authentic,…

This article gives the perspectives of three teachers of intensive French (IF) as they adjusted their thinking to teaching in a French as a second language (FSL) classroom that was very different from the core French classroom and developed teaching strategies to facilitate effective learning of communication skills by the students. Four major…

Designed for faculty who are new to the Ohio Program of Intensive English (OPIE), this handbook is intended as an orientation and basic reference guide. The OPIE is described as a program established at Ohio University in 1967 to offer intensive or semi-intensive English language training for non-native speakers who need English for academic study…

An intensive college-level French language course, based on the principles of immersion and designed to aid students in the transition between intermediate and advanced proficiency levels, is described. Focus is on three course aspects: teacher contacts; meetings with native-speaking students; and use of audiovisual aids. (21 references) (MSE)

Curriculum innovations succeed or fail according to the extent to which teachers, and to some extent students, feel that they are meaningfully involved in the process of change. For change to be effective, it cannot be simply imposed from above; rather it depends absolutely on the people who implement it. The innovations described in this book…

The demand for an improved international dimension in American education is a move in the right direction, and American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and Educational Testing Service efforts in defining foreign language proficiency guidelines and developing a reliable mechanism for testing oral proficiency have resulted in…

The Summer Language Houses (SLH) in French, German, and Spanish at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have been extremely effective in teaching language skills and encouraging students to continue language study. The five-week intensive language programs at the second-year level emphasize oral communication but provide practice in all language…