As more higher education institutions in the United States look not only to be designated as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) but to serve their student population in languages other than English, learning designers who are native speakers or have fluency in languages other than English are utilizing their language and cultural competencies to…

Reading comprehension is the ultimate goal of learning to read, as the understanding of text is at the root of the purpose for reading, whether reading for pleasure or reading to learn. At-home reading practices can vary widely family to family -- some families have the knowledge and resources to read effectively with their children, while others…

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is an innovative approach which attempts to comprise holistic features, focusing on the meaning and at the same time providing opportunities for purposeful language use (Dalton-Puffer, 2007). Based on the triptych language of learning, language for learning and language through learning- this program…

This article contributes to the literature on the value of Virtual Exchanges (VEs) in the field of technology-mediated language learning. Specifically, we report on a pilot program for high school English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Slovakia and English as a Second Language (ESL) learners in Michigan, USA who engaged in a 10-week,…

A browser-based system to facilitate practice in asking and answering simple questions in English was developed. The user may ask or answer by speaking or typing, and the computer's output is in the form of speech and/or text. The types of questions handled and the permitted vocabulary are limited, though the vocabulary items may be edited freely.…

Learning Expectations and Academic Preparation (LEAP) was a two-year pilot offering a cohort (20 students) of our lowest scoring English and mathematics developmental students an intensive cross-disciplinary semester to accelerate through their developmental courses. Blending learning community and summer bridge best practices, LEAP incorporated…

Today's students -- a generation electronically connected since birth -- are trying new innovative technology before they reach university. Integrating technology tools in classes has never been more accessible. Research supports using social media in the classroom to boost student engagement and is a good idea for many different subjects…

This article describes the development process of a project for heritage language speakers of Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese at a high-enrollment community college in the northeast United States. This pilot project, funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, aimed to empower minority group students through active reinforcement of students'…

The course described here was designed especially for students enrolled in a collaborative program between Texas A&M University-Commerce and Konkuk University in South Korea. This course was created specifically for students who did not earn a qualifying score on a standardized placement exam required of all first-year students for enrollment…

Examples of mobile phones being used with teachers to provide continuing professional development (CPD) in emerging economies at scale are largely absent from the research literature. We outline English in Action's (EIA) model for providing 80,000 teachers with CPD to improve their communicative language teaching in Bangladesh over nine years.…

Plan Ceibal is an interinstitutional undertaking which has distributed XO laptops and Internet connectivity among primary school learners and teachers across Uruguay and developed a wide range of educational programmes. Ceibal administration believes that it is imperative to introduce English as a Foreign Language in primary education through the…

Challenged both by funding cuts and by changes in legislation, local authorities are at very different stages in taking forward the strategic planning of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Planning has been further complicated by the coalition's slowness to set out a definition of the "settled communities" priority group for…

This paper reports the progress of a pilot project exploring the integration of a collaborative virtual learning environment (Second Life) with the instruction of English courses at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. An educational partnership was developed with two TESOL teacher-training courses at Texas A&M University in the US. The project…

This article seeks to assess the impact of V-Pal (Virtual Partnerships for All Languages) on the student language learning experience within a conventional UK higher education (HE) curriculum. V-Pal is an innovative computer-mediated language scheme, based on a reciprocal, distance-learning language project, run by the University of Manchester in…

"Gift of Tongues: Passing the Ohio Mathematics Graduation Test" examines the Ohio Graduation Mathematics Tests of 2004, 2005, and 2006 in the context of bilingual test takers at one of Cleveland's high schools and reports findings from a promising, bilingual pilot project in 2007 that may point to a new strategy for passing the…