The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has organized the standards for accomplished teachers of world languages into nine standards, which are presented in this report: (1) Standard I: Knowledge of Students; (2) Standard II: Knowledge of Language; (3) Standard III: Knowledge of Culture; (4) Standard IV: Knowledge of Language…

Literature is important in teaching English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL), because it motivates students, provides language models, offers ways to think creatively, provides opportunities for interaction, and enhances reading development. Criteria for selecting literature include student interest, linguistic accessibility, quality language, cultural…

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) National Professional Development Program helped language teachers familiarize themselves with the Languages Profile and collect and annotate work samples using the Profile. Their experiences become the basis for disseminating information among ACT language teachers. The paper presents recurrent issues raised…

Presents information on early language learning in Germany, describing reasons why German students need to start learning other languages early in their education, noting appropriate conditions for early language programs, and presenting goals for early foreign-language learning generated by Germany's Children Learn European Languages Association.…

Argues that second language learning is a form of enculturation that involves learning the perspectives and identities that a culture allows and values. Proposes that a language teacher is actually changing the cultural identity of the student. (FMW)

Discusses ethnographic research in education issues that pertain to studies of second-language writing, examining six principles of ethnographic research, proposing and describing a prototype definition, reviewing three recent ethnographic studies of second-language writing, discussing generalizability, and introducing a series of issues critical…

Discusses autonomy in language related to East-Asian contexts, describing autonomy in language learning, proposing a framework for learners in all contexts, examining three sources of sociocultural influence that could affect students' approaches to learning in East Asia, and considering attitudes and habits of learning that might result from such…

Discusses cultural models, prototypical scripts that constitute the meaning of language as used by a particular group. Argues that the role of the second language teacher is to encourage students to focus on and develop beyond the cultural models of their home cultures and of the mainstream school culture. (FMW)

Discusses the advantages and challenges of using e-mail in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learning, focusing on synchronous versus asynchronous computer-mediated communication; what online English is like; the advantages of computer-mediated communication; and how to make communication available to ESL learners. (SM)

Discusses how reading strategies can be successfully taught in second or foreign-language reading instruction, examining research that has been done on reading-strategy training and confronting the issue of how to make reading-strategy instruction appropriately text and context sensitive. Research that emphasizes the five metacognitive elements…

Although there is extensive research on Anglicisms in the German language e.g. Carstensen, 1965; Carstensen, Busse & Schmude, 19936; Fink, 1970, 1980, 1995; Grlach, 2002, few studies look beyond lexical borrowing and structural impact to consider other aspects and dimensions of English-German contact in the Federal Republic of Germany. This…

This book provides an overview of bilingualism and bilingual education by examining historical and recent literature, presenting firsthand observations, and demonstrating how both popular views and scholarly research actually mirror larger social issues. Following the first chapter, a brief introduction, chapter 2 reviews the historical…

Reviews the history of educational reform in Quebec, at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels. The areas of curriculum design, parent involvement, human resources, and administration are addressed. (AM)

The Slavonic languages are well represented among the community languages of Australia, though few maintain a place in the school curriculum, and only Russian is an independent discipline in Australian universities. The article discusses Slavonic languages and cultures and their presence in Australia. (SM)

Outlines the preferred learning styles of students studying second languages, offering suggestions for their application in second-language classrooms. The paper describes the right-brain/left-brain theory and how the two brain hemispheres are involved in learning; presents four classroom strategies (diversification, contextualization,…