This paper reports on an experiment carried out by the Chinese language program at Oberlin College to use play production as a means of teaching spoken Chinese. The experiment was inspired by the fact that teaching spoken Chinese cannot be solved by traditional classroom methods, particularly at the intermediate level. The lack of texts, the…

The level of mastery of selected language forms among English as a second language students in Botswana was investigated. Eighty-four pupils in the third to the sixth year of formal education provided oral English samples in unstructured formats involving language experience stories. The oral language of the pupils was analyzed to establish the…

Noting that while the language experience approach to reading instruction assumes that the learner is intuitively familiar with the language and that this familiarity facilitates recognition of the language on the printed page, this paper argues that students learning to read in a second language do not have the same degree of intuitive…

This report summarizes the results of three studies concerning the Reading Recovery or Descubriendo la Lectura program with first-grade California students. Studies were conducted using state-wide data obtained during 1993-94 programs to determine if the program was an effective intervention for children with difficulty in learning to read. The…

An English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) educator of migrant students in a rural county in Oregon used a whole-language approach to language and reading instruction. Although reading instruction in Spanish was preferred, lack of Spanish-speaking personnel and limited ESL instructional time prohibited that approach. In whole-language ESL, the teacher…

In learning to read a nonnative language, the learner's ability to achieve meaning is hampered if adequate preparation or readiness for reading is neglected. A review of the literature pertaining to second language learning and reading in a second language has identified five principles that appear to be significant in providing effective reading…

When working with limited English proficient (LEP) children who have been mainstreamed into regular elementary school classrooms, teachers must keep in mind that the first order of business is to help the students build a store of knowledge about English--how it sounds, what it looks like in print, and what it means. Teachers will discover that it…

This paper suggests an approach to communication skills which views these skills, in first and second language acquisition, as related, integrated "language-experiences." Three examples of language-experience situations are presented, the first dealing with native language acquisition, and the other two with second language learning. Thirty-two…

The educational and linguistic rationales for designing an adult English-as-a-Second-Language literacy program based on phonics are discussed, with specific reference to an Ibibio adult literacy program in Nigeria. An introductory section gives an overview of Nigerian policy and practice concerning literacy education. Next, the phonics approach to…