This study was designed to investigate the nature of activities in an immersion English class and a non-immersion English class in the mainland of China, and to find out the differences between these two types of class through data gained from observation and interviews. Spoken discourse analysis was used to analyze the data, where Engestrom's…

What is the role of the teacher in developing learner autonomy? The limited research in this area is seldom situated in theory and often based on self-reported data. This study is situated in sociocultural theory and draws on two constructs, the zone of proximal development and imitation, to explain the teacher's role in developing autonomy. The…

The present study focuses on young EFL learners' use of the L2 to convey various linguistic functions (ask for information, talk about personal things, etc.). Based on the functional categories identified by Halliday (1975) and Painter (1999) in the development of the L1, and after having observed the use of these functions in a full-immersion EFL…

Grounded in sociocultural theory, this study uses an ecological approach to examine how student interactions within a dual-language school context may offer affordances for increased linguistic and conceptual understanding. Using qualitative analysis of student discourse, this paper focuses on data from recorded interactions between pairs of…

Teaching methods based on activity-centered learning applicable to ESL, French, and immersion programs are examined. Examples are given of activities fostering learning both in the classroom and on excursions, along with the psycholinguistic principles on which they are based. (MSE)

This document, comprising volume 5, issues 1-3 of Learning Languages: The Journal of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL), includes the following articles: "Poverty, Race, and Foreign Language Immersion: Predictors of Math and English Language Arts Performance" (Stephen J. Caldas, Nicole Boudreaux); "Meet a…

Drawing on data from a yearlong qualitative study of a primary-grade English immersion class of Spanish-dominant Latina and Latino students, the author analyzes bilingual children's acts of translation during classroom activities. After pointing out the numerous positive benefits that resulted from these acts, the author suggests that encouraging…

In September 1980, the Board of Education of the City of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Justice signed a consent degree that committed the board to the development of a comprehensive student desegregation plan to remedy the effects of past segregation on Black and Hispanic students. To fulfill the goals of the Chicago Desegregation Plan,…

Discusses the methodological concepts of medium- and message-oriented communication and applies these concepts to conventional foreign language and bilingual content classrooms, with specific reference to English as a Second Language. Argues that the interplay between message- and medium-orientation is an important feature of both these…

This hour-long videotape captures the events of "First and Second Language Literacy: From Research to Practice," a literacy teleconference hosted by Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL). Regional and national educators explore research-based effective practices for teaching and reading to diverse student populations.…

This handbook is designed to help teachers of French Canadian immersion students plan effective language learning experiences for their students in the transition year to English instruction. In the transition year, French immersion students are first introduced to formal instruction in English. This introduction presents a unique challenge for…

A study investigated the use of content-based tasks as central and peripheral in second language instruction. Specifically, it examined the relative effects of such tasks that were either central to the syllabus, as sources of knowledge or skills in their own right, or peripheral, as occasional source of language practice. The study was conducted…

Dual language education is a programme that combines language minority and language majority students for instruction through two languages. This book provides the conceptual background for the programme and discusses major implementation issues. Research findings summarize language proficiency and achievement outcomes from 8000 students at 20…

The five numbers of this journal for foreign language teachers include these articles: "Articulation: Beyond the Syllabus"; "Total Immersion in French at the Elementary School Level: An Observer's Report"; "'Columbus Countdown 1992' Announces a Cultural Project in New York City"; "Revising the Scope and Content…