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…

The population of Mandarin-speaking, Chinese international students is rapidly expanding in the United States (Institute of International Education n.d.). Among them, there is a small subgroup of individuals who are minors and unaccompanied by parents (i.e., parachute kids). As part of its initiative to increase support for Mandarin-speaking…

Over the past decades, the integration of content and language in education has been gaining ground in different design formats and at various levels of education worldwide. This study describes a pilot project carried out at the School of Pharmacy of an Italian University, using a partial-CLIL format, as this was the only model accepted for…

E-tandem language exchange is an online learning method that positively influences learners to gain knowledge and improve their linguistic and communicative competences. The main aim of this qualitative research was to analyze the advantages and drawbacks of an institutional, non-integrated e-tandem developed between a group of English learners…

One of the reasons for failure of education system to form developed FL skills in its graduates consists in the lack of L2 immersion and low motivation of learners. Integration of Content and Language (CLIL) in teaching content subjects is believed to be an efficient way of improving the situation. However, introducing CLIL techniques and…

Many successful piloted programs fail when scaled up to a national level. In Kenya, which has a long history of particularly ineffective implementation after successful pilot programs, the Tusome national literacy program--which receives funding from the United States Agency for International Development--is a national-level scale-up of previous…

This pilot project investigated the effects of ABRACADABRA (ABRA), a web-based literacy program developed by the Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance (CSLP) at Concordia University, on primary school children in Hong Kong. A total of 125 Primary 2 students participated in a 14-week long study. Five classes were randomly assigned to…

This article describes the process by which the authors created a Virtual Learning Community for cultural and linguistic exchange between college students of Portuguese in the United States and undergraduate and graduate students of English in Brazil. In addition to describing the way the so-called tandem model for telecollaboration was adapted to…

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…

This article details a pilot program of mother tongue instruction in five primary schools for classes one through three, in Kajokeji County, Central Equatoria State, South Sudan. The program was launched by teachers and volunteers with the support of the Jesuit Refugee Service, an international non-governmental organization. The research examines…

This paper reviews the themes emerging from Bangladeshi teachers' experiences of taking part in the initial research and the development stage of a professional development programme they were involved with. The Secondary Teaching and Learning Programme is an information and communications technologies-enhanced supported open distance learning…

In 2001, the U.S. Department of Education and the Ministry of Education in China entered into a bilateral partnership to develop a technology-driven approach to foreign language learning that integrated gaming, immersion, voice recognition, problem-based learning tasks, and other features that made it a significant research and development pilot…

This paper describes and evaluates a pilot project funded under the Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA). The pilot project was subdivided into two parts: the Camp Learning Center program, and the Cultural Adjustment Program. Among the general goals of the Camp Learning Center were to improve mathematics and reading skills through a relevant and…

Some Grade 4 educators have expressed feelings of ineptitude regarding the support of ESL (English Second Language) learners with limited English proficiency as they do not know how to support these learners effectively. Their litany emphasises ESL educators' need for supportive and preventive intervention. A story-based Language Enrichment…

This article discusses the use of computers with students of English as a Second Language (ESL), focusing on a pilot program that utilized computer word processing in ESL writing classes at Richmond College in London. The program used "student computer experts" as tutors to introduce word processing to their classmates. (10 references)…