This paper presents a programme designed to deepen knowledge regarding diversity and to sustain equality and equity in participation during class activities in high sociolinguistic diversity classrooms. We investigated a four-stage programme integrating all students' heritage languages in cooperative school activities in one 4th grade class in the…

Using communicative activities with learners from diverse cultures can create excitement and empathy while promoting the acquisition of English. This article offers ESL/EFL activities that foster interpersonal tolerance among students who have experienced intergroup conflict. The activities are based on the idea that there are four levels of…

This article discusses the use of role-play as an effective strategy for enhancing the quality of multicultural curricula in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom. The author critiques the use of the simplistic additive approach to multicultural instruction and furthers the work of those theorists who advocate the use of the more…

This paper seeks to picture the politically and ideologically-oriented power relations and inequalities that link to their social, economic, and cultural relations in the education system of Turkey. An in-class project is conducted with students learning English in a preparatory class in a state university that concentrates on scrutinizing the…

This article analyzes the findings of a pilot project conducted in 2008-2009 as a partnership between University Studies, Portland State University's interdisciplinary general education program, and the University's Russian Flagship Language Partner Program. The project proposes a new approach of integrating non-English speakers' language skills,…

An experimental literary contest in Germany has been highly successful in instructing and encouraging students of French as a second language to write their own short stories. Teachers begin with a key phrase and use it to generate ideas for later small-group and paired writing and interactive comprehension exercises. (MSE)

Guidelines for teachers to use in creating and evaluating second language students' portfolios, as a method of assessing student work, are outlined. The guide begins with a brief statement of the philosophy underlying use of student portfolios and an overview of what a portfolio is. Subsequent sections offer suggestions for: portfolio contents…

The decision on the part of students regarding what language to take often depends on the tradition of good teaching that has been established in a school. Three factors have been involved in establishing such a tradition in Russian at Princeton High School in Columbus, Ohio. These are: (1) accepting the students who sign up for Russian as they…

This article contains a description of the Dual Proficiency (DP) program in an urban elementary school located in the heart of a large south-western city, as well as the teachers who designed and now implement DP, and the immigrant community participating by choice in DP. We write from a context where, ironically, the number of English language…

Briefly describes reading standards in Malaysian schools, outlines a class reader program, and provides samples of teaching files designed to help teachers implement the program. (one reference. (GLR)

An Ames, Iowa elementary school program of foreign language instruction adapted instructional approaches geared to older students to the needs of elementary school children by examining children's stages of development and the effects of these stages on the students' ways of thinking and acting. This examination of child development yielded…

This study focuses on a synchronous e-class project which was developed to increase the effectiveness of a second year advanced reading course within the Distance English Language Teacher Training (DELTT) program in Turkey. The aim of the study is to explore the perceptions of learners who participated in the e-class application and the impact of…

This paper describes the development and implementation of an after school program designed to introduce the Spanish language to children between the ages of 5 and 9. The program consists of 8 to 10 weekly units, each lasting 50 minutes, that provide students with basic vocabulary and grammar in an interesting and motivating format. Each unit…

The rationale, approaches, and mechanics of publishing a student yearbook in English-as-a-Second-Language programs are discussed, and examples are drawn from the experiences and practices at the University of Pennsylvania. The production of a yearbook is suggested as a context for student writing that transcends the scope of the essay and that can…

This booklet, based on a nationwide study of elementary school foreign language programs, addresses the following topics: (1) why students should learn a foreign language; (2) information that may help persons select and initiate a specific type of program; and (3) a detailed description of three elementary school approaches used in the country…