Script theory suggests that human memory is organized around personal experiences or episodes rather than around semantic categories, and that a particular event is remembered as it relates to other events occurring simultaneously. According to the experience of one teacher of business German on the college level, students of business German need…

Argues that both an over-theoretical approach and a too pragmatic orientation should be avoided in teaching reading in a second language. Examples of problems encountered by German learners of English are detailed against the background of a discussion of reading purposes. Course-planning to meet student needs is also discussed. (Author/AMH)

Discusses the "less-able" student via a description of the strategies used by the good language learner. Such strategies include a positive, active, and tolerant approach to learning the language, with a willingness to practice the language. The less-able needs a constant sense of achievement to continue. (PJM)

Examines five important student learning needs that are being met in an English language institute in Mexico. These needs include feeling important and secure in the learning environment, understanding learning goals, having time to integrate learning, understanding the learning process, and receiving feedback. (Author/VWL)

A study investigated the processes underlying acquisition of French by students in two late immersion programs (grades 8-10) in Queensland (Australia). Focus is on three features: the cooperative learning situation that developed, idiosyncratic language that emerged, and students' patterns of socialization. (31 references) (Author/MSE)

Exploration of the status and development of foreign language curriculum articulation focuses on such diverse instructional conditions as expanded curricula, proficiency levels, expanded learner groups, the learning process, and language attitudes. A proposed framework for addressing articulation incorporates the pluralism of those conditions with…

English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers should not reject traditional methods of imparting knowledge. Storytelling, repetition through chanting, memorizing, and logical analysis all have a place in EFL instruction alongside contemporary approaches. Each child has a different mind and deserves to be taught appropriately. Whole brain teaching,…

Although the use of translation in learning a foreign language is much maligned by language teachers, translation is widely used in learners' foreign language learning process. It appears that learners often use translation as a learning strategy to comprehend, remember, and produce a foreign language. However, relatively little research attention…

This paper outlines the 4-tiered evaluation and classroom practices of one English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teacher related to writing abilities that involve the use of audiocassettes that integrate writing, reading, speaking, and listening from pre-writing to teacher evaluation and student remediation. Daily instruction includes writing,…

This guide reports on a project that demonstrated family-based English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) tutoring delivered by volunteer literacy tutors, many of whom were parents with young children. Group members worked together to define the project in terms of the individuals involved in it. Tutors were trained in the context of the project with…

The concept of washback, or backwash, defined as the influence of testing on instruction, is discussed with relation to second language teaching and testing. While the literature of second language testing suggests that tests are commonly considered to be powerful determiners of what happens in the classroom, the concept of washback is not well…

In order to teach anything, two fundamental questions must be asked and answered continually: What should be taught, and how should it be taught? The answer to the second question is highly dependent on the answer to the first, but the present answer to the first question is inadequate and inappropriate to today's communication tools. Language…

Important features of eight second language teaching methods--grammar-translation, direct, audiolingual, the Silent Way, Suggestopedia, community language learning, Total Physical Response, and the communicative approach--are summarized . A chart outlines characteristics of these aspects of the methods: goals, teacher and student roles, the…

Children's English as second language learning strategies and teachers' role in helping children to acquire English were investigated. Three sisters in grades 2, 3, and 4 were observed for a total of 12 hours each in their regular classrooms during the beginning of their first year in an American school. Successful cognitive and social learning…

Summarizes five theories explaining the relationship between word knowledge and comprehension of text in native language acquisition and explores possible implications for second language researchers and practitioners. (Author/CB)