Portal: Your Door to World Languages and Cultures was a series of public cultural events, in a variety of formats, created through a new partnership between the credit and continuing education (noncredit) foreign language programs at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC). Portal was designed to cultivate interest in foreign languages…

Following an extensive and federally funded analysis of literature related to boys learning French as a second language (FSL) in Canada, the authors propose a series of research questions to guide future research related to males in FSL classrooms. To better understand the need for this research agenda, the researchers provide an overview of the…

This article reports on a formative and internal evaluation of teacher induction practices for newly hired teachers in a US university ESL program. By adopting a utilization-focused approach, evaluators produced a design that was articulated to the information needs of the evaluation users. The ensuing findings were then used to develop and…

This study investigated the impact of a training program based on pedagogical knowledge on improving the speaking and writing skills teaching practices of female English language teachers. The participants consisted of 30 teachers: 10 as an experimental group and 20 as a control group. To answer the study questions, the researchers developed a…

This action research examines experiences that students in a grade 10 EFL class had with redesigning a grammar-unit into a topic-based unit. Strategies were formulating significant learning goals and objectives, and implementing and reflecting on activities with three dimensions of Dee Fink's (2003) taxonomy of significant learning: the human…

A three-stage program is described that a secondary school teacher can follow to establish and maintain contact with a nearby college language department. The program would facilitate articulation between secondary school and college. (Author/AMH)

The purpose of BEST Plus is to assess the ability to understand and use unprepared, conversational, everyday language within topic areas generally covered in adult education courses. It is one of several standardized assessments approved by the National Reporting System (NRS, 2008), which is the accountability system for federally funded ESL and…

Within the paradigm of Sociocultural Theory, and using Activity Theory as a data-gathering and management tool, this microgenetic case study examined the processes--the growth, change, and development--engaged in by student-teachers in a foreign language education program as they worked together to complete an activity. The activity involved…

The Federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) provide funding for states and territories to provide instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE), and Adult Secondary Education (ASE) to adults in need of these literacy services. California State Budget Act…

A 2004 College Board survey revealed that school districts around America wanted to offer Chinese, but finding qualified teachers was a problem, says Selena Cantor, director of Chinese Language and Culture Initiatives for the College Board. So last year, a new College Board program brought guest teachers from China to school districts in 31…

This qualitative case study endeavored to understand how program managers at one post-secondary Canadian university define, understand and undertake the marketing of their revenue-generating English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. Data were collected through interviews with three managers of distinct English as a Second Language (ESL)…

The Buffalo Public Schools have made important strides since the somber days in 2000 when the Council of the Great City Schools concluded that the school district was at a crossroads. The school board and then-superintendent Marion Canedo laid important groundwork for the necessary instructional reforms that were to follow. The school board and…

In contrast with debates over language pedagogy or aptitude, this paper examines seven societal obstacles which impact the success of classroom language learning and the development of intercultural competence in American language classrooms. These include expectations for teacher preparation, language proficiency and target language use;…

This article describes an innovative continuing professional development (CPD) programme for experienced English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers, and a research study into its impact. The programme incorporates the principles of Practitioner Research (PR) and focuses in particular on the skills of data analysis and situated…

The purposes of this study were to identify the essential dimensions of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and to establish a framework for assessing the ICC level of high school students that included a self-report inventory and scoring rubrics for online interaction in intercultural contexts. A total of 472 high school students from…