This article reports the results of an experiment investigating the role of comic strips on ESL learners' reading comprehension. The students' proficiency levels were estimated, and students were organized into a low intermediate-level proficiency group (low-level students) and a high intermediate-level proficiency group (high-level students).…

Basic English Writing (BEW) courses have been part of English learning curricula in many universities. Some research has been conducted to investigate various class designs for English language courses. However, class designs for English writing are not yet abundantly developed to provide more experimental results. The purpose of this study was to…

The social reform and opening-up in Chinese society in the last three decades have resulted in overall changes in almost every aspect of social life of its people. As an important indicator in these changes, English has become an important tool in education for students to move ahead to a higher level of schooling, and better jobs in the…

The emphasis on research-based instructional methods makes it especially important for educators to be using instructional strategies known to be effective for English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities. Unfortunately, the literature base that addresses instructional strategies for diverse populations of students with varying language…

In today's global village, the choice of languages and cultures offered to the high school and college student in constantly increasing. Several reasons are offered for choosing the more traditional option of French/Francophone culture: internationalism, political contributions, intellectual achievements, France's role in Europe and in technology,…

This paper summarizes a study conducted to determine whether sustained silent reading (SSR) can contribute to improvement in grammar and reading comprehension in university academic English as a foreign language (EFL) courses. A total of 186 beginning and intermediate students enrolled in the English for Academic Purposes program at the…

This report presents ideas on the use of poetry in teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Chapter 1 describes beliefs about language and language learning, and offers a theoretical justification for including the reading and writing of poetry in the language classroom. Chapter 2 is a collection of poetry activities that have been…

This report reflects the efforts of the federally mandated National Advisory and Coordinating Council on Bilingual Education (NACCBE) to search for ways by which local school systems can exercise greater choice of teaching methodologies while still meeting their responsibilities of teaching English to all of their non-English speaking students. It…

This discussion is divided into three parts: (1) [native] language acquisition versus [second] language learning, (2) successful language learning, and (3) teaching strategies (grammar-translation, direct, cognitive and cognitive habit-formation). (KM)

Two approaches to college second language instruction are described. One, an on-campus option, gives students a classroom opportunity that is similar to the intensive/immersion program, which is a ten-week intensive language course followed by a ten-week program in Mexico, France, or Germany. The on-campus option, called "Super," is a…

This report is a summary of the review of the Defense Language Institute (DLI) that was made by the General Accounting Office (GAO) at the request of a member of Congress. The objectives of the study were to identify and analyze significant internal DLI problems that diminish the overall effectiveness of the language training provided there.…

THE MISSOURI COLLEGE ENGLISH TEST WAS ADMINISTERED TO 1,341 COLLEGE FRESHMEN TO COMPARE THE PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH OF MALE AND FEMALE STUDENTS. SIGNIFICANTLY MORE BOYS THAN GIRLS SCORED BELOW THE 50TH PERCENTILE. THE INVESTIGATORS SUGGEST THAT MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO DETERMINE WHY GIRLS ARE MORE PROFICIENT IN ENGLISH AFTER 12 YEARS OF SCHOOL…

IN THE PAST 15 YEARS, MODERN LANGUAGE TEACHING HAS CHANGED RADICALLY, AND THE CONTINUING CONTROVERSY WILL PROVOKE EVEN FURTHER CHANGES. CURRENT INTEREST DEMANDS A MODIFICATION OF THE AUDIOLINGUAL APPROACH TO INCLUDE TRAINING, AS SOON AS PEDAGOGICALLY FEASIBLE, IN ALL FOUR LANGUAGE SKILLS. INCREASED ENROLLMENTS AND EXTENDED STUDY SEQUENCES HAVE…

The use of questions in the target language on reading material is an important teaching aid in developing a working command of the spoken language in introductory FL courses. The best use of reading material in the early stages of second language acquisition is as an aid to communicating in the target language. Consequently, reading material…

The purpose of this article is to focus attention on the need to teach language students not only what to say, but how to say it and when. A theoretical discussion provides linguistic background and analysis of data and a sample lesson to illustrate how sociolinguistic theory can be applied to the development of teaching materials. (Author/NCR)