This comprehensive and easy-to-read book explores both the theory and practice of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) assessment and is full of work samples, ideas, organizers, and personal experiences that all readers can use or adapt for their own situations. The primary goal is to provide proven and effective assessment methods. As ESL students…

A technique using verbal analysis of photographs for the controlled syntactic manipulation of material suggested by the picture is described. This activity develops thinking skills, language skills, and cultural awareness. (PMJ)

Technology is not currently used in EFL classrooms at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Therefore an online course was used in the teaching of English grammar from home. The aim of the present study was to find out whether integration of online learning in face-to-face in-class grammar instruction significantly improves EFL freshman…

The discussion of standards in this article reveals a number of common features. First, they all focus on macro-level statements about teachers' professional work rather than attempting to detail what that work may be based on. Second, they do not make specifications about the nature and standard of relevant disciplinary knowledge (as would be the…

The revised Refugee Education and Employment Program (REEP) curriculum, integrating the original 1982 REEP curriculum and the federal Mainstream English Language Training (MELT) project guidelines, provides instructional direction to teachers of adult refugees and immigrants in immediate need of basic survival and social language skills. The guide…

Major factors influencing goals and outcomes of foreign language education are reviewed in order to identify a common core of goals. Alternative approaches to specifying outcomes are discussed and sample lists of outcomes for three levels of study are presented. The review of the main influences on the educational scene during the past decade…

This paper presents some reasons for reconsidering the use of discrete structure-point tests of language proficiency, and suggests an alternative basis for designing proficiency tests. Discrete point tests are one of the primary tools of the audio-lingual method of teaching a foreign language and are based on certain assumptions, including the…

This study, the culmination of a 3-year effort, represents the first step in the establishment of a European unit-credit system for foreign language learning by adults. Objectives are based on learners' needs and expressed in terms of operational learning objectives, with reference to the roles a language-user has to play, the settings in which he…

Because French boys command a sharper accuracy of thought and form in their speaking and writing than do young Americans of the same age, this book examines the educational system in France for the light it might shed on the teaching of English in America. Chapters consider (1) syllabi for two kindergarten-through-high-school courses in…

Present school programs place considerable reliance on the results of standardized language tests both as placement and diagnostic devices, yet the validity of these tests is open to question. Certain questions arise in light of current theory and research. To what extent are currently available measuring techniques useful for identifying the…

Focuses on the importance of vocabulary knowledge as fundamental to proficiency in a second language (L2). The article notes that each of the studies in this issue examines L2 vocabulary learning from a particular angle, including lexical progress, learning strategies, context effect, the role of learner factors such as age and first language…

Eighth-grade students in bilingual classrooms explored the geometric concepts of reflection and rotation within a computer-based, dynamic, instructional environment. With initial differences controlled, treatment groups performed significantly better on concept formation and spatial visualization than did control groups receiving conventional…

Maintains that every public school student deserves an opportunity to study a musical instrument. Asserts that a limited command of English should not prevent a student from being accepted into instrumental music class or hinder that student's progress. Describes a music education program for students speaking limited English. (CFR)

This study contributes to the field by identifying a broad range of traditional and newer middle grade policies and practices, and determining in California which of these differentiate higher- from lower-performing schools serving similar student populations, with performance measured by the state's standards-based tests. Based on a sample of 303…

In the 2008-09 school year researchers from EdSource and Stanford University conducted a large-scale study of 303 middle grades schools in California. The team surveyed 303 principals, 3,752 English Language Arts (ELA) and math teachers in grades 6-8, and 157 superintendents of the districts and charter management organizations that oversee the…