An experimental English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program at City College (New York) is reported. The federally funded project investigated the effectiveness of an instructional method entitled "Fluency First" and based on whole language theories of learning. It requires large amounts of reading and writing, collaboration with peers,…

For the first time, Asian and Pacific-Islander (API) eighth-grade students taking part in the California Assessment Program (CAP) were identified as belonging to one of the following 10 API ethnic groups: Asian-Indian, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Pacific-Islander, and Vietnamese. In school districts associated…

This study examined the following predictors of academic success for 4,113 Asian American students and 1,000 White students who enrolled as freshmen on any of the eight University of California campuses during fall 1984: (1) high school grade point average (GPA); (2) Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)--verbal score; (3) SAT--mathematical score; (4)…

This collection of papers includes the following: "The Great Debate. Proposed: TESOL is a Science, Not an Art" (David Nunan); "Argument and Entertainment: TESOL as a Science" (Elana Shohamy); "TESOL: Art and Craft" (Henry Widdowson); "An Attitude of Inquiry: TESOL as a Science" (Diane Larsen-Freeman);…

This paper describes the techniques used in a successful, intensive course in introductory Russian. The objectives of the course are to develop good pronunciation and oral communication skills, good listening comprehension skills, some fluency in reading, and some elementary skill in writing. The course relies upon the development of a community…

Suggestions for improving conversation groups in the intermediate and advanced English as a second language classroom are considered with attention directed to design of the activities, preparation of the individuals involved, and selection of the subject matter. In addition, factors that cause conversation groups to fail are discussed. A…

All second and third graders in California public schools were administered the Reading Test of the California Assessment Program; performance of all sixth and twelfth graders in reading, written expression, spelling, and mathematics was assessed with the Survey of Basic Skills. Findings were compared to those of previous years and can be…

To evaluate current and possible future activities of the Education Commission of the States concerning the educational needs of cultural minorities, in 1980 the staff commissioned six papers to be written on the education needs of: (1) Blacks; (2) Mexican Americans; (3) Cubans; (4) Puerto Ricans; (5) Indians and Native Alaskans; and (6) Asians…

INTENDED FOR THERAPISTS, THE BOOK FOCUSES ON WAYS OF HELPING THE CHILD WHO STUTTERS TO MODIFY HIS BEHAVIOR. THE APPROACH, AN OPERATIONAL ONE, IS PRESENTED, AND THE NATURE AND CONDITIONS OF RESPONSIBLE THERAPY ARE DESCRIBED. DIAGNOSTIC AND EVALUATIVE PROCEDURES ARE PRESENTED. THERAPY IS ELABORATED FOR THE MODIFICATION OF INCIPIENT STUTTERING, THE…

In 1965 the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) inaugurated a cross-national survey of achievement in six subjects: Science, Reading Comprehension, Literature, English as a Foreign Language, French as a Foreign Language, and Civic Education. The overall aim of the project was to use international tests in…

This paper describes a method in oral fluency evaluation for Tourism English according to a corpus-based lexical approach. Our main research focus is placed on measuring oral skill competence among Tourism English (TE) learners by contrasting their word use and linguistic fluency, achieved in two types of oral tasks, with corpus data frequencies.…

This study is guided by the following objectives: (1) Assess entering freshmen's pragmatic oral skills in English second semester SY 2004 2005; (2) Describe the learner language respondents in terms of variability of the inter language; (3) Determine the relationship of their language performance "vis-à-vis" high school grade, high…

This paper describes the method adopted in a short course to improve group interaction in the foreign language classroom by giving students the opportunity to engage in group interaction and in this way sensitizing them to group dynamics. It provides the outline and rationale of the course, a detailed description of one unit, and evaluation…

The growing emphasis on reading in the foreign language classroom is examined from the standpoint of learning theory, learning strategies, and classroom practice. The reading process in the native language, the origin and application of new learning strategies in foreign language reading, and modifications and revisions in teaching practices are…

In 1965 the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) inaugurated a cross-national survey of achievement in six subjects: Science, Reading Comprehension, Literature, English as a Foreign Language, French as a Foreign Language, and Civic Education. The overall aim of the project was to use international tests in…