Current approaches to oral assessment of English in English secondary schools tend to concentrate more on "confidence" and "participation" than on the quality of children's thinking. This undermines the rich possibilities in classroom talk for cognitive development. Behavioural assessment approaches deny the essentially…

This study reports a small-scale experiment that was set up to estimate the extent to which (i) the use of formulaic sequences (standardized phrases such as collocations and idiomatic expressions) can help learners come across as proficient L2 speakers and (ii) an instructional method that emphasizes "noticing" of L2 formulaic sequences can help…

This collection of essays explores the diversity of contemporary English language use, both spoken and written, around the world. The first chapters focus on the use of English within various kinds of interpersonal communication, and later chapters look at artistic and creative products of English speakers and writers, discussing the kinds of…

British editors and authors have applied Jim Cummins' creative ideas in various settings in British schools, by using a novel technique of curriculum related assessment with bilingual children. Articles in five chapters demonstrate the flexibility, promise, and limitations of this technique. Articles include: "The Development of a Model of…

A study examined patterns of English usage in 52 Japanese university freshmen's written compositions, particularly in the use of the subordinating conjunction "because." It was found that students often fragmented sentences when "because" was involved, or used a comma to separate a trailing dependent "because" clause…

The essays collected here describe events, trends, and issues in the development of language proficiency testing for African languages. Papers include: "A Brief History of Proficiency Testing" (Richard T. Thompson, Dora E. Johnson); "The 1986 Stanford ACTFL Training Workshop" (William Leben); "The 1987 Madison-MSU Team…

This digest provides examples of measures well suited for assessing English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. Alternative assessment is particularly useful with ESL students because it asks students to show what they can integrate and produce, not simply recall and reproduce. Alternative assessment includes varied measures adaptable for…

A study, presented here in two volumes and entirely in French, investigated the usefulness of introducing different varieties of Spanish in the classroom to improve listening comprehension skills, and the capacity of students to understand language variations. The experiment was conducted during two quarters at the University of Laval (Quebec),…

This report explores the use of reading comprehension instruction as a gateway for developing oral-language proficiency in language-minority students. Based on classroom observations, analyses of videotapes of literacy teaching sessions, conversations with teachers and administrators, and analyses of teaching demonstration lessons, six…

A technique for teaching English to English majors in a Taiwan university involves students' oral production of descriptive stories to accompany a piece of classical or folk music. The project provides practice in preparing a report in English, practice in speaking before a group, sensitivity toward and ability to talk about aural stimuli, and…

A study investigated the effect of dialogue journal writing on English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students' speaking skills. Subjects were 136 students enrolled in a history program at an Egyptian university, divided randomly into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received training in dialogue journal writing in addition to…

"Instructional conversations" (ICs) are presented as one way for language minority students to achieve educational goals related to a depth of student understanding and appreciation of issues. ICs are discussion-based lessons geared toward creating opportunities for students' conceptual and linguistic development. They focus on an idea…

The teaching of literacy, primarily to second language learners, in the Vancouver, British Columbia, Municipal Workplace Language Training Program is examined. The program arose out of reports to the city's Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) program about language difficulties among workers who couldn't pass tests required for promotion or…

This paper argues that second language instruction that aims to foster speaking skills and natural spoken interaction should be based upon the grammar of the spoken language, and not on grammars that reflect written norms. Using evidence from a corpus of conversational English, this examination focuses on how four grammatical features that occur…

Six annotated bibliographies prepared by graduate students address topics related to methodology for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Each bibliography defines a topic area, gives pedagogical criteria for selecting entries, and provides brief annotations for relevant recent citations. The six…