Written for use with the REEP (Refugee Education and Employment Program) Curriculum, this curriculum guideline makes modifications and includes additions to make the REEP curriculum suitable for use in any non-intensive English as a Second Language (ESL) program. (The REEP Curriculum is intended for use in an intensive five-day per week program; a…

Communicative proficiency, defined as native-like ability to use the language as a medium of two-way communication, is most effectively and efficiently achieved through instruction emphasizing development of listening and reading comprehension skills, and virtually excluding training in production. The comprehension approach avoids the teaching of…

A report on a two-year study of the use of microcomputers in language arts programs in Ontario provides information on the following topics: background and orientation of the study; project goals and methods; summary of needs and recommendations from the first year of the study; results from the second year; and general recommendations. The study…

The Indiana Foreign Language Generic Competencies for Levels 1-4 define language-learning outcomes in terms of communicative competencies within generic cultural contexts. Nine cultural contexts (travel/transportation, the "world" of the target language, school and education, family and home, leisure time, meeting personal needs, world…

Two scenarios dealing with the themes of schedule conflict and mistaken identity were performed by a class of beginning students of English as a second language at the University of Delaware. The class was divided into groups of five or six students; each group was assigned either Role A or Role B of one of the two scenarios. As in standard…

A guide to designing programs in English language arts for limited English proficient (LEP) students is intended for school districts to use in developing their own program manuals based on locally relevant needs. An introductory section gives background for LEP program development, and subsequent sections outline (1) identification procedures for…

The proceedings of the fourth colloquium of the Groupe de recherche en didartique des langues (Language Teaching Research Group) include eleven papers and four synopses. The papers, three in English (E) and the rest in French (F), cover these topics: cognitive presence in language teaching/learning (F); interlanguage and metalanguage (F);…

Three techniques have been found to be helpful in using dramatic techniques to provide motivation, self-confidence, and self-esteem to students of English as a second language at Hostos Community College. Strategic interaction is a technique based on the open-ended scenario, in which students are free to respond to the problem presented in the…

This study investigates cultural differences in second language aural comprehension levels among Asians under the constraints of background noise. It is determined that noise is an important component of language proficiency, for it is found where most interactions take place. Students from Hong Kong, Seoul (Korea), Tokyo (Japan), and the South…

Foreign graduate students who have reached an advanced level in a specific discipline may be able to explain that subject's intricacies with ease but may have difficulty in speaking comprehensibly, explaining clearly, and understanding students easily while leading an undergraduate discussion section. Harvard University offers a program to help…

This paper discusses the development and testing of a literacy unit in basic English as a second language (ESL) for Canadian farmworkers based on the Freirian principles of designing adult education curriculum. The Freirian approach looks at adult learners in the context of their daily reality and uses literacy as a vehicle for the students'…

This guide for elementary teachers who are not trained in techniques of English as a second language (ESL) but who have limited English-speaking students in their classes offers specific classroom techniques for helping those students. The first section presents a brief summary of research in first and second language acquisition. The second and…

Several studies of the differences in teacher and learner perceptions of the usefulness of certain teaching techniques and activities reveal clear mismatches between learners' and teachers' views of language learning. The differences seem to be due to the sociocultural background and previous learning experiences of the learners and the influence…

Foreign language instruction should focus on developing in students a coordinated set of basic language learning skills, the acquisition of which would make it possible for the student to learn more than one language. Such an instructional package would fit well into the communicative approach to language instruction, and would provide a common…

To accomplish successful communicative foreign language teaching, a teacher needs more than a sound command of the language and thorough training in communicative methodology. He or she also needs training in self-presentation, exposure to situations in which the importance of non-verbal behavior is made clear, and discussion of the fundamental…