This National Profile has been prepared as the United States' participation in Phase I of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's international study of language learning on the secondary level. It presents a complete outline of the state of foreign language learning in the United States from grades 1-12 for…

A discussion of the use of dialogues in second language instruction focuses on uses of the techniques that are more appropriate than those used in the era of audio-lingual methodology. It is argued that during this period, dialogues were overused. Techniques are offered for use of dialogues to develop learners' listening and speaking skills.…

This article outlines a 2-year foreign language in the elementary school (FLES) pilot project that resulted in an unusual model of program funding and considers additional issues relevant to funding such programs. The 1990-1992 pilot project implemented by Michigan State University, the Black Child and Family Institute of Lansing, and the Lansing…

Discussion of the use of computerized concordancers (computer software packages that enable large quantities of text to be searched for all occurrences of a particular lexical item) focuses on their potential as a tool for students to use in learning a second language. In considering the pedagogical value of such tools, three areas are considered.…

A 2-week instructional unit on weather and climate, designed for seventh grade limited-English-proficient students, is presented. Each lesson plan uses a variety of teaching techniques and provides extension activities that can be adapted to students with higher proficiency ratings. Most of the units are intended for completion in 1 or 2 days, but…

This book is written primarily for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers who are preparing to meet the challenge of teaching ESL in the workplace. The book focuses on the role these teachers play in establishing and implementing workplace language programs. The aim of the book is to provide ESL teachers with a basic orientation to the…

This document contains 10 commissioned papers presented at a research design symposium on family literacy. It also contains a summary of the symposium, which was structured around five themes: assumptions and perceptions about family literacy; what we know from research and practice and how we know it; defining the characteristics of family…

This study compared communication and interaction patterns in a college class in Dutch as a second language. Subjects were 16 native-English-speaking students. Two lessons, one taught using cooperative learning (CL) and one using teacher-centered instruction (TC), were videotaped and analyzed. The CL lesson consisted of a group reading game. The…

A study was conducted at Miami-Dade Community College, in Florida, to examine ethnic enrollment patterns in English as a Second Language (ESL) and English for Non-Native Speakers (ENS) courses from fall 1988 to fall 1994. Study findings included the following: (1) college-wide enrollment during the period declined 9.1% for White non-Hispanic…

This guide is a collection of practical ideas for teaching vocabulary and vocabulary development skills to learners of a second language. Most are contributed by teachers of English as a Second Language, but the activities may be appropriate for teaching other languages. Each idea is described briefly, with information given about appropriate…

A project examined the outcomes and pathways of 1992 participants in adult and community education (ACE) courses in Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia. It explored participant characteristics, vocational skills gained from completing ACE courses, educational and employment outcomes, and personal benefits and benefits to families and…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of interlanguage development in Japanese adult learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) in acquisition-poor environments. A total of 353 subjects were divided into 9 groups based on their level of English proficiency and tested to determine: (1) what types of errors Japanese adult ESL…

In Utah, the statewide distance education network (EdNet) enables students from five rural and suburban high schools to learn Russian and earn college credits. Courses in Russian are offered through a partnership involving the Cache County School District, Utah State University, and the Utah State Office of Education. Classes are taught on one…

A study in two El Paso (Texas) elementary school two-way bilingual education programs investigated factors in learning through first and second language, analyzed teacher development in a context of complex change, and identified promising school structures for collaborative professional development for these teachers. Of the 24 participating…

Reasons for establishing an extensive reading approach to teaching reading in English as a Second Language at a Japanese high school are enumerated, and some recommendations for implementing such a program are offered. Research on comprehensible input in language learning, particularly input from reading as an effective and efficient source, is…