The potential for the use of technology in second language instruction lies in two general areas: information management (locating, organizing, applying, storing, updating, and evaluating data) and instructional design and implementation. It would be a great disservice to language instruction not to explore these areas, and the language teaching…

The Department of Foreign Languages at Tarrant County (Texas) Junior College (TCJC) places primary instructional emphasis in elementary and intermediate language courses on the development of students' oral communication competence. Noting the differences in the oral proficiency of TCJC students and that of area high school graduates seeking…

One teacher of English as a second language found that Gertrude Moskowitz' humanistic approach to instruction brought about significant changes in her small and diverse class. The direct results she perceived included very strong ties within the group, mutual trust and interest, values changes, and expressions of sentiment. Indirect results, those…

Language is used to realize different intentions, and the patterns of wording that have evolved in language bear a natural relationship to the meanings they have evolved to express. Despite the diversity in the way texts (content) are encoded, they may be traced to the contexts in which they communicate meaning, indicating a form-function…

Thirteen classroom activities designed to provide active language practice for students of English as a second language are described. Some highlight a targeted grammatical structure, and others require that students work together to solve a problem. Each is designated by level of difficulty (beginning, intermediate, or advanced), skill focus…

The Vocational and High School Equivalency Bilingual Program helped students with limited English proficiency develop their English language skills enough to enable them to participate effectively in mainstream classes and compete successfully in the United States labor market. During 1985-86 the program provided English as a second language and…

This study compares the effectiveness of two approaches to teaching advanced English writing: the productive writing approach, in which comprehension before production is emphasized, and the traditional grammar-based syllabus method. Five classes of English as a second language in a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) language…

Nigeria's new National Policy on Education embodies a specific approach to the Nigerian people's need and and preference for reading in native languages, English, and other languages. This article examines that approach from three perspectives: (1) multilingual, in which the basic education is bilingual (native language and English, with English…

A 2-year study examined the relevance of English-as-a-second-language instructional materials for students in health care fields. The study gathered specific information on common medical activities requiring the use of English and identified problem areas. A random sample of students of medicine, pharmacy, and research science was surveyed, the…

The vocabulary used in textbooks and standardized tests for English as a second language (ESL) is examined to determine how much variation exists. Word lists were compared for six difficulty levels in five frequently-used ESL textbook series (a total of 30 books). Three series of standardized proficiency/placement tests at different levels were…

This handbook on francophone Africa is designed to provide supplemental material for a French class. Its objectives are: (1) to provide the teacher with ready-to-use material as an alternative to a textbook; (2) to present French speaking countries other than France and especially to present francophone African countries from an African viewpoint;…

A study examined the language use of two teachers, one a native, bilingual Cantonese-English speaker and the other a monolingual English-speaker, as they alternated teaching assignments between two first grade classes in a Chinese-English bilingual education program. Teacher-student interaction and the variation in teacher and student language use…

This study attempted to determine the effectiveness of cloze procedures as norm-referenced instruments by comparing the differential responses of four groups of college students of English as a second language on two identical cloze passages. The responses were scored using both exact-answer and acceptable-word methods. The results indicate that…

This paper discusses and advocates the application of structured immersion, or transfer instruction, to the elementary school curriculum in English as a second language (ESL). It is proposed that transfer instruction, bridging bilingual or ESL programs and the mainstream all-English curriculum, helps children transfer the concepts and skills they…

This document, the final report of a project assessing the general status of English language training (ELT) in Central America, includes an overview of the process, general recommendations, and country-specific information and recommendations for training and policy development. The purpose was to assess the potential effects of the ELT situation…