Using education technology in classes helps teachers realize a better and more effective learning. In this study 150 English teachers were surveyed in order to determine their views on the use of education technology in their classes. The scale consists of 36 items measuring positive and negative attitudes of English teachers toward use of…

A listing of computer software for use in high school and adult English-as-a-second-language instruction includes over 40 items, categorized for grammar, reading/writing, or vocabulary teaching, with descriptions of each. The listings include such information as the title, focus, proficiency level, components, content, comments, and brief…

Illiteracy is a serious problem for older people, particularly for older minorities. Of the 23 million adults in the United States classified as functionally illiterate, 44 percent are over 50, and those 60 and over account for about one-third of the totally illiterate population. Being illiterate to whatever degree diminishes the employment…

Two case studies of student writers of English as a Second Language (ESL), interviewed and observed over a period of two semesters focused on the ways that the students' different experiences affected their reflections about and attitudes toward writing. Teachers and tutors were also interviewed. The three students began the study enrolled in the…

Two adult education programs being conducted in Israel are described in the case studies in this packet. The first case study, by Eitan Israeli, describes a school for parents, teachers, and children established in the 1950s in a distressed moshav (cooperative agricultural settlement) to improve education for both parents and children. About 60…

The Erasmus High School bilingual Program of instructional and support services served 111 limited-English-proficient students in its fifth year of federal funding. The program's major goal was to provide the least academically and linguistically prepared students with the instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL) needed for moving into…

The manual on the teaching of English as a Foreign or Second Language is intended as a practical classroom guide for Peace Corps volunteers. It describes procedures and offers sample exercises and activities for a wide range of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills (whole-class, small-group, and individual participation), and classroom…

This article argues that the traditional classroom may provide little opportunity for English-as-a-Second-Language teachers to learn about the lives of their students. Drawing on ethnographic research in Philadelphia's Hmong community, an attempt is made to demonstrate how teachers can get a distorted picture of their students and how their…

This guide for volunteer teachers of English as a Second Language to Spanish speakers in a home-based program outlines a suggested format for class time and activities. The guide describes how teachers can organize their class periods to promote learner-centeredness and participation in the English learning process. The structure, designed to help…

This guide is a summary of ideas for enhancing the teaching of German through direct contact with Germany or German people without traveling abroad. The following ideas are highlighted: (1) correspondence (pen pals) with students in Germany; (2) audiotape recordings as an alternative to letter writing; (3) the exchange of videotape recordings with…

The 1989 Summer Bilingual Program, funded for its third year by tax levy, served 2,365 limited-English-proficient high school students at 14 sites in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. Designed for the substantial number of students who are over-age for their grade, the program offered the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and bilingual…

After presenting a research review indicating that English as a second language (ESL) secondary school students need to improve their thinking skills, this paper reports on a study in which 136 analogies were developed for use as tools to teach these students to read at inferential and applied levels. The vocabulary source for the analogies was…

This teacher training guide includes three major units that deal with the teaching of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Spanish in the bilingual classroom. Each packet includes objectives, materials, and activities that help develop and promote students' receptive and productive skills. Other major topics covered include: the…

A study at Brigham Young University (Utah) sought to identify basic concepts to teach graduate students preparing for international business careers. Business presentations by graduate students fluent in English and at least one other language were examined for evidence of teachable skills for working with business in two languages. Presentations…

This paper, a discussion of the use of written tests to assess second language proficiency and achievement, considers what constitutes a valid writing test task and addresses three questions: (1) To what extent is performance influenced by prior knowledge about the topic? (2) Does it make a difference how the writing task is specified on the test…