Ethiopia is a nation of more than 70 million people characterized by diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. Since the early 1990s Ethiopia has entered into the process of transformation towards a more civil society. This transformational process has led to numerous socioeconomic and political policy reforms. Central to reforms in the…

The effectiveness of an explicit, systematic reading intervention for first-grade students whose home language was Spanish and who were at risk for reading difficulties was examined. Participants were 69 students in 20 classrooms in 7 schools from 3 districts who initially did not pass the screening in Spanish and were randomly assigned within…

In this time of high stakes testing, teachers' working with English Language Learners (ELLs) becomes a high-stakes teaching act. Nationally, mandated testing is increasing in the schools even as school demographics are changing. The growing numbers of language-minority students come with varying levels of English proficiency, from little or none…

This paper suggests that the whole language approach, widely used for first-language reading instruction, is the most appropriate means for teaching reading to learners of English as a second language (ESL). Drawing on research evidence, seven basic tenets of whole language instruction are explained and applied to ESL reading instruction. These…

This paper explores the value, in English-as-a-Second-Language medium tertiary education, of extending the notion of student autonomy beyond the context of language learning to the whole curriculum, arguing that autonomy needs to be seen in a broader, more socio-political perspective and that for students to enjoy autonomy requires a…

A study investigated attitudes and preferences concerning reading among fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students in Portuguese-language schools in the United States. Extrinsic factors influencing students (parents, teachers) were also analyzed. The research took place in 10 schools in 5 states. Data were obtained using questionnaires (students)…

This policy statement, presented in both English and French, describes the funding support available for heritage language and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs for K-12 students in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The two parts of the statement, headed "Heritage Language Instruction" and "ESL for Students with Limited…

The program described here used cooperative, content-based computer writing projects to teach Japanese students at an intermediate level of English proficiency enrolled in first-year, English-language courses in political science/environmental issues and sociology/environmental issues in an international college program. The approach was taken to…

In order for individuals to make informed decisions about their health, they must have support, information, and skills to help them understand what promotes their health and what they themselves can do to enhance health. The major goals of the Northwest Territories (Canada) school health program are: to provide factual information on the human…

Very little research has been done on first or second language acquisition in the Philippines. Most second language learning studies cited in the literature concern acquisition of English in English-speaking communities, and most American studies of Filipino language acquisition are superficial, consisting primarily of morpheme analysis. The…

Although the development of Kiswahili in Tanzania has had a number of stumbling blocks, it is slowly developing into a language of modern technology. Individual institutions have contributed greatly to its spread and promotion. More books are now published in Kiswahili than ever before, and scientific and technical terminology has been developed.…

A study examined bilingual children's composing behaviors during classroom writing and their perceptions of writing. Students' descriptions of what occurred in their day-to-day environment were analyzed using ethnographic methods. The researcher observed five subjects--bilingual students in kindergarten through third grade--for 145 hours, and…

This document consists of papers and group reports on multicultural education in Canada. Recurrent themes in the conference papers presented include: the concept of personal dignity as related to all aspects of multicultural education; the importance of language in maintaining cultural and ethnic identity; the problem of information overload in…

This report discusses the views of students now in the eleventh grade who participated in the original pilot class of the St. Lambert early immersion program in Montreal. They were asked to look back on their schooling and to appraise its effects on their lives. Their parents were asked to do the same. Questionnaires designed to elicit information…

Neurological data indicate that the universal aptitude for functional language is biologically based, species specific, and developmental. The universality of functional oral speech is indisputable. Everyone, however, does not exhibit similar expertise in processing oral and visual language. Many people can speak two languages functionally but…