Over the last 30 years, inquiry-based teaching has become a highly valued component of professional development and practitioner research in Australia and New Zealand. This volume of the Language Teacher Research Series focuses on teaching and learning experiences in those two countries, which encompass a large geographical area with diverse…

This book compiles findings on the children of recent immigrants to the United States. The dearth of accessible census data and the tendency for school records and scholarly surveys to compress second-generation youth into a classificatory scheme that obliterates their history have obscured a major phenomenon in U.S. society--a rapidly growing…

The collection of essays on aspects of Vygotskian theory focuses on the theory's application to research on second language learning. Articles include: "Theoretical Framework: An Introduction to Vygotskian Perspectives on Second Language Research" (James P. Lantolf, Gabriela Appel); Collective Scaffolding in Second Language…

This module is the fifth of five integrated professional development modules for adult literacy and basic education (ALBE) personnel. The 12-hour module is designed to build on and develop participants' understandings about language. The stated purposes of this module are as follows: to develop participants' understandings of language as social…

A naturalistic study looked at the acquisition of English by two Japanese boys, aged 4 and 8 years, during a 2.5-year stay in the United States. Data were collected through observation and transcription of spontaneous speech in daily life. Analysis included a variety of features of language use and of the acquisition process, including attitudes…

A variety of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instructional activities based on the film "Kramer vs. Kramer" are described. The first involves having students identify the characters and their relationships to one another, and at a higher level, information about their characteristics and feelings. A second is an exercise in…

This guide is designed for the Arabic language training of Peace Corps volunteers serving in Tunisia and focuses on daily communication skills needed in that context. It contains 15 lessons, each made up of: a teacher's guide sheet, which outlines specific objectives, contents, and materials needed; a dialogue introducing the lesson's theme; a…

This manual is designed for the language training of Peace Corps volunteers serving in Samoa, and focuses on daily communication skills needed in that context. It consists of 48 lessons, which include targeted competencies, phrase and vocabulary lists, cultural and usage notes, notes on grammar, and exercises. Lesson topics include: the Samoan…

This study analyzed the discourse of electronic mail (e-mail) exchanges between students of English as a second language (ESL) and other ESL learners from other cultures and at varying proficiency levels (keypals), focusing on what these exchanges may reveal about learners' progress through the "Zone of Proximal Development," a…

A study investigated the use of content-based tasks as central and peripheral in second language instruction. Specifically, it examined the relative effects of such tasks that were either central to the syllabus, as sources of knowledge or skills in their own right, or peripheral, as occasional source of language practice. The study was conducted…

A discussion of the content of workplace English programs for limited-English-speaking immigrants to Australia focuses on the proportions of general and work-specific course content in those programs. It draws, in part, on results of a 1989 study of one workplace English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program. It is proposed that reasons for…

Contributed by English teachers across the United States, the activities contained in this booklet are intended to promote the effective teaching of literature and writing. Teaching strategies offered in the first section of the booklet are designed to stimulate language exploration and include activities in which students choose their favorite…

This handbook explores ways of creating unbiased educational experiences for students in non-stereotyped learning environments for grades 5-8. An examination is made of the sexual, racial, and cultural biases displayed by textbooks and curricula currently in use, with suggestions offered on how to present these materials in an unbiased manner. New…

The 75 Metis of Mission Metis, Alberta, exhibit three general types of linguistic behavior according to age. Traditional Metis, over 50, are trilingual in English, French, and Cree. Those aged 30-50 speak English and some Cree and understand but do not speak French. Those under 30 speak English. The Mission Metis English and Cree are not…

The relationship between achievement and cultural, ethnic/racial, and linguistic diversity cannot be ignored given that students who struggle to learn are often the ones that are referred to special education even though the failure may not be due to a disability on the part of the student (Presidential Commission on Special Education, 2002). In…