Discusses the possibility of most students attaining a communicative proficiency in a language other than English. A case study of a school is presented that includes information and opinions gathered from parents and an outline "depth" curriculum for this school. (14 references) (Author/CK)

Discusses current research on six bilingual elementary schools in Friesland, focusing on students' command of Dutch and Frisian, and on school policies concerning Frisian as an instructional subject. The proportions of Frisian- and Dutch-speaking children in an area, the pedagogical and sociolinguistic climates, and the problems associated with…

Examines whether or not communication strategies (CS) can be taught and suggests reasons for the controversy surrounding the teachability of CS. Also reports on a study of CS training with Hungarian secondary students, the results of which suggest that quantity and quality of learners' use of CS does improve with focused instruction. (Contains 62…

Reports on a study of 126 secondary English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students' transfer of essay organization skills between languages (Icelandic and English). Pre- and posttest proficiency scores were analyzed. It was concluded that students' success in transferring writing skills between languages is assisted by their grammatical proficiency…

Examined six aspects of vocabulary instruction given to fourth and sixth graders prior to reading in two basal reading series. Found that words targeted for instruction were already known; instruction in the two series differed markedly; much of the instruction was not sufficient to improve comprehension; and instruction was not necessarily suited…

A study with 118 male and 87 female junior high school students in Spain using a scale developed to assess anxiety among Spanish students associated with learning a second language found a relationship between low anxiety and superior performance in the second language (English). The scale obtained predictive validity. (SLD)

An overview of educational policies toward language-minority students from 1960 to the present indicates how often they have been ignored. The new national standards movement, America 2000, is no exception. The effects that this initiative might have on the education of language-minority students are explored. (SLD)

Examples from a multiyear project in a Los Angeles (California) school in a low-income Hispanic school district illustrate successes of a program to improve the early reading achievement of Spanish-speaking primary school children. The interplay of research, practice, and school improvement resulted in significant improvement in early Spanish…

The authors review 11 studies published from 1971 through the 1990s on learning and behavioral difficulties among Chinese American children. The focus of the review is on (a) quantity and quality of the studies, (b) topics examined, and (c) research findings. Results showed that limited English proficiency, delinquency and gangs, and emotional and…

The acquisition of new vowel sounds is one of the most challenging tasks for the adult learner of a second language. It is also an aspect which requires a great deal of time and individual attention. Learners of English are particularly hampered by the irregular orthographic representation of vowel sounds. This paper reports on research in…

The Office of Civil Rights (2001) and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Antunez, 2003) mandate that language proficiency and academic achievement be measured in order to provide equal educational opportunities to English language learners and have an accountability system for their language and academic growth. The Cognitive Academic Language…

An evaluation was conducted of the first year of a 3-year program designed in New York City to serve the needs of Chinese-speaking intermediate grade students of limited English proficiency. The focus of the program was on improving their achievement in mathematics and science while also improving students' English language proficiency. The…

An introduction to contemporary views of second/foreign language course design is intended for even relatively inexperienced teachers wishing to meet the somewhat sophisticated current expectations for language training. First, it provides theoretical background concerning the concepts of communicative competence and second language proficiency,…

This article presents theoretical considerations behind the Jyvaskyla teacher in-service development program in teaching content through a foreign language and surveys some international experiences of bilingual education. The term "bilingual program" refers to all variations of bilingual education and teaching of non-language subjects…

This paper maintains that many language-minority children in the United States are being given dis-equalized services by schools through inappropriate test screening. It is asserted that schools often use inappropriate standardized instruments to determine the English language fluency of limited English proficient (LEP) and language minority…