This article examines the responses of European American monolingual English-speaking preservice undergraduate education majors to critical issues related to the education of language minority students in P-12 schools. Data analysis of autobiographies, journals, portfolios, thematic units, position papers, and case studies indicated a correlation…

The national language Bangla (Bengali), which is spoken by 98% of the people, is foundational to the nation of Bangladesh as a nation. Language played a crucial role in the struggle for independence from Pakistan which was finally successful in 1971. The medium of instruction in state-provided basic education is Bangla. Nevertheless, as in the…

More and more subject matter area teachers find themselves working with students whose native language is not English. A report from the National Center for Education Statistics (2003) showed that close to four million students nationwide were classified as English language learners (ELL) in the school year of 2001-2002, a 30 percent increase from…

This study presents and tests a hypothesized structural model that attempts to explain the relationship of writing in English as a foreign language by Taiwanese university students to a variety of factors. Investigated were factors considered to be inhibiting (writing apprehension and writer's block), factors considered to be facilitative (free…

Second-language acquisition theorists caution educators that higher second-language competency skills can take anywhere from five to eight years to attain realistically for any individual acquiring competency in a second language. There are many other variables like age of arrival in the United States and standard of education from home country…

This study investigated the relationship between foreign language (FL) anxiety and achievement in that language. The role of the FL teacher as perceived by the learners was also tested. Participants were 67 seventh-grade students. They were administered an anxiety questionnaire, a Hebrew reading comprehension test, an English reading comprehension…

This paper reports on a research project involving a sample of 19 state-educated students in their first year of a German course at Oxford University. The project is one of a number of research studies into widening participation issues funded by the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE) and the Sutton trust. The paper describes the…

In considering literacy, we take a step back to ask: literacy in which language? And what is the purpose and measure of achievement? Although not in disagreement with the Bialostok and Whitman article in this issue, we place English literacy as a part of the continuing drive to colonize and assimilate indigenous peoples. Local indigenous control…

This article reviews findings from scientific research that has been conducted in the United States since 1980 on the educational outcomes of English language learners (ELLs). The studies selected for review here are a subset of a more comprehensive body of research conducted during this period that is reported in Genesee, Lindholm-Leary,…

Elementary English language learners at Harrington Elementary in Lynn, Massachusetts--whom Reeves interviewed--share their perspectives on learning English in elementary school, and give advice to teachers working with English language learners. Among the advice students give teachers are: don't worry so much as you teach us, be patient and repeat…

Research on student questions in L2 classrooms has shown conflicting results. Some studies report that foreign language teachers use direct answers and others express concern about ESL teachers' overuse of ineffective display counter-questions. Here, student questions and their resolutions were analyzed in more than thirty hours of first through…

There is a growing volume of research on task-based language use; however, the nature of "task proficiency" has not yet been clearly defined. In order to gain new insights, this study examines the relationship between the process of communication in an L2 and a task outcome by analysing lexical density, as obtained from the pattern of a…

The socio-contextual model of second language (L2) learning proposes that L2 learning is influenced by aspects of contact with the L2 community, L2 confidence, and identification to both the first language and L2 community ( Clement, 1980; Noels & Clement, 1996). The present study examines how these aspects are linked to individuals' cultural…

The growing population of English language learners (ELLs) in U.S. schools and the low academic achievement of many of these learners have been the subject of much debate. A significant related issue is determining the sources of ELLs' difficulty, namely, understanding the distinction between learning disabilities (LD) and learning difficulties…

Although Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) provides EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students a dynamic environment for English learning, many courses in current markets still emphasize the presentation of domain knowledge but neglect how the students truly interact with the lessons. This article describes the development of…