A study investigated how pragmatic competence may develop in learner-learner interaction in a communication Japanese as a foreign language classroom, drawing on language socialization and sociocultural theory. A 100-minute second-year university-level Japanese language class at an urban state university was audio- and video-recorded, with a…

Based on the assumption that the acquisition of language habits is in itself insufficient for the true mastery of language, small group discussion techniques have been used in conversation workshops for students in English as a second language (ESL) courses at New York's Bronx Community College. In the groups, students are induced to communicate…

Each of the two issues of this Catalan-language journal offers book reviews and articles on general topics in education. Issues contain Spanish-, English- and French-language abstracts of included articles with keyword references. Number 13 (1st. semester 1995) examines environmental and multicultural education; number 14 (2nd. semester 1995)…

This report presents an evaluation of a two-way bilingual program in English and Spanish at the Cunningham Elementary School (Texas). The program was designed to extend and expand educational reform by shifting the instructional program at the school over the 5-year time span from a transitional bilingual program to a two-way bilingual, or dual…

This study investigated factors facilitating acquisition of Irish in Irish-medium playgroups designed for children who are native English-speakers. Data were gathered in four visits each to two such playgroups, each containing approximately 20 children. Four aspects of conversational exchanges were examined: understanding; code mixing; formulaic…

A study investigated Koreans' use and misuse of the English passive, from a pragmatic perspective, with attention to the possible source of errors. Subjects were 200 college students at two universities in Korea who were English majors or minors or taking English as an elective course, divided equally between sophomores and juniors. The subjects…

This lesson plan uses a poem about a specific battle as the starting point for a secondary educational sheltered/bilingual program for limited-English-proficient (LEP) students in San Diego, California. The plan is to use primary and secondary documentation to view both sides of the battle that prompted the writing of the poem. Goals of the…

Research in the teaching of second/foreign languages has called for an emphasis on interactional competence, or the ability to think and behave as an interactional partner in a second language. The aim of this paper is to find out if the specific interactional skills acquired by students through their first language experience are automatically…

The objective of this study is to assess whether arts-based curriculum facilitates the acquisition of English as a Second Language without sacrificing proficiency in the first language (in this case, Spanish). The paper has two chief parts, one theoretical, the other empirical. In the first part, similarities between authentic arts-based…

A discussion of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learning in Spanish-speaking migrant workers' children focuses on the relationship of language identification and achievement. The first chapter briefly tells the story of the education and ESL instruction of one migrant adolescent. Chapter 2 offers a demographic and historical overview of migrant…

A discussion of computer-based language instruction examines the quality of materials currently in use and looks at developments in the field. It is found that language courseware is generally weak in the areas of error analysis and feedback, communicative realism, and convenience of lesson authoring. A review of research under way to improve…

This study on Basque language learning is part of a project investigating alternative curriculum designs to promote native language maintenance in the Basque Country of Spain. This study measured the level of Basque and Spanish of fifth-graders (n=586 divided among 167 classrooms) in three program models (Basque taught as a second language--Model…

This study on Basque language learning is part of a project investigating alternative curriculum designs to promote native language maintenance in the Basque Country of Spain. This study, similar in design to an earlier study, measured the level of Basque and Spanish of second-graders (n=1,196 from 301 classrooms) in three program models (Basque…

An extensive discussion of literacy education in multicultural schools is designed to help teachers help students develop language competencies through integrated multicultural themes and topics based on relevant children's literature. The first part looks at the foundations for language and literacy: the role of culture, family, and society in…

This paper contends that many of the difficulties students of Chinese have in reading comprehension are directly related to their level of understanding of Chinese language and culture, and that these difficulties could be alleviated by providing students with knowledge about the value system, social customs, formation of Chinese characters and…