In this essay, ESL students in their first year of college discuss their feelings about the use of literature in composition courses and offer qualified support for its inclusion. In particular, the lit-comp issue is especially complex where ESL students are involved, as literary texts in English can prove daunting to read and write about for…

Thirty-three preschool children who were learning English as a second language participated in 16 weeks of either comprehension-oriented or letter/rhyme-focused small group instruction. Pretests and posttests of book vocabulary, story comprehension, print concepts, letter naming, writing, rhyming, and English oral proficiency were given. Children…

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) contains a direct writing assessment, and examinees are given the option of composing their responses at a computer terminal using a keyboard or composing their responses in handwriting. This study sought to determine whether performance on a direct writing assessment is comparable for examinees…

This article discusses how the critical examination of "culture as difference" and "culture as hierarchy" is often lacking in the Spanish language classroom. As such, the author suggests that the current challenge in the Spanish language classroom is to identify techniques to enhance not only students' language proficiency but also their cultural…

This research project aimed to establish the attributes that are sought by schools in New South Wales when they are selecting new language teachers. The research provided some insight into the decision makers' "wish lists" of desirable attributes. The findings of the project include useful data for employers, teachers, teacher educators,…

The students in 21st-century public middle schools are increasingly diverse in terms of language proficiency, cultural and ethnic representation, and varied levels of poverty; and, yet, they are being educated in a political climate that encourages mainstreaming special education and gifted services in the regular classroom. Given this context,…

This case study investigated the revising patterns and intentions in L1 and L2 of Japanese writers with various writing experiences. Three participants were selected through purposeful sampling to do within-case comparisons. One participant was an experienced writer in both Japanese and English; one was an experienced writer in Japanese, but not…

This study examines the reliability and validity of translation tests as a reading comprehension measure. The following tests were administered to 70 Japanese high school students: (1) open-ended translation (OE-TRAN) test from English to Japanese; (2) multiple-choice translation (MC-TRAN) test; (3) cloze test (CLOZE-T); and (4) short-answer…

Latino/Latina children who are considered to be limited-English proficient may be unwilling participants in unique and difficult personal and school-related experiences. The inherent differences in their native culture and language may lead to special academic placements in English-as-a-second-language programs. Participation in a…

Providing advanced training to individuals in specialized disciplinary areas is one of the primary purposes of universities' graduate programs. Typically these programs are selective and require that a number of criteria be met, such as successful completion of undergraduate education, and a selected range of scores on standardized exams. For…

This study assesses communication training provided in MBA and executive MBA programs in Singapore. The authors found that Singapore is a microcosm in terms of (a) requirements for English competency, (b) the variety of communication offerings, and (c) the lack of uniformity in the delivery of communication training. Whereas Singaporean MBA/EMBA…

Many researchers and practitioners maintain that ACTFL's efforts to improve instructional practices and promote proficiency assessments tied to descriptors of what learners can do in real life have contributed significantly to second language teaching and testing. Similar endeavors in the area of research, however, are critically needed. Focusing…

The Foreign Language Standards of Learning identify essential content, processes, and skills for each level of language learning in Virginia's secondary schools. Included are specific standards for levels I through IV of French, German, Spanish, and Latin, as well as generic standards adaptable for levels I through IV of other modern languages,…

Adult secondary education learners approach the goal of college-level postsecondary education through three assessment gateways: (a) measures of adult education program learning gains, (b) a high-school equivalency exam, and (c) college placement tests. On the surface, the assessments in this sequence might appear to work in concert and point…

"Enhanced Proactive Reading" a comprehensive, integrated reading, language arts, and English language development curriculum, is targeted to first-grade English language learners experiencing problems with learning to read through conventional instruction. The curriculum is implemented as small group daily reading instruction, during…