In this paper, we argue that current instructional ESL resources must be supplemented to facilitate the effective development of learners' oral fluency. We summarize some of the pertinent literature on L2 fluency and report the results of a survey of fluency activities (free production, rehearsal/repetition, consciousness-raising, and use of…

I define the "literacy autobiography" as a reflective, first-person account of one's development as a writing being. In this article I share a classroom practice that invited language learners to consider and compose their literacy autobiographies (LA). The context was a university credit English as a second language (ESL) classroom. The purposes…

Discusses a learning module on Acadian history used in a French immersion setting that focuses on a theatrical arts approach. (Author/VWL)

Discusses two Internet activities called Postcards and Talking Heads that can be used by second and foreign language teachers in the classroom. Theoretical justification for using Internet technology is provided, and learning outcomes of Internet activities are discussed. (Author/VWL)

Discusses literature circles (LC), and describes a variety of LC techniques for helping teachers coordinate classrooms to include linguistically and culturally diverse students. Provides a description of differentiated instruction and Flippo's (1998) best reading instruction practices, relates typical LC methods, and focuses on how LC can be…

Challenges basic assumptions underlying the claim that reading is the major source of vocabulary acquisition in a second language, including the noticing assumption, the guessing ability assumption, the guessing-retention link assumption, and the cumulative gain assumption. Reports on three experiments in which vocabulary gains from reading were…

Language and literature departments are being asked to reflect more on the best way to maintain the intellectual integrity of their programs in view of departmental reforms imposed on them by budgetary restraints. Discusses the mediating role played by translation in this kind of situation. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the possibilities of working with high school students as researchers of culture and language in their own school communities. Features a short ethnographic play entitled, "No Pain, No Gain," which dramatizes the difficulty of preparing an oral presentation in a second language. (Author/VWL)

Demonstrates how qualitative research, specifically ethnograhy, constitutes an effective means of investigating identity construction, particularly as identity is manifested through language practices. This approach illuminates the complexity of the interaction between language practices and identity. (Author/VWL)

Proposes that classroom studies in the Teaching English as a Second or Other Language (TESOL) field tend to subscribe to either of the following two normative orders: Progressive liberalism or cultural relativism, without reflexively recognizing and meta-analyzing these normative frameworks and their social, historical, and political situatedness.…

Proposes pedagogical solutions to problems beginning language learners have reading World Wide Web documents--reading an electronic format and deciphering the language used in Web pages. Proposed are a study of Uniform Resource Indicators (URLs) to enhance predictions, the analysis of visuals that support the meaning of the text, and the…

Looks at the Quebecois TV show, "Un gars, Une fille" used in a university French course to teach the socio-cultural reality that underlies all linguistic utterances in a university-level French course. Attempts to identify what makes the show more authentic than videos and CD ROMs that accompany most language textbooks in French. (Author/VWL)

Argues for the re-examination of the time-honored view that the first language (L1) should be avoided in the classroom by teachers and students. Examines possible justifications for use of the first language, outlines teaching methods that actively employ the L1, and describes some of the different ways that the L1 may be used positively by…

Examines aspects of the knowledge base that experienced English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers draw on in their teaching, primarily in giving explanations of grammar and other language points. Focuses on three categories of teacher knowledge: content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge; and knowledge of learners. (Author/VWL)

Analyzes the role played by oral language skills and by metalinguistic capacities in the reading performance of young beginner readers in French as a second language who are in a situation of successive bilingualism and observing whether differences exist between them and their francophone peers of the same age. (Author/VWL)