Halting the Race to the Bottom: Urgent Interventions for the Improvement of the Education of English Language Learners in Massachusetts and Selected Districts

Massachusetts students of limited English proficiency do better academically than students of limited English proficiency in other states. But relative to other students in the state, students of limited English proficiency in Massachusetts face a disadvantage greater than that faced by their peers in most states. This suggests that while the overall higher levels of education in the state benefit LEPs in Massachusetts relative to LEPs who attend schools in states where the quality of education is lower, current policy and practice leads to significantly greater inequality in this state. As the state takes steps to improve performance for all students in Massachusetts, and particularly those in low performing schools, a clear vision and decisive leadership in addressing this gap is essential

Malaysian and Indonesian Learners: They Are Judges of How They Learn English Most Effectively in and Out of Classrooms

The position of English is that of a Second Language in Malaysia and a Foreign Language in Indonesia. But the objective is the same that is to enable the learners to communicate effectively and efficiently in social and professional situations. Learners' beliefs and learners' strategies are also part of the learning processes. Strategies are ways of managing the complex information that the learners are receiving about the target language. This study aims to find out (i) the learners' beliefs on the importance of English (ii) what the learners will do (strategies) to manage their own learning. 100 respondents participated in the study. They responded to open ended questions. The results show that there are similarities and differences in the ways the Malaysian and Indonesian learners perceived the importance of English. They also have similarities and differences in their strategies to manage their own learning to achieve their goals. As a conclusion, even though the two countries adopted different language policy, the learners of English as a Second and Foreign Language have their own enthusiasms and they make judgements about how to learn the language effectively and they have the awareness of what language learning is like

A Preliminary Study on Why Second Language Learners Accept Ungrammatical Sentences: Its Theoretical Implications

Why do second language learners sometimes accept ungrammatical sentences in the target language? In the present study, we focus on Japanese-speaking learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and investigate whether such “grammatical illusion” effect would be observed in them and whether the effect could be dependent on their proficiency.　The results of one acceptability judgment questionnaire experiment and of one preliminary self-paced reading experiment are reported.　The results of the questionnaire experiment showed that the lower-proficiency Japanese EFL learners were more likely to accept ungrammatical sentences in English compared to the higher-proficiency learners.　The results of the self-paced reading experiment indicated that the reading time difference between ungrammatical sentences and their grammatical counterparts was significant for one native English speaker but not for two Japanese EFL learners.　It is suggested that the “grammatical illusion” effect (i.e., erroneous acceptance of ungrammatical sentences) in second language learners is more likely to be observed when their proficiency is lower, and possibly that second language learners can accept ungrammatical sentences during their real-time processing.　We discuss a new approach to second language acquisition from the perspective of the grammatical illusion phenomenon

Cross-Linguistic Universals in Reading Acquisition with Applications to English-Language Learners with Reading Disabilities

There is a considerable gap in English reading achievement between English-language learners and native speakers in the United States. Differentiation of whether English language learners’ struggles are symptomatic of reading disability or related to second language acquisition is often challenging. These issues highlight the need for increased insight into reading development and disability in this population. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of cross-linguistic universals in reading acquisition, how reading disabilities manifest in various languages, and whether diagnostic and instructional approaches that are effective for native English speakers are also appropriate for English-language learners. Recommendations for assessment and intervention practices for at-risk and reading-disabled English-language learners are provided

Teaching English for Young Learners

Language as a means of communication plays very important role in social relationship among human beings. The English language is the first foreign language we teach to children at very early stages of schooling. The primary aim of teaching English in the early years of schooling is to motivate young learners to be ready and have self-confident in learning English at higher levels of education. Some children are born to parents who are polyglots, so they have to acquire two or three different languages. Some others learn second or third language because they have to immigrate to a new country. Others learn English as foreign language because English is not their native language in their country. Teaching English to young learners then can be beneficial or detrimental to learners. It will be beneficial if the teachers can facilitate learning and enable learners to bring to language learning their curiosity and eagerness to make sense of the world, as a result, the teachers may help the learners are able to overcome their problem even the most demanding tasks with enthusiasm and willingness

Education and Achievement: A Focus on Latino "Immigrant" Children

Describes the Institute for Teaching English Language Learners' comprehensive program to boost English language learners' academic achievement by optimizing the environment, supporting teachers, increasing learning opportunities, and engaging families

Teaching Authentic English Pronounciation

Most of the evidence from different research and literature indicates that learners beyond the age of puberty cannot acquire authentic pronunciation of a second language, because the articulation muscles have already lost their flexibility to be able to make new sounds which has not been in the first language. However, there are some adult learners who have the ability to achieve a perfect native like pronunciation of English. In relating Howard Gardner?s (1983) theory of multiple intelligences (MI) to second language learning, we can more easily discern the acquisition of authentic accent by adult learners in spite of the flexibility loss of the vocal cords. According to Gardner?s theory, which attaches important features to the notion of intelligence, learners within a wide range of IQs can be successful in acquiring a second language. In this regard, “musical intelligence” -the forth intelligence in Gardner?s theory- can explain the relative ease that learners have in perceiving and producing the intonation patterns of a language. This research aims to seek ways to enhance the ability of language learners to acquire more native-like pronunciation by the aid of their musical intelligence which is almost an innate ability in everyone. Keywords: Teaching, English & Pronounciatio

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING THROUGH THE CULTURE OF LEARNER’S INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE

The concern on learners’ competence to communicate in English culturally has been attaining multitude attention within attention to make learner be able to communicate effectively in English as part of the international society while learners have limited conceptualization upon cultural issues. On the other hand, the indigenous language(s) is also threatened by the improvement of interests and practices of learning English. Learners, along with the language policy in education, tend to move aside or to give less attention onto the indigenous languages and give more to English. Departed from the purpose of improving learners’ cultural understanding in English and at the same time to encourage the existence of indigenous language, this paper presents language cultural background of English compared with Javanese and Sasak Languages by employing contrastive analysis and ethnography study

Can you teach me to speak? Oral practice and anxiety in a language MOOC

The present chapter examines learners’ beliefs and attitudes with regard to speaking in a learning environment that is neither formal nor informal. The main research question is whether learners perceive Massive Open Online Language Courses (LMOOCs) as a completely informal context that is free of anxiety or rather as a virtual classroom where Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLA) (Horowitz et al., 1986) is present. Data was obtained from over 200 beginner learners on self-reflective questionnaires and forum discussions. Results indicate that learners have a positive attitude towards language learning on LMOOCs, but FLA is present in this asynchronous speaking environment too and needs to be addressed by the course instructors