The CATESOL Journal

This paper examines differences between first- and second-language reading strategies as well as differences between English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading strategies. Two versions of the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) (Sheorey and Mokhtari, 2001) were distributed to 396 learners of English. Two hundred sixty of the learners were studying EFL at the Centro Cultural Costarricense Norteamericano (CCCN) in San José, Costa Rica. The remaining 136 were studying in an ESL environment at the English Language Center (ELC) at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The first version of the SORS asked the respondents to answer the questions based on their use of metacognitive reading strategies in their L1. The second version asked them to respond to the questions based on their use of metacognitive reading strategies in their L2. Participants also completed a background questionnaire. Similarities and differences between learners’ use of reading strategies in their first and second languages as well as similarities and differences between the instructional environments are addressed. The results of this study provide helpful insights for teachers of reading to improve classroom instruction.

Research data consistently indicate that the coordinated use of reading strategies is a critical component of effective reading. This article synthesizes what is known about helping native and nonnative speakers of English become strategic readers. It also provides specific suggestions for delivering strategic instruction in multilingual and multicultural settings. Finally, the article gives concrete examples of authentic, meaning-centered ways to implement instructional strategies.

This article presents linguistic and applied psycholinguistics information that can help teachers teach Spanish literate ESL/EFL learners to read English more effectively. It describes the starting point, or the learner’s existing knowledge state, if the learner is a successful reader in Spanish. The knowledge and strategies for reading Spanish are outlined, a few of which transfer to English reading. It then describes the ending point, or the learner’s knowledge state that is necessary to be an expert English reader. The knowledge and low-level strategies for reading in English are not the same as those needed for Spanish reading; therefore the transition between literacy in Spanish and literacy in English may not proceed automatically. The article then briefly describes the learning stages that the Spanish-to-English learner traverses, and the implications for ESL/EFL methodology, curriculum, and materials.

This study was motivated by current interest in computer-assisted language learning and was undertaken specifically to investigate the question of whether hypertext referencing of computerized texts facilitates both foreign language reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. Advanced university-level EFL students in Israel participated in the study. Results of the repeated measures research design showed that neither of two on-line reading conditions with hypertext links (with access to hypertext glosses or with access to a hypertext dictionary) had a statistically significant advantage over the third on-line reading condition (with access to a paper dictionary) in terms of students’ overall reading comprehension or their short-term or delayed vocabulary retention. However, in both the on-line gloss and the on-line dictionary conditions, students looked up significantly greater numbers of words than in the paper dictionary condition. The results are discussed along with interview data showing students’ preferences for the on-line dictionary.

According to Eskey (1993, 2002), second language (L2) reading and writing teachers have a dual role: teaching reading and writing as sociocultural practice and as a psycholinguistic process. The former involves motivating students to read and write and the latter involves helping students to develop strategic competence. This article argues that Eskey’s views are relevant to the teaching of reading and writing using the Internet. The article describes the theoretical rationales for integrating instruction on the Internet into the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classroom and presents the pedagogical principles relied upon to integrate the Internet into the EAP classroom. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for the classroom.

This paper reports on a study investigating the literacy practices, attitudes, and uses of two groups of subjects: Chinese (n=35) and Korean (n=26); it examines the relationship between each group’s practices, attitudes, and uses and success in reading in a second language (English). Results of the research suggest: (a) literacy attitudes, practices, and uses can be seen to vary cross-culturally; (b) that cultural group appears to be a factor in determining attitudes about reading and reading behaviors; (c) differences in attitude, practice, and use in the first language have implications for literacy behavior in the second language; and (d) that second language reading success may be related to certain first language attitudes and behaviors that seem to be characteristic of the groups under study

In this piece, Weinstein describes her work with a program serving Cambodian families in Long Beach, CA. She begins by contrasting mastery versus constructivist orientations to curriculum and argues for a model for learner-centered teaching that integrates these two orientations. The model, which she calls Learners’ Lives as Curriculum, builds on the premise that teachers must listen for learner stories to discover the most pressing issues that will bring language learning to life. In this article, Weinstein illustrates how this model was applied to themes and issues identified by the Cambodian families with whom she worked. Finally, she proposes a model for connecting materials development with professional development, in family literacy or any other language or literacy program. Weinstein argues that teachers are also learners who benefit from communities of peers who solve problems together.

This paper explores a learner-centered approach to ESL instruction with immigrant workers. Staked in three different ESL contexts—community-college noncredit, union-based, and workplace settings—the authors discuss three components of the learner-centered approach: instructors taking an inquiring stance with their students, students’ lives and experiences as material for the class, and community-building in the classroom. They explore how this approach simultaneously works to enhance language learning as well as to provide the skills required to navigate and change for the better the power and cultural structures in which our students live and work. Specific classroom examples are given to illustrate the three components. Finally, common obstacles to this approach are discussed along with strategies for overcoming them.

This article proposes a process for building ESOL students’ capacity for engaged and active citizenship through which EL/civics classes serve as a venue for not just comprehending, but also critically examining, the systems we have. It draws on years of work with ESOL providers, the Equipped for the Future citizen/community member role map, and a theoretical framework that describes three kinds of citizens: personally responsible, participatory, and justice-oriented citizens. The process guides educators to approach every teaching context as having the potential to foster all three kinds of citizenship, and it encourages the exploration of possibilities at every level of English proficiency. It honors the lifetime of experience as community members that immigrants bring to each new civic task in this culture. The author lays out the process in a series of steps with specific suggestions for classroom activities and examples from teachers with whom she has worked.

This paper addresses the potential for integrating standards-based and learner-centered approaches to adult ESOL instruction. This paper contains a brief scenario of classroom teaching and assessment using the Equipped for the Future (EFF) approach to standards- based, learner-centered teaching and assessment. This is followed by a discussion of qualities that assessments should have so that they can provide useful information for educational improvement within an approach that is both learner-centered and standards-based. The paper also provides a sample of standards-based performance-level descriptions (using the EFF standard Listen Actively as an example) and describes how adult ESOL instructors might use a standards-based assessment framework such as the EFF standards and performance levels as a guide for learner-centered teaching and assessment.