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Learning using mobile devices also known as mLearning is the current buzz word in the present debates over the use of technology in education. Although mLearning has a high prospect for future education, it is yet to be

An examination of the play situations in which children are successful in learning second languages was undertaken based on observations that children in foreign language settings learn languages quickly in the process of daily play activities. A wide variety of activities were examined, including play phone conversations, soccer, elastic rope jumping, card and board games, role playing, and object-based fantasy. Structural elements examined include play with minimal language, contextualized formulae, turn exchanges, gestural support, imitation, explicit instruction, role assignment, and arguments. It was found that: (1) in different types of games children appear to routinely use their activity knowledge as if there were no language barrier; (2) language use differs considerably in various activities; (3) factors seeming to facilitate learning were redundancy with action that made words meaningful, availability of simple models to copy, and cooperative attitudes by the partner that led to instruction or willingness to interpret the learner's tries; (4) the foundation for children's language learning through play is their prior knowledge of the activity structure of the general game type, or in complex games, the specific game; and (5) the language learned in games varies in complexity, with the easiest to learn consisting of syntactically simple, highly repetitive formulae, and with the social success and sense of participation through the language acting as other benefits. (Author/MSE)

Over the last two years, the University of Urbino, Italy, has been implementing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) courses in English across all disciplines. This study focuses on the online self-study CLIL scaffolding designed to help students involve in an Internationalization Project to build academic language and content-specific vocabulary autonomously. Within a CLIL counterbalanced instructional framework, which integrates content-based and form-focused instruction as advocated by Lyster (2007), learners' awareness and acquisition of English academic language and subject-specific terminology have been promoted by means of online course-tailored activities delivered through self-access materials. The profile of the 21st century digital-age university learner has had a deep impact on the instructional design of the online CLIL learning environment implemented. Noticeably, the online self-study materials have been created using corpus- and web-based tools aimed to cater to CLIL learners' cognitive, subject-specific, and language needs. Activities have been set up to engage learners in active learning and to trigger students' self-directed learning processes effectively. Online out-of-class academic and content language scaffolding, informed by sound foreign language acquisition research and pedagogy, have been enhanced. [For the complete volume, see ED574893.]

Students who learn English as a foreign language (EFL) or English as a second language (ESL) often struggle with limited vocabulary and poor reading comprehension skills. This action research explores the effectiveness of implementing scaffolding instruction for university level EFL/ESL students in improving their language learning skills, namely critical reading, and study skills for reading. A sample of 36 foundation year students was involved in two cycles of intervention. Triangulation of data collection was done after each cycle through student survey (SS), language learning assessment (LLA) tasks and an observation checklist to measure the impact of the proposed practice on the improvement in the participants’ learning. The scaffolding techniques used were soft versus hard (support provided only till needed), chunking (breaking down information), modelling (giving clear examples), bridging (using prior knowledge) and contextualizing (making connections). Both the quantitative and qualitative data revealed that scaffolding instruction significantly improved the participants’ language learning skills. For sustainable education, the findings emphasize the importance of conducting scaffolding instruction in small groups, assigning pre-planned and well-structured tasks with clear instructions, and providing scaffolding ‘as and when needed’ especially in a mixed ability group of EFL/ESL students.

This book presents six essays that explain where the educational term "scaffolding" comes from and what it means, then journeys into classrooms that demonstrate effective scaffolding in practice. In the process, it shows that "content" cannot be taught apart from the language about that content. The essays in the book are also about the role of language in learning, and about language and literacy education in the context of schooling. Essays in the book are: (1) "What Is Scaffolding?" (Jennifer Hammond and Pauline Gibbons); (2) "Scaffolding and Language" (Jennifer Hammond); (3) "Scaffolding in Action: Snapshots from the Classroom" (Tina Sharpe); (4) "Scaffolding Oral Language: 'The Hungry Giant' Retold" (Bronwyn Dansie); (5) "Mind in the Classroom" (Pauline Jones); and (6)"Learning about Language: Scaffolding in ESL Classrooms (Brian Dare and John Polias). An Afterword discusses further questions and a 17-item glossary is attached. (RS)

This book presents six essays that explain where the educational term "scaffolding" comes from and what it means, then journeys into classrooms that demonstrate effective scaffolding in practice. In the process, it shows that "content" cannot be taught apart from the language about that content. The essays in the book are also about the role of language in learning, and about language and literacy education in the context of schooling. Essays in the book are: (1) "What Is Scaffolding?" (Jennifer Hammond and Pauline Gibbons); (2) "Scaffolding and Language" (Jennifer Hammond); (3) "Scaffolding in Action: Snapshots from the Classroom" (Tina Sharpe); (4) "Scaffolding Oral Language: 'The Hungry Giant' Retold" (Bronwyn Dansie); (5) "Mind in the Classroom" (Pauline Jones); and (6)"Learning about Language: Scaffolding in ESL Classrooms (Brian Dare and John Polias). An Afterword discusses further questions and a 17-item glossary is attached. (RS)

Given the fact that more and more universities stress on using English as medium to teach students with diverse backgrounds, the content and language integrated learning approach (CLIL) is now frequently introduced to faculty to support effective instruction and learning. Inspired by a CLIL workshop I attended, in which the instructor offered an overview of the framework and guidelines, this reflection paper discusses perceived local challenges in Taiwan (e.g., cultural barriers, limited time and resources for planning and assessment). To resolve these challenges, this paper proposes a scaffolding design of using wikis (in light of their collaborative and evolving nature to support participatory, constructive, and self-directed learning) in a local classroom. The findings from an initial implementation will be discussed in the presentation. [For the full proceedings see ED557181.]

Teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) can represent a challenge for any educator, even those with vast teaching experience. Adequate support, to make sure they can successfully access the content knowledge as they acquire the target language becomes essential during the planning and delivery stages especially for level 1 ELLs. For this to be done successfully, teachers must not only be cognizant of what their students need but also have a clear idea of how to teach them. In this sense, scaffolding of all learning activities may have a huge impact on the outcome. This workshop presents a lesson plan geared towards Kindergarten and first grade classroom teachers who work with level 1 ELLs. It has been designed to demonstrate the instructional delivery of a lesson plan with different scaffolds for Level 1 ELLs as they also learn the content knowledge. Teachers will participate as students so that they can use and experience the different scaffolds provided to facilitate the learning process. The ultimate goal of this workshop is to provide teachers with scaffolding strategies that they can later incorporate in their daily practice when planning and delivering their lessons for English Language learners.

Teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) can represent a challenge for any educator, even those with vast teaching experience. Adequate support, to make sure they can successfully access the content knowledge as they acquire the target language becomes essential during the planning and delivery stages especially for level 1 ELLs. For this to be done successfully, teachers must not only be cognizant of what their students need but also have a clear idea of how to teach them. In this sense, scaffolding of all learning activities may have a huge impact on the outcome. This workshop presents a lesson plan geared towards Kindergarten and first grade classroom teachers who work with level 1 ELLs. It has been designed to demonstrate the instructional delivery of a lesson plan with different scaffolds for Level 1 ELLs as they also learn the content knowledge. Teachers will participate as students so that they can use and experience the different scaffolds provided to facilitate the learning process. The ultimate goal of this workshop is to provide teachers with scaffolding strategies that they can later incorporate in their daily practice when planning and delivering their lessons for English Language learners.

In this early part of the 21st century, information communication technology (ICT) has become integral part of language learning and teaching, and the ways ICT is being used in classrooms all over the world have become diverse and central to language practice. This is the time when digital tools and technologies have become normal in daily life, but not so much in the world of education. However, digital tools have long been used in the world of education, and particularly language teaching. Central in the field of computer assisted language learning (CALL), digital tools or ICT tools form a core part of English language teaching. This paper attempts to describe how ICT can be utilized to aid a learner in the acquisition of English language. The paper also explores innovative approaches that can be put in place by the teachers in English language teaching to meet the needs of a modern generation of English Language learners who are exposed to an increasingly globalised world.

In this early part of the 21st century, information communication technology (ICT) has become integral part of language learning and teaching, and the ways ICT is being used in classrooms all over the world have become diverse and central to language practice. This is the time when digital tools and technologies have become normal in daily life, but not so much in the world of education. However, digital tools have long been used in the world of education, and particularly language teaching. Central in the field of computer assisted language learning (CALL), digital tools or ICT tools form a core part of English language teaching. This paper attempts to describe how ICT can be utilized to aid a learner in the acquisition of English language. The paper also explores innovative approaches that can be put in place by the teachers in English language teaching to meet the needs of a modern generation of English Language learners who are exposed to an increasingly globalised world.