Although proficiency in vocabulary has long been recognized as basic to reading proficiency, there has been a paucity of research on vocabulary teaching and learning over the last two decades. Recognizing this, the U.S. Department of Education recently sponsored a Focus on Vocabulary conference that attracted the best-known and most active researchers in the vocabulary field. This book is the outgrowth of that conference. It presents scientific evidence from leading research programs that address persistent issues regarding the role of vocabulary in text comprehension. Part I examines how vocabulary is learned; Part II presents instructional interventions that enhance vocabulary; and Part III looks at which words to choose for vocabulary instruction.
This text introduces teachers to research methods they can use to examine their own classrooms in order to become more effective teachers. Becoming familiar with classroom-based research methods not only enables teachers to do research in their own classrooms, it also provides a basis for assessing the findings of existing research. McKay emphasizes throughout that what a teacher chooses to examine will dictate which method is most effective. Each chapter includes activities to help readers apply the methods described in the chapter, often by analyzing research data.
This volume presents a range of views about language, learning, and teaching in English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Its purpose is to go beyond individual cases and practices to examine the approaches and ideas on which they are based. The aim is for readers to adopt an analytical stance toward the field and to identify current perspectives in ESP and the ideas driving them. Ideas and Options in English for Specific Purposes does not promote any one approach, but rather identifies and illustrates those in evidence today. The main emphasis is on the links between theory and ESP teaching and research. Ideas from linguistics, sociolinguistics, education, SLA, and social theories are described.
The time is right for this comprehensive, state-of-the-art Handbook that analyzes, integrates, and summarizes theoretical advances and research findings on adult development and learning - a rapidly growing field reflecting demographic shifts toward an aging population in Western societies. Featuring contributions from prominent scholars across diverse disciplinary fields (education, developmental psychology, public policy, gerontology, neurology, public health, sociology, family studies, and adult education), the volume is organized around six themes:
* Theoretical Perspectives on Adult Development and Learning
* Research Methods in Adult Development
* Research on Adult Development
* Research on Adult Learning
* Aging and Gerontological Research
* Policy Perspectives on Aging
The Handbook is an essential reference for researchers, faculty, graduate students and practitioners whose work pertains to adult and lifespan development and learning.
Sampling in educat ional research is generally conducted in order to permit the det ai led study of part, rather than the whole, of a popu lation. The information derived from the resulting sa mple is customarily employed to develop usefu l genera liz ations about the popu lation. These genera lizations may be in the form of estimates of one or more characteristics associated w ith the population, or they may be concerned with estimates of the strength of relation ships between characteristics wit hin the populat ion.
Although proficiency in vocabulary has long been recognized as basic to reading proficiency, there has been a paucity of research on vocabulary teaching and learning over the last two decades. Recognizing this, the U.S. Department of Education recently sponsored a Focus on Vocabulary conference that attracted the best-known and most active researchers in the vocabulary field. This book is the outgrowth of that conference. It presents scientific evidence from leading research programs that address persistent issues regarding the role of vocabulary in text comprehension. Part I examines how vocabulary is learned; Part II presents instructional interventions that enhance vocabulary; and Part III looks at which words to choose for vocabulary instruction.
