Keith S. Folse

The Effect of Type of Written Exercise on L2 Vocabulary Retention.

The present study used a within-subjects design to examine the effect of the type of written exercise on L2 vocabulary retention. Using input for the meaning and usage of the new words from a specially prepared minidictionary, university intensive English program students (n = 154) practiced target vocabulary in three types of written exercises conditions: one fill-in-the-blank exercise, three fill-in-the-blank exercises, and one original-sentence-writing exercise. An unannounced posttest using a modified version of the vocabulary knowledge scale tested the meaning of the word (L1 translation or L2 synonym) and usage of the word in a student-written sentence. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed that mean scores for the three exercise types were significantly different from each other, with words practiced under the three fill-in-the-blank exercises condition retained much better than those practiced under either of the other two exercise conditions. The findings suggest the important feature of a given L2 vocabulary exercise is not depth of word processing but number of word retrievals required. This result has implications for language teachers, curriculum designers, and, in particular, materials writers of traditional workbooks and CALL materials.

Workbook for Keys to Teaching Grammar to English Language Learners, Second Ed.

This is the resource for teaching grammar to English language learners. Todays classrooms - regardless of setting - include students for whom English is not their first language. This book was written for teachers in K-12 settings and higher education settings who have English language learners in their classrooms or who teach ESL courses.This practical guidebook is not intended to be an exhaustive reference book about ELL grammar. This book teaches the most common ELL grammar points in an accessible way; grammar terminology is limited. The presentation of each of the 15 keys (grammar points) features information on typical ELL errors, an accessible grammar explanation including examples of common ELL mistakes, a native language interference chart, and ideas for teaching the grammar point.An accompanying workbook (written with Ekaterina V. Goussakova) provides opportunities to practice the grammar taught in the handbook.