Children with normal language development come to school at age four or five fluent in their home language. We spend another 12 years attempting to expand this linguistic competence into the sphere of literacy. In the early grades, instruction focuses on teaching students how to decode written text.
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With the fall ESOL conference season at an end, it's time to summarize some trends. This year, there were far fewer presentations on CD-ROM based tools like PowerPoint and far more sessions on online learning for language learning. What's hot right now? What should you watch out for? 
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Adult education ESOL instructors are all too familiar with the ongoing ebb and flow of students who pass through their classrooms. This article offers some strategies that programs can implement to address the persistence of their students.
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There is no "right" or "best" way to teach vocabulary. The best practice in any situation will depend on the type of student being taught, the words targeted, the school system and curriculum, and many other factors. A number of principles, however, should be considered when developing a vocabulary component to a language course.
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Conversations about grammar and grammar teaching never seem to go away. How much grammatical information do students need? Should grammar even be taught at all? This article summarizes discussions on ESL email lists and conversations I’ve had with teachers over the course of the fall of 2008—about the line between talking about grammar and using it. 
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