This text examines sociopolitical, economic, familial, and educational agendas that influence attainment of second language literacy. This book examines the sociopolitical, economic, familial, and educational agendas that influence an immigrant's attainment of literacy in a new language. Each agenda is introduced through illuminating case studies drawn from research in North America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The book addresses teachers and teachers-in-training involved in second language education, whether their students are in special language classes, bilingual education, or...

Globalization, migration and the spread of English have resulted in a diversity of social and educational contexts in which English learning is taking place. The premiss of this book is that because English is an international language, effective pedagogical decisions cannot be made without taking this into account.

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.

*Chapter I,...