xperiences.
The use of exposure without instruction technique is implemented during storybook reading. Most teachers combine this instructional technique with some direct instruction to enhance the effectiveness of the storybook session. Before reading the book, the teacher will connect the content of the storybook to the students' previous experiences. Using both the first language and English, the teacher will initiate an oral discussion by posing questions that are related to the book. Students are encouraged to speak in full sentences in either language. Sentences provided in the first language are translated to English. Some sentences may be written on the blackboard to help the students associate the sounds of the words to the text. Throughout the reading of the text, the teacher matches her reading to the print and provides opportunities for the students to guess the meanings of words and text. Students are corrected when they do not guess the meanings of the words from the text. Thus, there is a balance between direct exposure to the language and direct instruction (Araujo, 2002, p. 234).
While young secondary language learners may not be able to produce fluent writing, they can learn how to use writing strategies by experimenting with their writing (Han & Ernst-Slavit, 1999; Huss, 1995). During the journaling session, the teacher offers a general instruction to write about their favorite stories or activities. Moreover, she does not correct the students for inaccuracies in their writing nor does she model the correct versions. The students are thus encouraged to test their own knowledge of the English language and try out different writing strategies. Without direct instruction from their teacher, these children learn to rely on their knowledge of the English language to spell out unfamiliar words using invented spellings based on the correspondence of letters to sounds, copy words from the books and seek...