BRIDGING DISCOURSES IN THE ESL CLASSROOM: STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND RESEARCHERS.Pauline Gibbons.

BRIDGING DISCOURSES IN THE ESL CLASSROOM: STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND RESEARCHERS.Pauline Gibbons. New York: Continuum, 2006. Pp. 256. $60.00 paper.In English-speaking countries with large numbers of immigrants, like the United States and Australia, children from non-English-speaking families are very likely to encounter difficulties in learning English and content knowledge simultaneously. In particular, one of the greatest challenges for English as a second language (ESL) children lies in their tendency to use everyday language (i.e., language acquired in informal situations, such as playing) in academic settings. Gibbons work presents a research project that examines real-life content-based classroom interactions in which ESL childrens English and content knowledge learning are facilitated. It makes an invaluable contribution to the effort to help ESL learners make a successful transition from everyday informal language to specialized academic registers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]