Offers a writing exercise, based on a comic-strip theme, that teachers can use to relieve tensions between them and their students while developing students' expressive writing skills. (RL)

Uses trademarks that are calculated misspellings, bumper sticker slogans, the strained and pretentious language of Howard Cosell, and governmental jargon to illustrate how to attune students to the magic and power of language, while poking fun at language abuse. (RL)

In this inquiry study, teachers will explore the concept of English Language Learning and its implications for classrooms. Individually and in small groups, teachers will have opportunities to read, talk, and reflect about current issues regarding linguistic diversity in classrooms and schools, including bilingual/multilingual, ESL, and language…

Spanish language teachers are encouraged to introduce popular sayings, figures of speech, and proverbs into the language curriculum, both as a means of maintaining the usage of the expressions and to bring variety to the language taught. Definitions, characteristics, origins, and general uses of such expressions are outlined. Some of the most…

The Learning Cycle, a popular medium for teaching science lessons, can be used to teach a language arts lesson on acronyms, an appropriate skill topic for students in grades four through six. Acronyms are fascinating words that can challenge students to solve the puzzle of what the letters stand for. The three-phase Learning Cycle arranges…

Presents responses from 22 teachers on activities used to increase student awareness of language usage and language patterns and to heighten student appreciation for specific works of literature. (RL)

A technique for helping English-as-a-Second-Language students learn to write accurate paraphrases and summaries, free from personal interpretation, is described. Students first read, in pairs, a paragraph that has a main idea and requires some inferential thinking, especially about the tone and/or purpose. After a specific period of time, students…

Every day in so many ways, children are surrounded by language: from the language of home and family, to the never-ending bombardment of environmental print, to the clash between school admonitions to use "standard" English and their peer groups' specialized and invented speech. According to the author of this book, students love to…

Presents a compilation of various language usage programs as they relate to establishing and maintaining discipline in the classroom. (FL)

Designed to be a resource for the myriad K-12 teachers who wonder what to do about grammar--how to teach it, how to apply it, how to learn what they themselves were never taught---this book offers an informal, hands-on approach to grammar in the classroom. The book presents teachers with ways to negotiate the often conflicting goals of testing,…

The problem of teaching the use of the verbs "ser" and "estar" in Spanish can be only partially addressed by current linguistic explanations. In the absence of rules that will enable the student to predict correct sentences using the verbs, the most effective teaching technique is to use a situational-functional approach providing students with…

This article looks at question forms in everyday language usage from a functional point of view. Question forms are used more often in classrooms than in other situations. The advantages and disadvantages of exploiting question forms in the language classroom are examined. (CLK)

A variety of formats for writing news articles and announcements on a variety of common topics (current events, cultural events, sports, surveys, interviews, travelogs, and classified advertising) is presented in fill-in-the-blank form. Suggestions are offered for using these formats to teach French usage at all levels. (MSE)

Some features of "persuasion dialogue" are examined, and suggestions are offered for ways in which persuasion might be used as a topic in the language class to stimulate the use of realistic language through appropriate role playing. Three dialogues are presented that illustrate different kinds of persuasion. (SW)

This practical guide aims to present a miscue analysis workshop in a book, to offer a teacher-friendly account of the "whys and hows" of the topic. The guide demonstrates that the teacher can do miscue analysis every day with every student reading any book through the use of an "Over the Shoulder Procedure." Teachers will not only be able to…