The emphasis on 21st century learning practices in Australia has led to a paradox of concerns in the field of teaching. This paper examines dual deficiencies related to teaching film in the subject of English; being the lack of contextualisation and authenticity in traditional modes of film study, and the widening gulf between teachers and…

This document presents the proceedings of the 27th Annual Research Forum held June 29, 2023, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included are the following fifteen action research papers: (1) The Effects of Real-World Mathematics Activities on High School Students' Attitudes (Alexa Altizer); (2) An Investigation of the…

Grammar is "a system of rules governing the conventional arrangement and relationship of words in a sentence" (Brown 1994) which can facilitate the acquisition of a foreign language and is conducive for cultivating comprehensive language competence. Most teachers regard grammar as a frame of English learning. The grammar teaching beliefs…

In this article, the author reflects on keynotes by Debra Myhill and Wayne Sawyer in a search for ways with grammar. One of the keynote speakers, Debra Myhill, shared her research into teaching grammar that she had conducted in the UK. Myhill had asked a sample of teachers to follow a specified unit plan and had conducted pre- and post-testing to…

Traditional grammar instruction is a challenging element of the English curriculum; both students and teachers struggle with the rules and dull nature of grammar. However, understanding grammar is important because students need to understand the language they speak in order to be effective communicators, and teachers provide grammar instruction…

The ways in which literacy in English is taught in school generally subscribe to and perpetuate the notion of a homogenous, unvaried set of writing conventions associated with the language they represent, especially in relation to spelling and punctuation as well as grammar. Such teaching also perpetuates the myth that there is one…

Schools nationwide are transitioning to the Common Core--our advice to you: Be prepared, but don't go it alone! Our new book, "Common Core Literacy Lesson Plans: Ready-to-Use Resources, 9-12," shows you that teaching the Common Core State Standards in high school doesn't have to be intimidating! This easy-to-use guide meets the particular needs of…

Taking a close look at multimodal composing as an essential new literacy in schools, this volume draws from contextualized case studies across educational contexts to provide detailed portraits of teachers and students at work in classrooms. Authors elaborate key issues in transforming classrooms with student multimodal composing, including…

The paper reports on a research study investigating the professional identity of English teachers in the secondary school in the UK, and the effects of their subject philosophies and their conceptions of learning on their teaching. The various and often competing definitions of the subject have a long history, and a number of factors have been…

Various studies revealed the ineffectiveness of direct grammar instruction to produce better writers. However, a high school teacher finds that explaining grammar rules provides students with tools for building complex thoughts and expressing themselves more elaborately.

The purpose of this study was to examine the language ideologies--the assumptions about the nature of language, language variation, and language learning--reflected in a widespread daily editing activity often known as Daily Oral Language or Daily Language Practice. Through a yearlong ethnographic study of grammar instruction in three urban,…

Following the publication of an article summarising two systematic reviews on whether the teaching of grammar is effective in improving 5-16 year olds' writing (Andrews et al, 2006), the present article reflects on the relationship between knowledge about language and knowledge about grammar. It argues that there is no evidence for the assumption…

This paper describes two attempts to introduce grammar teaching into New Zealand schools. The first case study describes the work of the 6th and 7th form English Syllabus Committee in the 1980s which proposed the uniquely New Zealand solution of using examples from Maori as well as from English to demonstrate grammatical points. The response to…

This document is a compilation of the four issues in the 23rd volume of "Classroom Notes Plus." Each issue of "Classroom Notes Plus" contains descriptions of original, unpublished teaching practices, and of adapted ideas. The August 2005 (v23 n1) issue includes: Sharing Responses to Literature via Exit Slips (Barb Wagner); Letting Learners Teach…