Based on eight months of observation in Japanese classrooms, this book describes a Japanese technique of writing instruction, called "seikatsu tsuzurikata" (life experience composition), and shows how it can be successfully incorporated into American classrooms. A foreword by Kenneth S. Goodman focuses on the technique's importance both…

A technique for teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) that requires students to write relatively simple English in large volume has been successful in developing both language skills and self-confidence. Students rewrite stories to reflect situations and conditions different from those in the original telling; for example, by changing the…

A study at the University of Aizu (Japan) investigated characteristics of technical writing assignments composed in English as a second language on computer workstations and by hand. The in-class workstation essays and hand-written essays of 24 students revealed that while all were of similar overall quality, the workstation essays were not as…

Composition instruction in Japan's two-year colleges must build on the English learned in earlier education and undo the problems created by the grammar-translation method. In addition, it must often develop creativity and critical-thinking skills not commonly taught in the Japanese educational system. One teacher's approach is to stress…

A two-semester course in English composition offered in a Japanese university is described. The course is designed to transition students from minimal skills in communicative writing at program entry to a course in field-specific technical writing by exposing students to several writing genres. Key activities of the course include pre- and…

This volume is a collection of papers focused on a single theme, cooperative learning, written by classroom teachers of varying experience levels. This book introduces cooperative learning and gives examples of cooperative learning activities, units, and systems created by teachers in Japan, The United States, and Canada, who are currently using…