Beginning teachers typically enter schools feeling like foreigners, coping often with the jolting disorientation of not knowing where to find basic things such as restrooms, copiers, and mailboxes. They also struggle to pick up on the routines that others seem to have mastered with ease. At the same time, the culture and territory of US schools…

Several issues make standardized assessment of ELLs a challenge and the information provided by these assessments unreliable. However, as educators, they do need to know how students are doing, what gains they are making, where gaps in their understanding exist, and what types of instructional strategies and topics need to be introduced to…

At 12:30 p.m. on December 8, 1941, in front of a joint session of Congress, one day after Japanese planes struck Pearl Harbor and killed 2,402 Americans, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared December 7 a date that would live in infamy. He spoke of rage and betrayal, hardships and determination. Thirty-three minutes after he finished…

Today, teachers and administrators are continuing to recognize that learning is a social function, and that students do indeed learn better when working with others. The author agrees with this concept, but she wants to sigh deeply when she hears of one more person or company who has marketed the best approach to collaboration in the classroom. In…

The author's late son Greg, who became known as Stephan Sure, started life as a teacher's and parent's dream. Not so much because he "behaved well" but because he was a natural wordsmith. Stephan's knack for clever language was visible through the years in crisp repartee and hilarious storytelling, but his secret life as a writer didn't fully…

Consistent with National Council of Teachers of English's (NCTE's) commitment to establishing and maintaining equitable school practices, this resolution builds on the 2010 NCTE Resolution on Social Justice in Literacy Education--in particular, the efforts to support teaching about "social injustice and discrimination in all its forms." NCTE urge…

After two years of teaching English, history, and wilderness survival in the Inupiaq Eskimo village of Wales, Alaska, the author moved in Brazil to teach English and Theory of Knowledge in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. His four years of experience at the International School of Curitiba have confirmed his belief that…

In this article, the author discusses that there is an abundance of quality LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) literature for young adults, filled with complexly rendered and experiences that mirror the often difficult and often exciting lives that young LGBT people live today. English language arts teachers work in a genuinely new and…

Cites examples of recent changes in language and suggests what forces are at work to produce language change. (DD)

English in schools is a productive curriculum space for young people to learn about sexuality, to develop a sense of their identity as sexual beings, and to understand the importance of equality and social justice. Drawing on John Dixon's theory of "personal growth," the author (a British educator) explains how teachers' attitudes about learning…

Provides examples of ways in which the linguistic environment is constantly changing. (DD)

Finds confirmation of the humanizing influence of language in anthropological and linguistic studies, in creation myths, and in the lives of individuals such as Anne Frank and Helen Keller. Sees in George Orwell's "1984" and Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" examples of the dehumanization created by empty or deceptive…

Argues against bilingual education in the United States, asserting that the English language binds together a multicultural people. Claims that the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 is divisive, and that immigrants now have greater difficulty assimilating to American life because they can avoid learning English. (MM)

Describes a movement in Japan that is taking English teaching from an out-of-context grammar and vocabulary emphasis to a conversational and contextual emphasis. Shows specific approaches that feature student-centered work as opposed to teacher-imposed exercises. (TB)

Provides examples of doublespeak which show that its use has increased since the Committee on Public Doublespeak was established 14 years ago. Points out that English teachers must teach respect for and love of language to instill in students a sense of outrage when they encounter doublespeak. (ARH)