With the recent emphasis on evaluating teachers' effectiveness by the performance of their students, it should be no surprise that this subject has reached the physical education (PE) sector. This commentary examines 3 articles by Rink (2013), McKenzie and Lounsbery (2013), and Ward (2013), who each take a different perspective on measuring…

This article contributes to the understanding of children's perspectives by summarizing and comparing the thematic results of oral histories of Eastern European and German survivors of World War II and Afghan survivors of the post-1979 Afghanistan armed conflict. Twenty-seven participants in this study shared their memories of learning during each…

This paper analyzes each of three different plans of reading instruction and raises questions regarding these individual plans of teaching reading. The paper first discusses state standards and the reading curriculum and whether state-mandated testing improves the reading curriculum. In contrast to state-mandated testing, it then considers…

Application of cybernetic laws and information processing principles suggests that traditional and modern teaching methods are radically incompatible, in the sense that techniques developed in the one cannot be transferred to the other without dislocation of the system as a whole. (Author/WBC)

Most educators advocate cooperative learning in the curriculum. Heterogeneous grouping is also recommended so that students with mixed achievement levels work in a committee setting. Cooperative endeavors stress democracy as a way of life, according to many educators, as compared to competition in the classroom. This paper examines the philosophy…

Examines traditional techniques for teaching second-language vocabulary and compares them with the use of language games for vocabulary presentation and revision to determine which approach is more successful. (Author/VWL)

The relative influence of cultural insights, first language skills, and purely cognitive or linguistic factors in successful second-language learning is discussed. The teacher is encouraged to reflect on the value of and experiment with providing cultural background to language acquisition. (MSE)

The first version of Suggestopedia, developed in the 1960s and early 1970s, is compared with the second version, developed in the mid-1970s at the same institute and favored over the first by director Georgi Lozanov. Focus is on differences in the versions, particularly integration of the arts into the second version. First, Lozanov's writings…

Characteristics of the foreign language teacher, student, and classroom are compared with corresponding characteristics of the music teacher, student, and classroom to suggest parallels between the two disciplines. It is suggested that second language learning would be enhanced by adopting some techniques of music instruction, such as warming up…

In recent years a variety of conceptions of the meaning of "communicative" in language teaching materials has arisen. One study defines a communicative exercise as one that has a student use a form rather than merely practice it. Another, applicable only to intermediate or advanced level students, asserts that natural language use involves an…

The relationship between the teaching of grammar and the acquisition of communicative competence is examined, and it is concluded that, contrary to some arguments, there is a definite correlation between grammatical accuracy and efficient communication. (MSE)

A college psychology teacher enamored of instructional technology examines what techniques and applications have worked, which ones have not worked well, and what might work with some modification. Topics include various audiovisual aids, strategies for designing instructional materials, and creation of new forms for computer-enhanced classroom…

Reviews literature on cross-cultural reading, interlanguage, and story grammar against the theory of contrastive rhetoric, and considers implications for teaching reading to advanced second language students. The conclusion is that comparative rhetoric demands levels of cultural sensitivity in teachers that transcend any one theory or approach.…

Differences in the kinds of knowledge validation processes, truth criteria, and other factors associated with knowledge production are presented for five disciplines (physics, engineering, psychology, education, and English literature), and implications for improving instruction are examined. It is concluded that faculty must understand the…

Presents the idea of using electronic mail between classes in different parts of the world. Compares the advantages and disadvantages of using e-mail to those of regular pen-pal programs and reports the author's own experience in using e-mail in the classroom setting. (Author/VWL)