In this article, a team of university-based researchers and ESL teachers describes how English learners in a high school responded to Poetry Inside Out -- a poetry -- and translation-based literacy curriculum.

Shakespeare molded language to meet his needs. Can students learn from his example? In this article, the author suggests studying Shakespeare's creative use of functional shift, spelling, and vocabulary to help students develop greater control of their own writing. The author is advocating that teachers approach Shakespeare as descriptive…

One of the most persistent challenges facing teachers is the need to provide effective literacy instruction for adolescent English language learners (ELLs). The literacy crisis for these students is a compelling one; only 4% of eighth-grade ELLs scored at the proficient or advanced level on the reading portion of the 2005 National Assessment for…

English teachers face myriad demands every day that include not only helping students read literature in interesting and engaging ways but also attending to the needs of students challenged by the demands of more complex and sophisticated texts. Vocabulary learning is at the heart of this struggle for many students, especially for English language…

"Research for the Classroom" publishes mini-studies of ELA classroom practices and suggests ways in which high school and middle school English teachers may study the effectiveness of their pedagogy. The author of this mini-study notes that it takes around six minutes per day of instructional time for students to remember most of the…

Four doctoral students and their professor contemplate the value of play in their high school and college classrooms. They discuss their experiences teaching children's books, student illustrations, and excerpts from magazines and newspapers that convey the intricacies of the English language through homonyms, homophones, homographs, and polysemy.…

Reports on the visit to Japan of a 60-year-old man who had last been there over 40 years ago. Relates several amusing anecdotes about language fluency and Japanese customs, mostly based on the changes a language undergoes in the passage of many years and the importance of an up-to-date vocabulary. (NKA)

When thinking about teaching vocabulary, what typically first comes to mind is having students learn new words or learn strategies for inferring the meanings of unfamiliar words, such as analyzing context clues or studying affixes and roots. Another aspect of teaching vocabulary is enriching students' understanding of words or concepts for which…

A teacher initiates and successfully develops a new method for increasing the vocabulary of eighth grade students. The new method abandons rote-memory techniques for a method which allows the students to choose the words they will learn while participating in the teaching of the new vocabulary. (LF)

Within the walls of their classroom, high school teacher Sandra Whitaker and students take on the challenge of language acquisition. They play with morphemes and etymologies and examine how authors craft meaning. Whitaker observes that it is possible for students to "learn more words than teachers can teach directly."

Describes how one high school English teacher uses puns on a regular basis to augment his vocabulary reviews. Argues that doing so aids in developing students' vocabulary, since it compels students to pay closer attention and gives many students a chance to display their creative-thinking skills. (SR)

Shows how Spanish may be used in the language arts classroom through vocabulary study, etymological study, literature translation, and the study of both language borrowing and code-switching in writing. (DD)

Ideally, one's talk segues into ways the precision of crafted phrases or stylized sentences amplifies messages, sharpens concerns, or frames praise. People pursue how words and their selective combinations illuminate and illustrate, persuade and perplex. For many, this intricate puzzle with language is a frolic, simple wordplay. In this article,…

Stacey Brown energizes high school students with "brain-twisting" writing prompts, word games to hone vocabulary and spelling skills, and art to show complex ideas. Additionally, reading aloud to her class models fluent reading, expands students' vocabularies, builds community, and stimulates student-led discussions about the novel. (Contains 1…

Explains several techniques for improving students' vocabulary through increasing their interest in and sensitivity to language. (JL)