This article describes a qualitative research project that examined pen pal letters exchanged between children in Virginia, USA, and Malawi in Sub-Saharan Africa. The goal was to study the nature of communication between students living in these two very different cultural contexts. The results of this study indicated that there were three primary…

Describes a year-long study in a whole-language classroom of second-grade students' use of gendered language during informal interactions in writers' workshop. Points out the importance of intent in the process of communication. (SR)

Discusses reading as a culturally conditioned and situationally sensitive activity. (FL)

Reports research which shows that a wide gap exists between basal reader language and children's level of oral language development. (JM)

Basal readers are supposed to be easy for children to read, but sometimes their language is so unnatural that it's more confusing than helpful. (MKM)