The authors present adaptability as an important component of reading teacher effectiveness. They demonstrate recent conceptions of teacher effectiveness that value the complexity and unpredictability of classroom instruction. Using an example from a middle grades classroom, they illustrate how effective teachers adapt their instruction to enhance…

This paper will provide a review of research--regarding explicit grammar instruction--that groups recent studies into three main categories and then sub-categorizes these studies under key terms in second language acquisition (SLA) research. The overall purpose of this paper is to argue that in light of these issues, recent studies have shown that…

First, the author briefly outlines genre theory and sets out some broad definitions of genre. She also discusses how genre knowledge is acquired and how it has been taught in ESP and EAP. Following this, she highlights two challenges to using this pedagogy in a general EFL class. Finally, she argues that despite these challenges, teachers can…

English language arts classrooms are especially rich sites for both explicit and implicit collaborations among those who inhabit those spaces. In these venues, Bakhtinian "heteroglot voices" (Bakhtin 278) saturate the oral and written discourse that students produce as they engage in discussions and as they write in a wide variety of genres,…

Based on the various metaphors we use to describe the work of teaching, high school teacher Jeremiah Hill articulates a new model--the teacher as creative professional. Hill urges educators to transform the "culture of teaching" by moving away from traditional expectations for classes and embracing connections that we discover among disciplines.

This paper calls attention to the vital need to reexamine the role of the students' first language in foreign language teaching. It provides a brief snapshot of the views concerning L1 use in L2 classes put forward by different methodological schools of thought over the last century. Through the presentation of potential uses of the first…

Examines the notion that much of what is taught in English classes is irrelevant to the challenges faced by today's students. Questions whether literary study serves students needing literacies outside the school. Considers the social context of literacy. Reconceives English instruction to provide relevant literacy skills. (HB)

The purpose of this study was to determine the critical and pedagogical emphases of professionally superior high school literature teachers. Almost 100 reportedly effective lesson plans (submitted by 63 teachers) were evaluated by the use of a classification scale which was established from five conceptions of literature identified in professional…