As a teacher of Bowling Green State University's English 3810, Grammar and Writing, the author is charged with teaching future language arts teachers how to teach grammar so that it actually helps their students become better writers and communicators. Because such teaching rejects the ineffective but time-honored drill-it-and-kill-it approach, in…

Reviews what recent research into speaking-writing relationships has to say about a particular problem of unskilled writers--those who tend to write as if they were talking. Examines the differences and interdependence of oral dialogue and written monologue. (RL)

Presents a (fictional) conversation between a college English professor and a graduate student in English who is something of a purist about the language. Shows, in conversations across a semester and a half, her changing attitudes about the rules of good English, "purity" in the language, divided usage, and confusing grammar and usage. (SR)

Offers suggestions, exercises, and resources for teaching students how to study and appreciate language. (RL)

A lighthearted look at popular euphemisms and the reasons behind their creation and use. (RL)

Looks at the experience of a "Foreign Expert," assigned to teach English composition and literature in China. Explores the "meanings" of reading and writing following a tradition of Chinese scholarship that holds to the belief that language is meaning. (JK)

Proposes making minimal translations of Shakespeare's works to restore his literature to modern readers' attention. Considers four types of passages requiring such translations: complicated exposition, thick stylization, the high dramatic moment, and the passing trifle. Presents guidelines for further translations. (RL)

Reports the paucity of public knowledge and concern about the English language and suggests that English teachers might do something to remedy this situation. (JLZ)

Discusses the logic, elegance, and history of using they, them, and their as singular indefinite pronouns. Notes that, as a solution to the pronoun problem, the strength of this solution is its vagueness. Offers numerous real-life examples from publications or broadcasts and lists why it is counterproductive for English teachers to exclude this…

Suggests that students can do meaningful language research within family and society. Looks at language use and family discourse strategies in a 3-generation immigrant family in which language and culture separate the generations. Argues that many of the tensions created by language loss in this family can be seen in the educational domain. (SR)

Notes the positive effects of assigning students tasks that require them to find samples of language that exemplify some general theoretical principles. (RL)

Uses examples from five books to illustrate the use of humor in teaching linguistic concepts. (DD)

Describes how one 71-year-old Chinese student learning English as a second language succeeded by following the ethic "must study hard--work hard." Commends this approach and claims that age should not deter one's enthusiasm for learning. (JD)

Based on observations and personal interviews, the author reports on the changing nature of English instruction in China. She notes that English instruction is very highly developed in China, with the first exposure to English occurring in the third grade; instruction continues in foreign language schools, universities, and vocational…

Considers an alternative interpretation of the effect of so-called women's language and its appropriateness in society. (CRH)