This article presents a reflexive and critical discourse analysis of classroom events that grew out of a cross-cultural partnership with a secondary school teacher in Singapore. I aim to illuminate how differences between researcher and teacher assumptions about what participation in classroom activities should look like came into high relief when…

Five content area teachers participated in this year-long qualitative research study focused on developing a language-building approach to support literacy activities for marginalized students. A mixed methods design evaluated the impact of the professional development program with the teachers. Data included structured interviews with the…

This study was designed to investigate the nature of activities in an immersion English class and a non-immersion English class in the mainland of China, and to find out the differences between these two types of class through data gained from observation and interviews. Spoken discourse analysis was used to analyze the data, where Engestrom's…

The research on which this paper is based is a response to the UNESCO directive for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) 2005-2014. Educators are advised to prepare young people for sustainable development and global citizenship and the Arts should be included in programmes in ESD. This paper presents an overview of a research…

Whole class discussions are a key feature of daily life in many classrooms yet evidence suggests there is much variation in the quality of talk which takes place in terms of facilitating children's learning. This paper examines children's understanding of the role and purpose of whole class discussions in supporting learning and also considers…

Science classrooms in the United States have become more diverse with respect to the variety of languages spoken by students. This qualitative study used ethnographic methods to investigate the discourse and practices of two ninth grade science classrooms. Approximately 44% of students included in the study were designated as English learners. The…

In this study the authors have looked at the use of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in Mexico from a linguistic anthropological perspective. Twenty lessons were video recorded to compare the use of IWBs and traditional boards in different areas of the curriculum in primary schools. Data were analysed as a set of sequenced communicative events in…

This paper explores issues of teaching and learning Chinese as a heritage language in a Chinese heritage language school, the Zhonguo Saturday School, in Montreal, Quebec. With a student population of more than 1000, this school is the largest of the eight Chinese Heritage Language schools in Montreal. Students participating in this study were…

Explores the research paradigms found useful by Dr. Poole in her research of classroom discourse as well as her insights into cross-cultural classroom interaction and the differences between first and second language classrooms. She discusses the need for close interactional study of English-as-a-Second- Language classrooms as well as non-English…

Presents a case for teaching the discourse-based features of English intonation to improve cross-cultural communication at receptive and productive stages. A systematic approach is suggested for teaching the pragmatic and discourse functions of English intonation through a consciousness-raising methodology that utilizes authentic oral texts. (34…

Reviews second-language teaching methods and classroom practices in Arab countries as well as the general proficiency of secondary school leavers. The article proposes a teaching method in which the learning activities play a key role. Results of the implementation of this method are discussed. (18 references) (Author/CK)

Sharing information orally is an important skill that public speaking classes teach well. However, the author's students report that they do not often see informative lectures, demonstrations, presentations, or discussions that follow the structures and formats of an informative speech as it is discussed in their textbooks. As a result, the author…