For many years, educational practitioners have been implementing multicultural literature about African-American, Asian, and Latino families. Teachers have also presented literature about great leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Helen Keller. However, the same cannot be said about literature depicting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and…

This study investigated how the context of a Primary 3 (P3) teacher of Luganda in Uganda influenced the teacher's literacy instructional decision-making, beliefs, pedagogy, and practices before and after she was provided with supplies and literacy instructional procedures that helped produce reading materials for her students. The contextual…

Describes a study conducted to determine how adults view literacy and themselves in relation to literacy. The authors concluded that programs for adults need to be built on the collective knowledge of scholars from many fields. They discuss the language experience approach and development of control over the visual dimensions of print. (CT)

Of 10 participating inner-city school teachers, five used a modified basal series, and five used the language experience approach for reading instruction. Monthly training sessions were held, and the Medley and Smith's Observation Scale and Rating-Reading was used to lend objectivity to the monthly observations of each teacher. The following…

When the author's family spent a year in Germany, two of the children attended German schools, where they were forced to learn German for all communication. On the basis of that experience, it is suggested that classrooms employ situations similar to total immersion in language teaching. Teaching and learning for communication depend on three…

Too often adult literacy programs seem based on the assumption that, if learners work hard on skills for six months, they will have "acquired" literacy, as though it is a set of skills adults can "get" from a tutor (Kazemek, 1985). One study of 20 adult literacy classes in eight U.S. states found basic (not higher level) skills the predominant…

A program based on the use of printed materials available in the community was successful in improving language skills and student attitudes. (JH)

Reports on a study comparing the use of the language experience approach and a traditional reading lab approach in which LEA students made equal or greater gains in verbal ability. (MKM)

The practicum described in this study sought to motivate pupils to want to learn to read and to improve their reading skills. Three hundred eighty-two pupils from second through ninth grade who were identified as having reading deficiences were admitted on a referral basis. A standardized test was used to diagnose strengths and weaknesses in…

The perceptions of volunteers and children regarding critical incidents identified in a program of volunteers working with children in reading were investigated. The critical incident technique, developed by John C. Flanagan, was used to collect the data. Sixty volunteers and 60 children identified 234 critical incidents, 141 positive and 93…

The purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the effectiveness of the language experience approach to beginning reading instruction when used with pupils described as culturally deprived. Ten teachers of first grade classes in inner-city schools in Indianapolis volunteered to participate. Five teachers agreed to continue using a…