Offers tips on mastering the basics of educational jargon and eliminating its use in the school system whenever possible. Includes a list of words and terms and their definitions. (WD)

Proposes that in the quest for truth, teachers and students concern themselves with the prevalence of information overload, euphemisms, and doublespeak. (JL)

Every day in so many ways, children are surrounded by language: from the language of home and family, to the never-ending bombardment of environmental print, to the clash between school admonitions to use "standard" English and their peer groups' specialized and invented speech. According to the author of this book, students love to…

The French law proposed in February 1994 concerning the proper use of the French language in France is discussed. The law's content, intent, and origins are described, including the history of legislation concerning regulation of French since 1539. Public opinion concerning regulation of the language is examined. (MSE)

Contends that there are far more terms associated with war and conflict than terms about peace in the English language. Asserts that this circumstance is both a product of and a contribution to national values. Recommends using more emotional words and speech to talk about peace. (CFR)

This paper argues that separation of mathematics from most other disciplines in the college curriculum reinforces math avoidance among college students, and that this is inappropriate in general education. Ways in which mathematics and mathematical thinking can be integrated into the humanities are discussed, including the role of mathematics in…

This paper describes an educator's decision to change careers from that of foreign service officer to teacher of English as a Second Language is traced to a December 1985 event in Korea in which the American Cultural Center in Kwangju was occupied by protesting Korean students. Analysis of this event and its effect on the educator focuses on the…

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

Argues that television advertising is now the most powerful language in existence. Provides a "TV advertising test" to prove the point and outlines a unit designed to make students aware of the language of television commercials while improving their writing and thinking skills. (FL)

A discussion of the use of Japanese in the English language classroom in Japan proposes that whatever justification is given for the English-only classroom is based on two flawed arguments: (1) outright rejection of the traditional grammar-translation method; and (2) the false assumption that an English-only requirement is an essential element of…

An African American teacher of English discusses her own experience with black English as a barrier to academic success, her efforts to assure that her own students speak standard English and to understand why many teachers do not stress this and the need to understand why many African American students do not use standard English despite its…

Intended for administrators and policy makers as well as teachers, this digest explores issues surrounding methods of teaching thinking skills and who should teach them. Following an introduction that acknowledges the need for teaching such skills but a lack of consensus on how to meet this need, the digest discusses theories of isolating specific…

Presents a series of 10 true-false statements pertaining to dialect, then discusses the correct answers. (FL)

A study investigated gender-related patterns of student talk in teacher-directed and student-directed peer response groups in college writing classrooms. Females in both groups asked more questions, made more suggestions, and more often used gender-typical language. Although females and males in teacher-directed groups responded equally, females…

An approach to writing instruction in a second language begins with a look at the different functions of oral and written language and proceeds to an analysis of stylistic differences. A number of examples are offered from French textbooks, letters, and excerpts from speech used on television. (MSE)