This book examines Americans' obsession with grammar and usage, and how the flexibility and fluidity of the English language affect notions about what is and is not "correct" English. Confronting the popular image of the English teacher as a card-carrying member of the language police, the book takes a critical look at past and present…

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)

Designed for all persons who conduct classes and for staff, administrators, and students, this booklet lays out guidelines for nonsexist communication. The booklet, intended both to raise consciousness about how sexist communication looks and sounds and to suggest nonsexist alternatives, is composed of four main sections. The first section…

Aimed at writers, speakers, students, and all who wish to communicate with clarity and strength, this book illuminates the principles of effective word use. It features dozens of helpful guidelines and memorable examples--from Tennessee Williams to Oprah Winfrey, from Demosthenes to Dr. Seuss--that illustrate the basics of choosing words and using…

Revisits the 1974 Conference on College Composition and Communication's publication of "Students' Right to their Own Language," tracing composition's "professional inability to make good on education's promises to African Americans." Argues that teaching practices should forge new senses of dignity and develop from definitions…

A teacher has found a historical study of a newspaper's doublespeak to be consistently effective when it is used in an American studies classroom as a teaching model. As the Ku Klux Klan evolved in the 1920s, so did the Pekin, Illinois, "Daily Times's" deceptive coverage of the Klan. Doublespeak in news reports and editorials was used to…

An overview of the skills, techniques, tools, and compensation of language translators and interpreters is offered. It begins with a definition of translation and a brief history of translation in the western world. Basic principles of translation dating back to Roman writers are also outlined. A five-step process in producing a good translation…

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

Discusses ways in which educators can help students construct language and thought patterns that are environmentally sound. Educators can determine the complexity of language; make taken-for-granted beliefs explicit; provide historical and cross-cultural perspectives; use metaphors appropriately; examine stereotypes; and assess thought patterns…

A discussion of college alumni surveys considers the kinds of information that are most helpful to the institution in fund raising, including names and preferred forms of address, significant others, demographics, Social Security numbers, occupational information, and income and net worth. (MSE)

Outlines steps in adapting tests for cross-cultural use: selection of an appropriate instrument for adaptation; translation of the source instrument; selecting an experimental design; determining administration parameters; pilot testing; and assessing psychometric equivalence. Focuses on potential problems during the adaptation process and on…

This paper comments on the lack of attention given to cross-cultural relationships between the United States and Quebec, Canada despite the growing trade relationship, and offers information on Quebec to use as cross-cultural examples in international business communication classes. The paper dispels myths concerning Quebec and its inhabitants,…

This profile in outline form of the English language teaching situation in the United Republic of Cameroon discusses the role of English within the society and within the educational system. Cameroon is an officially bilingual state consisting of five francophone provinces and two anglophone provinces. In the anglophone provinces, English is the…

The 1992 report of the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) and several other recent studies and publications addressing the nation's changing labor force development needs, particularly as they concern instruction in English language skills for the workplace, are discussed briefly, and five aspects of this issue often…

Discusses the existence of three curricula in medical schools (formal, informal, and hidden) and suggests that educators and administrators investigate the hidden curriculum by examining four areas: institutional policies; evaluation practices; resource-allocation decisions; and institutional "slang." Needed reforms in accreditation standards are…