This article reports on an ethnographic analysis of students who play chess at a mixed comprehensive school in England. The authors explore how children learn when playing chess and speculate about how the appeal of the game could be used by secondary teachers to improve English lessons.

Points out that many students are unsuccessful learners either because they do not know how to learn or because they do not practice the skills they have been taught. Provides examples of composition assignments which teach students logical strategies. (ARH)

Indicated that students have definite ideas about which commenting strategies on their written compositions help and which do not. Found that students wanted reasons and written comments from teachers as opposed to circles and abbreviations they cannot understand. Showed that high school and college subjects differed significantly on some survey…