Service learning--sometimes known as community engagement--is a well-documented pedagogical approach with a long history, a strong theoretical basis, a specific ethos, and many passionate advocates. Yet it is conspicuously underused as a teaching method in the worldwide field of English language teaching. In this article, I argue that English…

Although the growth in popularity of graphic novels among readers of all ages and the expansion of graphic novels in both public and academic libraries has been well defined in library literature, the inclusion of graphic novels in community and junior college libraries has received little attention. The purpose of this article is to begin the…

To improve academic ESL, a community college has been experimenting with linking an ESL class to a Sociology class. The primary goal was to use the methodology of Content Based Instruction to develop a curriculum that would promote academic vocabulary acquisition, critical thinking, and authentic communication in a sheltered environment. The…

This author's reading selection for his class provoked an unexpected response: when one of the main characters in the reading "came out of the closet," the students divided themselves into those who were willing to discuss the issues, and those who weren't.

This study evaluated how comic books and graphic novels enhanced the reading comprehension of the students enrolled in the intermediate reading course at Western Pennsylvania Community College. The three research questions are: (1) How can a developmental reading course make use of comics as a learning tool? (2) What impact does reading comics…

Rhetorically challenging literature can be made to serve the purposes of first-year composition in new ways. Excerpts from the novels of Marcel Proust that focus on the author's characteristic scrutinizing, reflexive attention to style work successfully as models for assisting writers in acquiring the habits of reading and re-reading, and of…

Popular media represent outlets for shaping and informing public perception of institutions and institutional actors found in our society. Community colleges and their students have been featured in a number of fictional works. This paper provides an analysis of the portrayal of community college students in the fictional works of novels, short…

A lesbian teacher, recently returned from four years in Japan and teaching an intermediate ESL class in a public community college in New York City, struggles with addressing the issue of her own sexual orientation while using a novel with a protagonist who is questioning his sexual identity. The evolution of gay/lesbian and/or queer theory…