Purpose: This article examines the prevalence of six economic terms in 17 Swedish upper-secondary school textbooks and how the language shifts between everyday and scientific language. Variations regarding content in the textbooks used in vocational programmes and preparatory programmes for higher education are also investigated. Design: Powerful…

Knowing a word means knowing its pronunciation, spelling, concept area, and meaning layers. Vocabulary is never an area that can be learned completely by individuals; rather it is a field that expands and deepens throughout life. Vocabulary teaching requires much more than just looking up words in a dictionary or using them in a sentence.…

The paper begins by arguing that knowledge-blindness in educational research represents a serious obstacle to understanding knowledge-building. It then offers sociological concepts from Legitimation Code Theory--"semantic gravity" and "semantic density"--that systematically conceptualize one set of organizing principles underlying knowledge…

To determine the effects of instruction in general semantics on the critical thinking of secondary students, 104 tenth- and eleventh-grade students in control and experimental groups completed the "Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal" test before and after the 12-week teaching period, in which two teachers spent 1 hour per week in the…

Argues that general semantics courses should be taught in high school and outlines the content that should be emphasized in such a course. (RB)

Rationale for encouraging students' use of precise words. (AA)

Explains how antonymy (opposition) can offer another approach to vocabulary development in a classroom situation. (HOD)

Describes an approach to the teaching of English vocabulary which draws on several aspects of theoretical semantics; There are four sections: (1) an outline of the learner's goals and problems in acquiring vocabulary, (2) a brief description of the semantic theory involved, (3) examples of teaching material and exercises, and (4) reactions to the…

Student understanding of 30 nontechnical words used in science was investigated. No significant differences were found between the understanding of nontechnical words in science or between the verbal reasoning ability of males (n=108) and females (n=89). Of the four different question formats, students had the most difficulty with the synonym…

Sniglets, a word game popularized by comedian Rich Hall, provide teachers and students with a break from the monotony of vocabulary drill by allowing students to make words of their own, practice inferential skills in developing and identifying the meanings, and learn how words are created and made a part of language. (HOD)

Content areas teachers must assume responsibility for teaching students the basic reading skills that are necessary for achieving success in their field. Content teachers frequently must be convinced that reading skills are a valid part of their curriculum and must be given help in teaching these skills. They should be shown that the teaching of…

Forty students aged 9-18 were asked to explain the meanings of lexically ambiguous advertisements from magazines, newspapers, and brochures. Older subjects explained the meanings correctly more frequently than younger subjects. The psychological meanings of the ads were found to be more difficult to explain than the physical meanings. (Author/JDD)

Content area teachers should be aware of the five levels of vocabulary with which their students must cope. The five levels include standard words at the least complex level, transitional terms that have different meanings in the content area than in standard usage, technical terms specific to the subject area, changeable terms (similar to…

Aspects of language that develop during the adolescent years are discussed in the domains of pragmatics, syntax, and semantics. Selected topics include complex conversational behaviors that adolescents employ, syntactic attainments associated with persuasive writing; and the understanding of proverbs and figurative expressions. Relevant…

This handbook (the last in a series of six) suggests many classroom activities that are interrelated with all the other areas of the language arts, particularly reading and writing, and that encourage the use of the library media center, mass media, textbooks, and audiovisual aids. The activities are designed to help pupils gain new insights into…