Willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) is a speaker's voluntary engagement in communication using a target language. WTC has undergone several conceptualisations over the past twenty years or so. The aim of the current article is to present a narrative review of the major conceptual developments in research on L2 WTC. First, the…

This study examined emotional climate in relation to the teaching and learning of grade 7 science. A multi-method and multi-theoretic approach used sociocultural frameworks as a foundation for interpretive research, conversation analysis, prosody analysis, and studies of nonverbal conduct. Emotional climate varied continuously throughout a lesson.…

Initially, the author began her teacher inquiry project by focusing on the superhero play she had been observing in her classroom and on her concerns about how it might be impacting the classroom community. Through an ongoing process of self-reflection and reading research, she was able to open herself up to interacting and engaging with the…

The teacher-student interactions of 39 students exhibiting high externalizing behavior problems and 59 students exhibiting average behavioral adjustment from urban elementary schools were directly observed. Comparisons between these students within four different instructional contexts indicated that levels of student engagement were significantly…

By training teachers to vary systematically the way in which they performed recitation strategy, it was hoped to determine (1) whether teachers can be trained to control precisely the way they teach when using that strategy and (2) whether different versions have measurably different effects on student learning. (MM)

The effectiveness of the verbal plan and review training (VPRT) program in enhancing the reflectivity of 115 economically disadvantaged preschoolers who qualified for a Head Start program but were enrolled at the University of Southern California School for Early Childhood Education was evaluated. Adapted from the curriculum model of Weikart,…

Examines academic and pacing performance differences for students who chose between instructor- and self-set deadlines. Finds that students in the two conditions did not differ in academic performance but that students who chose to set their own deadlines missed fewer deadlines and showed accelerated pacing. (KO)

Observation in 281 elementary and junior secondary classrooms and interview with teachers found large variation in communication behaviors of Botswana teachers, related to subject matter, presence of a textbook, and school size. Much class time was spent on choral recitation, which was positively related to expatriate staff and pupil persistence.…

The two major goals of this study were (1) to estimate the magnitude of the effects of teaching performance and (2) to determine if some teaching performances were more associated with greater pupil learning than others. (MM)

The authors briefly describe their research on teaching cooperative classroom behavior to students; outline the essential components of a curricular activity designed to foster cooperative behavior; and explain how teachers can promote in their students both the skills and the affective components of cooperation. (SJL)

Average-ability students often do not take full advantage of learning in mixed-ability groups because they hardly engage in the group interaction. This study examined whether structuring collaboration by group roles and ground rules for helping behavior might help overcome this participatory inequality. In a plant biology course, heterogeneously…

Classroom research must examine how authority is expressed. However, its expression cannot be conceived of solely as a property of the teacher: Many aspects of the exercise of authority are a function of the classroom instructional organization. These effects must be fully detailed. (Author)

Describes observations of a high school classroom and subsequent interviews with poor readers in the class to uncover their coping strategies. Argues that teachers who focus on effective instruction from only their own perspectives fail to appreciate the needs of unsuccessful readers. Concludes with recommendations for improving teacher…

This collection of lectures includes the following contributions from faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder: (1) "Aloof Professors and Shy Students" (Patricia Nelson Limerick); (2) "Teaching the Thundering Herd: Surviving in a Large Classroom" (Charles R. Middleton); (3) "The Scientist as a Story Teller" (R. Igor Gamow); (4) "Active…

In attempting to discover how a middle-class teacher copes with lower-class children in an urban school, the authors of this study (one an "outside" observer who sat at the side of the classroom, the other the teacher or "inside" observer) recorded the classroom actions and behavior of the teacher and his seventh grade pupils all day every day for…