Labeling literary or artistic periods is always tricky, and labeling an emerging period (such as this post-postmodern one) is, of course, impossible. Harold Bloom has labeled this period the "chaotic age" because of the canon wars that have raged among factions. One writer with a place in any canon and who is an anodyne to the chaos of…

Ways to deal with profanity and inappropriate language used by students are discussed, and methods are suggested to control this behavior. The focus is on middle schools. Students should learn to conform to conventional language usage, they should understand that language can be appropriate, inappropriate, or unacceptable depending on the context.…

This paper discusses the use of French business cards in a college-level French language and culture course for professionals. Among other assignments, students were each given a different card and asked to speak about the design of their card, the business represented, idiomatic expressions and historical allusions on the card, and the use of…

The misuse and misunderstanding of adverbs by nonnative speakers of English are examined, and the approaches of commonly-used grammar texts to these problems are discussed. Two separate studies provide information for examining adverb use: a longitudinal study of the written work of 23 adult students in two low-to-intermediate level intensive…

In order to construct a learning system that is capable of responding to very diverse individual requirements, author considered a methodological way of analysing the communicative needs and intentions of all potential foreign language learners. (Author/RK)

Revolving around the theme of questioning in the classroom, the three articles in this newsletter are based on talks and workshop material drawn from the 1986 Summer Institute of the College Board's Educational EQuality Project. In the first article, "The Art of Questioning," Dennie Palmer Wolf points out that although most teachers feel…

There are two types of literacy: mechanical literacy and critical literacy. Those who teach mechanical literacy use language to oppress, while those who teach critical literacy use language to liberate. The mechanical view of literacy oppresses because it encourages passivity and acceptance of authority, places a disproportionate emphasis on…

A method for recognizing supportive behavior among the students of a seventh grade social studies class, whose disruptive and abusive behavior made learning impossible, resulted in positive personal growth for both teacher and student. (JH)

This English textbook aims to determine minimum essentials in language and grammar, to provide methods for making correct form habitual, and to arrange the material so that it may be used in connection with the language work of the pupils outside the language recitation. Exercises, drills, games, and tests are employed. Objective measures of…

The second book in this English textbook series aims to determine minimum essentials in language and grammar, to provide methods for making correct form habitual, and to arrange the material so that it may be used in connection with the language work of the pupils outside the language recitation. Exercises, drills, games, and tests are employed.…

Three characteristics of school writing activities that may make it difficult for students to learn to write with skill and enthusiasm are identified in this paper. They are: the solitary nature of most writing tasks, a lopsided emphasis on low-level details of text such as grammar and spelling, and the isolation of writing from reading in the…

This article shows how to make poetry relevant to high school students. The technique involved is one in which the student is shown just those meanings which he can spontaneously relate to his emotions and interests. This synthesis can be made by using the lyrics of popular songs. The student can see the images, mood and dramatic situation of the…

This article discusses the use of gestures in foreign language instruction, particularly in the teaching of intonation, stress, and consonant and vowel sounds. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

This article discusses the problems invovled in presenting grammar in a threshold approach to French as a second language. (Text is in French.) (CLK)