The many ways in which children use language are examined in this paper, and classroom implications are outlined. The first part of the paper discusses such topics as young children's focus on meaning in language, teachers' tendency to examine language in terms of form rather than meaning, and the importance of the student/teacher interaction…

To dispel the myths of linguistic deficiency among nonstandard English dialect speakers, evidence that repudiates these myths should be examined. These myths include suggestions that nonstandard dialects are ungrammatical and cannot be used to form concepts, and that speakers of such dialects receive little verbal stimulation as children. The…

This is one in a series of eight discussion pamphlets produced by the Writing Across the Curriculum Project dealing with some of the issues connected with writing in the schools and their relation to learning. The eight papers in the pamphlet were drawn from a seminar involving 11 geography, history, and English teachers and are concerned with…

The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness with which composition skills could be taught by the traditional theme-assignment approach and by an experimental method using weekly multiple-choice composition tests in lieu of theme writing. The weekly tests were based on original but typical first-draft compositions and covered problems…

The recent tendency in language instruction is toward the functional approach which shifts focus away from structure and internal semantics toward communicative competence and the external uses to which language is put. The implications of this trend for methodology, materials production, educational technology, and in particular for the language…

In summer 1974, an intensive English language program on the Lubumbashi campus of the National University of Zaire was organized, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation which is committed to supporting higher education in Zaire. The need for such a program arises from the determination of newly independent countries to achieve wider multilateral…

This paper attempts to characterize what seem to be key movements in the teaching of EFL at various levels in Europe. These movements reveal that semantic approaches to language teaching are widespread. Recent research into the effectiveness of teaching methods has demonstrated how difficult it is to show whether audiolingual or cognitive code…

With the growing belief that any style of speaking and writing is as good as any other, English teachers must, on the one hand, admit the connection of so-called "correct" English with snob appeal, and, on the other, defend the intellectual and aesthetic superiority of clear, well-written English and learn to express contempt for circular…

This study investigated the relationship between the syntactical language development of first grade children and their socio-ethnic status. From a random selection of 160 first grade children, 19 Caucasians with highly developed language abilities were selected from a high socioeconomic stratum to be compared with 19 Negroes with low language…

This collection of 10 essays is concerned with the leadership and current trends in English language teaching. Specific topics of papers are (1) W. Wilbur Hatfield as "The Pattern Maker," by James Mason, (2) Hatfield as an innovator in the teaching of literature and language, by Irwin Suloway, (3) "Changes in English Teaching in the…

This article describes a project-oriented approach to teaching language awareness at the college freshman level. It is emphasized that it is important for students to realize that language is dynamic and that it changes because people change. The study of slang can make the student aware of the changeableness of a living language. Students were…

The sensitive area of language attitude as it relates to cultural and educational stereotyping should be explored openly and frankly in the classroom to erase false ideas and misbeliefs about language usage. The "Corrective Approach" in English-as-a-second-language instruction, which assumes that Standard English exists, is necessary for improved…

In Czechoslovakia and other Eastern European countries, where native English speakers are rare and only limited quantities of English-language literature are available, the English for specific purposes teacher has to be more versatile and be able to accommodate the varying levels of English mastery of students. (CB)

Defines and discusses "multicultural literacy." Maintains that multicultural literacy for teachers would permit a growing culturally diverse student population to fulfill the purpose of education within the context of each student's special linguistic and cultural gifts. (EL)

Suggests that all uses of English are specific in their nature, and thus, all teaching of English as a foreign language should be addressed to specific purposes. It is argued that an English for Specific Purposes course should be characterized by the use of authentic materials, an orientation to purposeful activities, and self-access organization…