"Autism at-a-Glance" is designed for high school staff members supporting students on the autism spectrum, as well as family members of adolescents on the autism spectrum. This issue focuses on understanding and improving the communication skills of adolescents on the autism spectrum. The content specifically targets the needs of…

Human raters are normally involved in L2 performance assessment; as a result, rater behavior has been widely investigated to reduce rater effects on test scores and to provide validity arguments. Yet raters' cognition and use of rubrics in their actual rating have rarely been explored qualitatively in L2 speaking assessments. In this study three…

Bullying is one type of violence that threatens a youth's well-being in schools and neighborhoods. The impacts of bullying are felt by individuals, families, schools, and society and may result in youths feeling powerless, intimidated, and humiliated by the aggressive acts of other youth(s). This document is designed as a tool to help…

The quality of the verbal environment sets the stage for young children's developing perceptions of themselves and others. This document provides hands-on, practical advice for practitioners to support children's self-perception and coping skills by establishing and maintaining a positive verbal environment. Positive verbal environments enhance…

Discusses assumptions of natural approach for second-language instruction, including belief that the classroom should be devoted to activities which foster acquisition; student speech errors should not be corrected directly; and students should be allowed to respond in target language, native language, or both. Posits stages of language…

Principals can improve their school's effectiveness by shaping the school's culture, and they play an important role in maintaining the content, symbols, and communication patterns in their schools. (MD)

Describes French language game called Metropolice which provides excitement of a chase over a board map of the Paris Metro. Game provides an opportunity in which degrees of skill in asking, answering, and responding have a proving ground and creates a blend of chance and linguistic challenge. (Author/BK)

Suggestions are offered for gifted students making verbal presentations. Guidelines address such aspects as the introduction; beginning of the presentation; timing; use of breaks; eye contact; simulations, role playing and games; communication; relevance; enthusiasm; humor; audio-visuals; and the ending. (CL)

Presents guidelines for organization of conversation groups and suggests conversational activities for first year of language study including directed dialogs, use of questions, telephone vocabulary, and restaurant activities. Emphasizes importance of teacher supervision of, rather than participation in, conversational activities. (Author/BK)

Presents an annotated bibliography of 33 items in the ERIC system on the subject of academic debate and forensics. Items surveyed cover the period 1970 to 1979 and reveal content and progression of thought. (JMF)

Discusses the primacy of thought over speech, and "semantic translation" vs "communicative translation," relating the former to thought, and the latter to speech. (AM)

Calls for a new, nonprescriptive pedagogy of writing based on the concept of writing as conversation. An addendum describes an experimental writing course based on a design borrowed from the traditional life-drawing class. (HOD)

Suggests use of games, role play, and simulations as a way to involve learners in the second language and developing interaction with others in the target language for communicative purposes. Gives examples of teachers' questions and possible answers concerning these methods. (BK)

Children's specialized speech codes and nonverbal behaviors are examined in the context of playground games. (JD)