This booklet comprises eleven articles selected from a set of papers delivered by a number of professional educators and researchers during seminars arranged in the West Indies and the United States in compliance with the goals of the Caribbean American Scholars Exchange Program. The 11 articles are grouped in 4 sections. The first section…

In order to test whether ghetto children would respond to a set of instructional materials that incorporate the language, the customs, and the general background of the disadvantaged student, a six week long course of study for seventh-grade general mathematics is developed. This course of study is then used in an experiment that employs…

Volume 4 of an annual series, this issue focuses chiefly on a variety of perspectives relating to cross-cultural research. The major article is comprised of 15 topics encompassing cognitive and affective aspects of culture contact, language and communication, and culture exchange. The topics address Japanese perceptions of foreigners, learning of…

Describes some features of French business correspondence that contrast sharply with that of the American equivalent. Provides a sample syllabus for a commercial French course and lists sample vocabulary and phrases useful in business correspondence. (LMO)

Peer response groups contribute to students' effectiveness as writers in any field, but cultural differences in communication affect interactions within the group. Culture-based dimensions on which communication may differ include individualism/collectivism, power distance, concept of "face," and communication style. Recommendations are…

International students have identified problems in the college classroom that hinder their learning, including listening difficulties, lack of understanding of differences in cultural background, poor oral communication skills, insufficient vocabulary, and poor writing skills. The students suggest both general and specific ways in which professors…

Discusses the need for effective basic language, literacy, numeracy and other communication skills to support all workforce development programs. The general cultural bias towards these programs has marginalized them and is reflected in policy, curriculum and practice. Adjustments are needed in the approaches to the new climate of workplace…

To help international teaching assistants balance their roles as teacher and graduate student, the University of Cincinnati developed a program in classroom communication skills for this population. It begins with naming and social identity but focuses primarily on communication for participative learning. Interacting with academic advisors is…

Cross-border education has been growing dramatically in both English-speaking countries and non-native English-speaking countries. While more and more students, particularly from Asian countries such as Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan choose to study in English-speaking countries, many native English speakers go to Asian countries to…

This study, reported entirely in French, investigated reasons for deaf secondary students' delay in acquisition of reading skills. The study examined relationships between the students' individual cognitive styles, use of Quebec Sign Language, reading in French, and reading strategies. Subjects were 24 students enrolled in one school, paired in a…

This monograph addresses the way parents of minority students perceive the special education system, with specific attention to these parents' views of the process by which their children are designated as "handicapped." Chapter 1 discusses the Department of Education's racial classification system. Chapter 2 summarizes what is known…

This learning activity package is designed to help apprentices understand some of the different ways in which words can be used to mean different things, depending on where and when one uses the words. It provides examples of words and phrases that are used in the workplace in ways different from the way they are used in regular conversation. Five…

Despite complaints from undergraduate students concerning language and pedagogical skills of international teaching assistants (ITAs), institutions of higher education continue to appoint ITAs to teach. Legislative mandates have appeared to assess and improve language and pedagogical skills of ITAs, and the academies have likewise responded with…

This digest summarizes a longer document with the same title that discusses the problem of using, training, and assessing international teaching assistants (ITAs) in undergraduate education. Legislative mandates have appeared to assess and improve language and pedagogical skills of ITAs, and academies have likewise responded with workshops and…

These highlights and recommendations from the 1992 National Training Institute and Spring Issues Conference are the result of a consensus building activity that took place on the final afternoon of the conference. Conference participants used an Instantaneous Response Interactive System to enter their responses to questions. Responses were…