This study examined the degree to which student performance in constructing macrostructures in Chinese prose is affected by three text features: number of ideas, metaphoric expressions and advance organizer. Results showed that fewer ideas facilitated macroprocessing, metaphors did not influence idea organization, and advance organizer resulted in…

Questions the validity and reliability of the Reading/Everyday Activities in Life (R/EAL) test, which is intended as a self-administered, self-directed, and self-paced test of basic literacy for minority populations and others traditionally singled out by the bias of standardized reading achievement tests. (SRT)

Reports findings of a study involving adult, college-educated Egyptians enrolled in English as a second language courses in Cairo. Concludes that students learning to read in a second language interpret materials in terms of their own culture, which affects their comprehension. (FL)

Recounts the experience of writing a biographical profile in which the language used to describe a professional woman was unwittingly sexist and how this was corrected in successive revisions. (NKA)

Advocates in-class group writing exercises to increase business students' writing skills as an alternative to homework writing assignments that may make a student feel extremely pressured. Also provides excellent practice in revision--one of the most important facets of business writing. (NKA)

Argues that a teacher must develop activities for the classroom with the uniqueness of a particular group of students in mind and that a set of activities that works in one setting should not become a static curriculum, uncritically adopted as a formula. (SRT)

Six essays describe the Pentagon's magazine publishing empire, how the Reagan Administration's "War on Waste" eliminated both substantive and frivolous publications, the employment outlook for librarians in the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the 1979 Yearbook on Agriculture, the often unintelligible language of government documents, and…

The Puerto Rican community's fight for bilingual education is a political struggle against linguistic and cultural genocide. Outlining the history of Puerto Ricans in the U.S., argues that bilingual education is essential and efforts to ensure it must be intensified. (LHW)

Reviews benefits of using cooperative learning strategies and computer assisted instruction (CAI) in classrooms with mainstreamed students; describes teacher's role in implementing cooperative learning; presents examples demonstrating potential of cooperative learning and CAI in language and social skills development; and outlines steps in…

Who is teaching limited English proficiency students in English-as-second-language and bilingual programs? In general, the teachers studied were not qualified to provide students with appropriate language development class work because they themselves were cognitively and linguistically mediocre. (Author/LHW)

Evaluates the new paradigm of learning and discusses its principles of context, process, individualization, and community. This method allows for the instruction of the full range of learners in a classroom because the emphasis is on learning how to learn and learning as a process. (NKA)

Traces a project that investigated the connection between reading and writing with oral language experiences such as oral history and folklore. (NKA)

A study compared the vocabulary learning/use and social and communication growth of eight severely handicapped (six with Downs Syndrome) nonoral toddlers under two conditions; (1) a microcomputer-based approach; and (2) traditional language intervention techniques. Results indicated no differential effect for either treatment condition. (Author/CB)

A study of 30 sign language interpreters (N=30) attempted to isolate cognitive, perceptual, psychomotor, and affective factors predictive of effective interpretive skills. Analysis revealed that family background (hearing or deaf family members) significantly affected certain personality traits and interpretive skills. (Author/CB)

Discusses use of word processing software as an effective tool in writing and revision instruction, and describes the role of the teacher. Examples of exercises that encourage revision and of software designed to teach effective revision skills are reviewed. (MBR)