Shared writing is a technique for working with adult literacy learners that involves all members of the group, including the tutor, in regularly writing together, reading, and hearing each other's work, and occasionally preparing materials for publication to the outside community. In preparation for developing a professional development program…

A study investigated the writing strategies used by English as a second language (ESL) students in writing electronic mail (e-mail) messages, and to what extent certain ESL teaching variables influenced students' use of writing strategies. Subjects were 16 ESL teachers and their 208 university students. Students were administered a 50-item…

This paper presents a portion of a larger study testing assumptions from Lev Vygotsky's spontaneous private speech theory and the relationship between private speech (overt self-talk) and writing development. Sixteen kindergarten and first-grade children were observed over time in natural classroom settings to note changes in private speech and…

This publication from the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is designed to inform parents about the department's Grade Two curriculum standards in four major areas: language arts/reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. The integrated language arts/reading standards emphasize the development of a comprehensive reading…

A discussion of pragmatic issues in both developmental studies (DS) and English-as-a-second-language (ESL) instruction at the college level argues that because the two fields have common problems, challenges, and objectives, they have become homogenized as one in many institutions. Because full-time college faculty avoid teaching developmental…

This serial issue contains nine articles all on the subject of "changing practice," i.e., innovative practices of rural English teachers in the Bread Loaf Rural Teacher Network. "Byte-ing into Medieval Literature" (John Fyler) describes an online conference on medieval literature for rural high school students. "Literacy…

A 50-item, five-point Likert scale inventory was designed to be a valid and reliable group-administered instrument to provide a profile of the declarative knowledge of electronic mail (e-mail) strategies used by students learning English as a second language (ESL) or foreign language (EFL). The inventory was developed primarily for voluntary use…

The need for a first grade curriculum based upon the work of the modern kindergarten has been frequently expressed, and the curriculum here presented is an effort to meet that need. It follows the Kindergarten Curriculum which was published as a bureau of Education bulletin in 1919 and is organized on the same general principle and the same plan.…

This manuscript on instruction in English shows the changes that have come over this subject during the past 40 years particularly, describes the condition in which it now is, and makes suggestions for further study. It finds a good deal of uncertainty in the matter of formal study of grammar. Emphasis varies. Some courses of study enumerate 45…

Argues that to use computers to help teach the writing process, English teachers must develop both short- and long-term plans for computer usage and must insist on helping to select their school's hardware and software. (MM)

Defends the policy statement published in the 1970s by the Conference on College Composition and Communication of the National Council of Teachers of English for its recognition of students' needs and goals in learning to write and read. Questions the motivations and purposes underlying the recent emphasis on teaching all students to write…

Suggests faculty development programs based on writing-to-learn can foster more effective teaching, by providing opportunities for faculty and teaching assistants to develop new teaching skills and to integrate scholarship and teaching, by changing faculty approaches to teaching and learning, by providing a forum for sharing talents and…

Sixteen children with severe reading problems in first grade received a year-long individual tutorial intervention. Growth curve analyses found significant gains on measures of orthographic and phonological coding, word identification, word attack skills, reading comprehension, letter automaticity, and spelling and marginally significant gains in…

Teachers in kindergarten through grade three, nominated as effective literacy teachers, were surveyed twice about their practices. Responses indicated teacher commitment to: similar instruction for all abilities, with additional support for weaker readers; literate classroom environments; modeling and teaching of both lower- and higher-order…

This study examined reading instruction and its effects in schools with two different philosophical stances (process and traditional approaches to reading). Observations of six classes, three using traditional and three using process approaches, indicated that there were far more similarities than differences. Differences in school philosophy made…