The attitudes and practices of teachers of English in an elementary school in India were studied through a questionnaire completed by all 11 teachers who taught the English classes in grades 1 through 5. The survey elicited data about participants' beliefs about teaching English and their instructional and assessment practices. Teachers believed…

Experience and research on the appropriateness and reliability of various criteria used in oral language tests are discussed. It is concluded that global marking schemes, which are less detailed, may enable the scorer to better evaluate communicative effectiveness, which includes both linguistic and paralinguistic factors. (MSE)

A study inspired by previous research investigated comprehension of three complex English structures by Dutch high school students at three levels of proficiency. Dutch learners responded similarly to speakers of other languages in an earlier study, but had significantly more ease with one structure familiar in Dutch. (MSE)

Describes an experiment with 332 students enrolled in an instructional media course at Pennsylvania State University which evaluated the instructional effectiveness of self-paced instruction when units were accompanied by visual aids differing in amounts of realistic detail and the relationship to a student's reading comprehension level. Nineteen…

Reviews research in computer assisted instruction in areas dealing with communication subject variables as measurable outcomes or effects. These include reading comprehension/skills, composition, and organizational communication and information utilization. A model for future analysis is then proposed. Included in an appendix is a list of…

Assessed Nussbaum's developmental model (SE 024 045) using a new sample given no special instructions in spherical earth/gravity concepts. Also identified distribution of notions among students (N=159 in grades three to eight), compared distribution of notions at each age level with those in other studies, and explored role of individual…

Effect of science instruction on young children's (N=64) concept of Piagetian physical causality was investigated. Results indicate, that pre/concrete-operational children can learn and apply a definition of living when that definition is taught through observable characteristics. Additional results and implications for elementary science…

Contributors suggest techniques for teaching kindergarten children to read, celebrating Black Heritage Week, developing critical reading and thinking skills, building a classroom library, motivating young readers, and involving parents in reading instruction. (FL)

Reports on a study that investigated what constitutes metaphor and simile for sixth- and eighth-grade children. Discusses the implications of the findings for reading and language arts curriculum development and instruction. (FL)

Compares the reading strategies used by a high achieving English as a second language (ESL) student and a low-achieving native speaker of English during silent reading and concludes that the major differences between the strategies of the two were in the contextual area of reading. (FL)

Describes a summer program for prefreshman science students entering Xavier University, designed to develop their problem-solving and academic abilities by emphasizing the connection between reading comprehension and analytical skills. (MKM)

Advocates an approach to second language learning based on Krashen's "Implicit Learning" model. Emphasizes comprehension training in preparation for productive skills learning, as a stress-free, highly motivating instructional strategy. Discusses results obtained with this approach in a variety of foreign languages at several schools across the…

Describes an exploratory study to determine the usefulness of speech compression units. The compression rates (normal, 80 percent and 60 percent) are described as well as percentages of usage of each one, analysis of a student questionnaire, and indications on the need of further investigation. (AMH)

Discusses research that indicates the value of prereading and postreading in content area reading; explains the encoding specificity principle, which is the basis of methods that present similar cues during prereading and postreading. Describes several instructional applications of this principle. (GT)

Describes a program of French for engineering students that makes extensive use of audiovisual laboratory equipment and cultural materials. (AM)