A study investigated the production of conventional conversational openings by five advanced learners of Kiswahili with experience in the Kiswahili speaking environment. Native speakers of Kiswahili usually engage in lengthy openings including several phatic inquiries (PIs) and phatic responses (PRs). The number and manner in which the PIs and PRs…

A study investigated requests as speech acts in "Zulu English," the English of Zulu first-language speakers, seeking to explain miscommunication in interactions between Zulu- and English-speakers by pointing to pragmatic transfer as one possible cause. Data were collected by means of a series of discourse completion tests in Zulu, Zulu…

A study investigated the importance of context, community, and culture in learning to teach. Two secondary English teachers in their first year of teaching were interviewed eight times before, during, and after their first year of teaching. Data also included participant-observation in each of 11 weekly student teaching seminars, non-participant…

This collection of doctoral student research papers begins with a biographic dedication to Marilyn Zurmuehlen. The papers and their authors are introduced in brief discourse by a faculty mentor (mentor's introduction). Articles include: (1) "Feminism < > Dialogic Interaction < > Research (Miriam Cooley), introduced by Elizabeth J.…

This essay argues that some proponents of multicultural education (ME) appear to teach intolerance of certain kinds of speech. The essay argues, in support, the down-playing of tolerance in ME as cultural respect, accommodation, and harmony are stronger candidates as virtues. The essay goes on to point out that ME does not teach cultural…

Interviews with 209 African Americans in a number of United States cities are the basis for a discussion of the black middle-class experience. Although middle-class African Americans appear to have secured the promises of the American dream, conversations make it apparent that they have experienced discrimination and hatred from Whites. The…

Schools of choice are fast becoming part of the national debate on educational reform. This study, part of a larger study of schools and families, examined how the work context of teachers and opportunities for parent involvement differ under different choice arrangements, and investigated aspects of the sociobureaucratic context of teachers' work…

Using the methods of cultural criticism to analyze the images of Blacks prevalent in American popular culture, this book examines possible connections between the finite and often distorted range of depictions of Blacks, especially prevalent in the mass media, to the treatment that they receive in contemporary society. The book looks at the way…

The Vietnamese folk tale "The Magic Crossbow" is presented in English (left page) and Vietnamese (facing right page), with an accompanying teacher's guide. The heroic story is based on true events in Vietnam during the 3rd century B.C. The teacher guide offers suggestions for classroom use of the folk story. It begins with specific…

The Cambodian folk tale "The Mountain of the Men and the Mountain of the Women" is presented in English (left page) and Khmer (facing right page), with an accompanying teacher's guide. The story, told by a 78-year-old Cambodian Buddhist monk, is part of a longer legend about an unmarried queen who changes marriage customs so she can ask a man to…

The Laotian folk tale "Four Champa Trees" is presented in English (left page) and Lao (facing right page), with an accompanying teacher's guide. The story is part of a much longer legend told in the oral tradition of the Lao people. The teacher's guide offers suggestions for classroom use of the folk story. It begins with specific…

This paper examines grading policies and the college student culture, as part of an ongoing collaborative study of the socialization of beginning teacher educators on four campuses. Utilizing a combination of participant observation and action research to arrive at a better understanding of grades and the improvement of grading practices, four…

The entry of more "non-traditional" students into graduate social psychology programs brings varied life experiences into the field. Women in particular bring different experiences than those conventionally assumed by the academy. Research shows that many women who have succeeded in higher education did so by adopting…

This book examines the Navajo system of spatial knowledge and describes a culture-based curriculum for the development of an intuitive geometry based on the child's experience of the physical world. Aspects of the Navajo cosmology relevant to spatial knowledge are discussed: the structure of the world; the dynamic nature of the universe;…

An American Jewish woman learning Japanese in Japan examines the relationship between language, language learning, and personal identity. Autobiographical reflections are combined with entries from a diary and scholarly observations about the interrelationship of gender, race, culture, social class, historical experiences, and language learning.…