In this article, the author discusses binary oppositions and the imperative of achieving a middle way with his sophomore "Critical Reading, Thinking, Writing" students in connection with chapters 3 and 5--"Entering Into the Serpent" and "How to Tame a Wild Tongue"--in Gloria Anzaldúa's "Borderlands/La Frontera:…

This study took place in a village in Yucatan, Mexico in the context of two adult education programs in Yucatan [Plaza Comunitaria and Preparatoria Abierta]. I interacted in "convivencia" with bilingual (Mayan-Spanish) Yucatec Mayan women who took on the challenge of completing their formal schooling through those adult education…

Comparative literary studies characterize similarities and dissimilarities found in poetic works of two writers of different cultures. This study focuses on the use of allusions in poetry of John Milton particularly with reference to Paradise Lost and poetry of Persian Poet Hafiz Sherazi. Using allusions in poetry has been a common style of poets…

Teachers must seize the opportunity to grow great minds. Contextualizing the argument in the writing of renowned poets, noted educators, and distinguished moral heroes whose life's work was dedicated to the principles of democracy, this article reminds practicing teachers in this challenging moment that "You are braver than you believe,…

In this article, we critique the use of portraiture as a qualitative research method, emphasizing the relationship between the fundamental aspects of portraiture and the recurring themes of research quality associated with alternative qualitative inquiry. To accomplish this goal, we conducted a study of culturally responsive practices of three…

This article offers instructional suggestions and strategies based on research and theoretical literature for developing reading fluency through the use of rhyming poetry and other texts beyond the narrative and informational texts that have been traditionally used for reading instruction. Readers' lack of fluency in reading can be a monumental…

Gender, formed in men and women's growth which is constrained by social context, is tightly tied to the distinction which is presented in the process of men and women's language use. Hence, it's a new breakthrough for studies on gender and difference by analyzing gender-related speech communication on the background of ancient Chinese culture.

This provocation shares findings from the use of bespoke voice-recognition performance software in a number of seminars (which took place in the 2014-2016 academic years at Glasgow School of Art, University of Warwick, and Falmouth University). The software, made available through this publication, is a web-app which uses Google Chrome's native…

This article demonstrates a step-by-step teaching method using a poem, a play, and a short essay to help students support each other and take responsibility for learning.

The tradition of teachers engaging in narrative-based inquiry is now well established, as is its value for creating situated knowledge about teaching. This reflexive autobiographical article weaves together narrative accounts around a senior literature classroom environment. The article features two voices: a teacher (Natalie Bellis) and a Year 12…

In South African public higher education, the miseducative legacies of the past weigh heavily. This article offers our learning as leaders of a multicultural community of university educators that seeks to contribute towards repairing the damages of a divided and discriminatory past by means of self-study research. Through a collaborative…

This essay examines textual engagement of two students during a Multiliteracies lesson on a French poem ("Liberté", Paul Eluard) in terms of the "multilingual subject" (Kramsch, 2009) and "the authentic speaker" (Van Compernolle, 2016). The case studies are based on personal data: (1) the students' autobiographies…

This article offers a case study account of a garden-themed poetry writing project run by a creative writing organisation in partnership with a class of 9-10-year-old children from a London primary school. I explore the concept of creativity which framed the five-week project and analyse the different ways in which the creative practitioner worked…

In 2015 the government initiated reforms to English Literature which included a shift from open book to closed book examinations. This change, now being implemented in schools, has been overlooked in research and policy discourse. This study compares government intentions for the reforms with teachers' experiences of teaching poetry, using data…

In the fall of 2015, the author conducted a national survey of over 1,000 former high school speech and debate competitors. As he told a colleague, he was drowning in data. It was a good problem to have, but he was not sure how to thoroughly examine the heart of data; how would he make meaning of their experiences? Then, he realized, the answer…