Reports an investigation of 35 nonnative English speaking students' native language writing experiences and their native writing instruction. Findings indicate that composition teachers can benefit from students' insights and perspectives in tailoring instruction, incorporating students' perspectives and preferred learning styles in preparing them…

Describes an activity that enables students to exercise their data entry, computational, graphical, and writing skills to learn the importance of graphs in good statistical analysis. Students use four data sets to enter data, compute Pearson correlation values, plot scatter graphs, and write results paragraphs. (CMK)

Presents a comparative analysis of median frequency rates of explicit cohesive devices employed in academic texts of students who were speakers of English, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, and Arabic. Specific focus is on cohesive devices, such as phrase-level coordinators, sentence transitions, logical-semantic conjunctions, demonstrative pronouns,…

Lists and describes 10 tips for successfully implementing writing tutorials as generated by English as a Second or Other Language teachers and based on the points they commented on in their journals and class discussions. (Author/VWL)

This study examined the assumption that optimal learning occurs in classrooms in grades one through four where every child has access to their own computers. Results of a multiple analysis of covariance showed that student writing samples showed the most improvement with a student-to-computer ratio of 2:1. (Author/LRW)

Presents a critical reassessment of research on composing strategies from the perspective of the different conceptualizations that have guided empirical research in the area. Shows that while the insights gained allow the drawing of inferences for theory building, the field lacks a well-specified theoretical framework in which strategies are…

This longitudinal study of 63 English-as-a-Foreign-Language school learners investigated whether the development of written production is related to the age (8-11 years) of starting contact with the second language. (Author/VWL)

Documents three coordinated, exploratory studies that developed empirically a framework to describe the decisions that experienced writing assessors make when evaluating English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language (ESL/EFL) written compositions. The studies are part of ongoing research to prepare a new scoring scheme and tasks for the writing component…

Describes an art project where students used excelsior, shredded wood used for packing, to create animals. Explains that excelsior can be found at furniture and grocery stores. Discusses in detail the process of making the animals and includes learning objectives. (CMK)

Investigated the revision process of a reluctant English-as-a-Second-Language student writer. Focused on revisions made at the in-process stage and the between-draft stage of the writing process in which the student revised in response to written feedback. (Author/VWL)

Examines gender features in eighth-grade students' writing in terms of the relationships among characters and the use of violence, comparing the analyses to perspectives offered by the students in small group conversations. Finds evidence of competitive relationships within sports and romance stories, as well as elements of violence and metaphors…

Investigates students' writing based on theories of learning. Considers thinking as something that is built in the process of interactions and confrontations with the thoughts of others. Investigation is based on qualitative analysis of 24 student dissertations written by social workers training to become managers of community services in two…

Examines the process involved in doing a literature search and in writing a master's dissertation, as well as the progress made with regard to a new research field undertaken during doctoral research. The first undertaking was initiated with interests but no fixed subject while the second started with a subject but little or no knowledge of the…

Examines contemporary conditions of English in 3 British secondary schools. Considers (1) what English teachers say about their aims; (2) how these aims are translated into classroom practices; and (3) what external agencies want the subject of English to produce. Concludes teachers "delivered" the cultural products of Standard English…

Discusses how psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott's framework of "potential space" can help teachers deal with students' emotional response to literature. Describes creating the right classroom environment and outlines teaching strategies to counteract either a too literal or a too emotional reading of a text, reducing anxiety and helping students…