The foreign student in an American university must be able to communicate in English, orally and in writing, well enough to do college-level academic work. The college or university which admits foreign students has the responsibility either to require a certain level of English proficiency or to provide the means for the student to get the…

Outlines the achievements and the difficulties that occurred in the first year of a research project on the development of writing abilities in the senior years of western Australian high schools. (RL)

American comic strips, translated into French, as well as native French strips, are used to teach the current colloquial language dynamically. (MLA)

A description is provided of the English Language Assessment Test, a proficiency test administered weekly at the Vancouver Community College to determine the level of English language proficiency of non-native speakers who are applying for college preparatory or college courses and vocational training programs. (SW)

English as a second language writing lessons, based on issues discussed in editorial letters in a local Malawi newspaper, provide practice in identifying opinions, identifying supporting evidence, checking argument logic, producing opinions, finding evidence to support opinions, and presenting logically-argued letters. (CB)

Criticizes views of literacy represented by Hirsch, Farrell, and others for assuming (1) the priority of alphabetic literacy over the social uses of orthographies; (2) a stable external world; (3) that literacy can be taught by skills instruction; and (4) that teachers are the centers of authority. Argues with reference to theoretical linguistics,…

Discusses some of the problems associated with teaching report writing to undergraduate chemical engineering students. Introduces a simplified cribsheet for writing formal reports and describes the Fog Index, which can be used to determine the sophistication of the writing. Includes a checklist for grading report writing. (TW)

A small ethnographic study determining the writing strategy preferences of advanced English as a second language students (N=48) found that students' most common preferences were hierarchical treeing or planning. Open-ended exploratory techniques were also popular. The least common preference was for systematic heuristics. (Author/CB)

Offers guidelines for instructors designing computer labs to support existing writing programs, based on three main suggestions: (1) design computer-supported writing labs around writers, not around computers; (2) ground lab operations and instruction in current writing theory and pedagogy; and (3) use labs to support research on writing…

Teaching organizational strategies to language-disordered children can improve comprehension and formulation of written language. The semantic organizer approach involves activating and organizing prior knowledge, understanding text structure, and developing organizational strategies with both a verbal component and a graphic-structure component.…

Discussion of programs for analyzing the writing of students using word processors focuses on six categories of available software that can help to improve students' writing skills: error checkers, reformatters, audience awareness programs (including reader's needs and readability formulas), student conferencing utilities, grading utilities, and…

Argues that the writing program serving second-language writers requires the following: a program and courses that provide and use social context for writing and language development; teachers who know about both writing and language; and assessment that takes into account principles of language acquisition and literacy development. (JK)

A model is described to help writers of English as a second language to clarify and rewrite written work which may be incoherent and, as a result, fail to communicate the writer's intentions. The model's steps include reconstructing the reader-writer interaction, uncovering covert questions, and redrafting. (Author/CB)

Describes readiness activities which introduce telecommunications skills into the classroom. Computer activities and programs that simulate message writing and data retrieval are highlighted, and writing exercises that do not require computers are also included. Specific instructions are given for PFS readiness, a program which simulates an…

Discusses program designed by the Educational Computer Consortium of Ohio (ECCO) to address the problems of equity in computer technology among minority, female, economically disadvantaged, and handicapped students. Six projects focusing on elementary and secondary school girls, minorities and economically disadvantaged students are described, and…