Many approaches to literacy instruction treat language as an object of study. The curricular assumptions that inform such instruction are that language is located outside the person, extracted from context, neutral, and explicable through defined rules. An underlying assumption in many language arts classrooms is that children will not pay…

The bulk of the existing literature emphasizes the use of phonemic/phonetic based instruction to enhance generalization between reading and written language. However, phonetically irregular words are common in English and may require the use of whole word approaches. This study examined generalization between from reading to spelling and from…

In this article, the author examines Zitkala-Sa's translation of an Indian legend from Dakota into English. Her title, "Translation Moves," refers not only to Zitkala-Sa's rhetorical strategies, but also to different meanings of translation, as well as to the complex and dynamic process that translation entails. There is literal translation: the…

This paper presents two nine-year-old children who used different oral, written, visual, and digital modes as resources to create meaning and to position themselves socially through multimodal stories. Their diverging experiences with technology as a resource for storytelling draw attention to the importance of studying "the ways that old and new…

We examined the development of phonological processing, naming speed, and visual attention in kindergarten and addressed the question of their contribution to reading and spelling in grade 1. Seventy five French-speaking children were administered seven tasks at the two phases of the study, and reading and spelling were assessed in grade 1. The…

This article presents a systematic review of the research evidence on the effects of the characteristics of typefaces on the legibility of text for adult readers with low vision. The review revealed that research has not produced consistent findings and thus that there is a need to develop standards and guidelines that are informed by evidence.…

Teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students must serve as language models for their students. However, preservice deaf education teachers typically have at most only four semesters of American Sign Language (ASL) training. How can their limited ASL instructional time be used to increase their proficiency? Studies involving deaf and hard of…

Many recent studies on computer-mediated communication (CMC) have addressed the question of orality and literacy. This article examines a relatively recent subgenre of CMC, that of written online sports commentary, that provides us with written CMC that is clearly based on firmly established oral genres, those of radio and television sports…

This workbook, written in simple English with pictographs, helps adult learners of English in British Columbia (Canada) deal with biological and medical needs and hospital patient visits. Lessons include parts of the body, nurses' and doctors' examination and instructions, general health problems, hospital items, hospital admissions, and pre- and…

This guide reviews a number of ways that written text has been used in the classroom to help develop enriching classroom activities, using French examples, in modern European language instruction and examines ways in which text can reinforce and extend what students are learning to say and write. The text deals with teacher and learner creativity,…

Despite Stanley Fish's assertion that the interpretive communities basic to his theory of literary and legal interpretation are "engines of change," it seems clear that in Fish's conception of change, "plus ca change, c'est plus la meme chose." In particular, Fish denies that the legal profession can achieve the more…

Presenting activities, facts, and illustrations, this book takes learning the alphabet to a new level. After an introduction and a brief cartoon look at the history of the alphabet, the book presents 26 four-page mini-chapters (1 for each letter) that include a brief visual history of the letter; trivia tidbits; project ideas; a list of people,…

The ability to write in Chinese often takes longer to develop than the ability to speak among overseas Chinese. Due to the difficulties involved, many foreigners learning Chinese also stay away from writing. A method is presented here that suggests that students should be free to write in a manner based on what they are able to speak. The approach…

The 1986 report by the Canadian Task Force on Aboriginal Languages, which recommended that the writing systems used for the northern Dene languages be standardized within 10 years, resulted in the 1987 Dene Standardization Project. The mandate for the project was to make recommendations on orthography standardization as the first step in the…

The introduction to discourse analysis is intended specifically to inform second language teachers about aspects of discourse analysis that can be helpful in instruction. It presents the principles seen as relevant to the language teaching context and illustrates them with real spoken and written language data. The first chapter gives a historical…