Reports on a study that used two approaches to examine how words are used to create meaning in written discourse in order to illuminate the differences among a group of essays written by 12 developing writers. (HTH)

Discusses Mather's "Companion" in view of the thesis that Puritan rhetoric can be considered a genre only in the sense that it was a developing or a becoming, rather than a fixed entity. (MS)

Reacts to the essays in "Alice in Genderland," a publication of the National Association of Teachers of English, that are concerned with the ways in which society's sexually differentiated view of "normality" is mediated to children in schools. (HOD)

Describes the use of Arabic in the news media, worship places, and schools of Arabic-speaking immigrants to the United States in the early 1900s and in the 1980s. Predicts that Arabic usage among 1980s immigrants will follow a pattern, noted among early immigrants, in which Arabic usage gradually diminishes. (KH)

The authors review some of the constructs provided by recent classroom language studies. By employing constructs from these studies to describe part of a classroom lesson, the authors illustrate one way to explore how classrooms work. They then list some cautions and recommendations about the use of classroom research for making policy decisions.…

Reports data on the validity of a Canadian version of Labov's "index of linguistic insecurity." Scores on the two tests were highly correlated, indicating high criterion validity of the Canadian test. Also, social class and gender differences followed the same pattern as Labov's study, with the lower middle class and females showing…

Surveys the development of language tests toward authenticity and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of indirect and direct (authentic) language tests. Discusses the difficulty of applying appropriate psychometric measures to tests using real-life language, and the large number of tests variables which interfere with the authenticity of…

Reviews organizational communication studies since 1955: (1) explores problems with the use of language in these studies; (2) reviews specifically the literature on organizational hierarchies; (3) discusses promising areas of emerging research, and (4) recommends ways research can be productively conducted and reported. Includes an extensive…

Examines the way the metaphorical language used by researchers in educational administration to describe the processes, concepts, and relationships they are investigating reveals their attitudes and biases toward education, educational administration, and research. (PGD)

Characteristics, idiosyncrasies, borrowings, and other aspects of the French terminology for computers and computer-related matters are discussed and placed in the context of French computer use. A glossary provides French equivalent terms or translations of English computer terminology. (MSE)

The author shares her insights about the principles and knowledge of the writing system that children discover, develop, and learn to control. She categorizes these principles as functional principles, linguistic principles, and relational principles. (CT)

Discusses the usage of French in Gabon. As in other nations of francophone Africa, French is the language of upward social mobility in Gabon, and it offers access to the international community. However, one factor peculiar to Gabon is the virtual absence of a Gabonese national language, which promotes a greater dependency upon a mastery of the…

Tests 4- to 12-year-old children's use of the verb "lying" and their moral judgment of true and false assertions. Stories that produced either a false statement despite truthful intentions or a true statement despite deceptive intentions were used. (Author/CI)

Describes a comparative study of interrogative words in Spanish and English, which resulted in a series of hypotheses about the way Spanish speakers convey the interrogative how plus adjective or adverb. To test the hypotheses, surveys were conducted with native Spanish speakers. Surveys and results are discussed. (AMH)

Four teachers discuss benefits of humor and the disadvantages of sarcasm. Includes a humorous piece on teaching cheating in the classroom. (EL)