A study of the processes by which 24 grade-12 Australian physics students brought order to their observations and practices shows that the phenomena students construct from their laboratory work (not always accurate) develop from connections among the embodied practices of language and physical action, their world, and social relations. (SLD)

Traces scholarly constructions of basic writers' identities. Asks what those students who are labeled basic writers are accomplishing in their speech and writing. Offers a speculative model for analyzing basic writing student discourse. Uses that model to examine the language used in a basic writing classroom. Reviews the implications of such work…

Explains how the 19th- and 20th-century use of the word "race"--in the media, culture, and in classrooms--is one core element of the problem of racism that remains today. Further, it argues that teachers must critically analyze the words used in the classroom because they are primary active agents in formulating the subsequent actions…

Provides an overview of Colombia and its linguistic makeup, briefly tracing the presence of the English language from the eighteenth century to date. Characterizes the users and uses of English documenting how the personal, instrumental, and creative and innovative functions are manifested in this setting. Concludes by highlighting the need for…

Reports on a question by a law student of whether a correction of "sneaked" to "snuck" suggests misinformation and misguided rigidity in the context of better information about current legal usage and a perennial tendency to linguistic prescription. Explores attitudes to current borrowings from English into Japanese and French…

Provides that in bilingual conversation, the unmarked choice can be identified via a frequency-based criterion. Data come from a Malawian family temporarily living in the United States. Both parents and children engage in code switching, but how the two languages are employed and their frequency within the overall codeswitching pattern shows that…

Discusses whether reading in a second language is different than reading in one's first language. Examines recent case studies of adult English as a Second Language readers who are literate in their native language that illustrate the varying degrees to which readers access their primary language knowledge when reading in a second language. Finds…

Drawing on sociolinguistic research, points out that some patterns of socially appropriate language use in Indonesia actually involve Indonesian only to the extent that those interacting wish to maintain social distance, while regional languages are used to promote closer social ties. Suggests Indonesian programs require some rethinking in view of…

Compares how bilingualism is perceived and how languages are used in two different groups of cross-native/community language (CNCL) families: Japanese-non-English CNCL families and Japanese-English (CNCL) families. A questionnaire survey found differences between the two groups. (Author/VWL)

Examines evidence from Expanding Circle settings that the norms for Standard English usage, teaching, and testing my not always be those of the Inner Circle. reference to recent research concerning the Expanding Circle nations indicates that in certain international and regional domains of language use in these countries, English functions as a…

Describes several curriculum resources that focus on eliminating sex stereotypes through nonsexist teaching strategies, activities, and material selection for middle and high school language arts, reading, and English classrooms. (RS)

Examines the relation between stage of cognitive development, transfer ability, production ability in Standard English, and school achievement among a sample of high school students in rural Hawaii. There was a strong relation between transfer ability and school achievement. (PCB)

Studies the distraction potential of 45 written usage elements, traditionally considered errors, for 2 different educated reading audiences: postsecondary business communication teachers, and executive vice presidents in large firms. Finds that the usage errors least distracting to both audiences were lexical elements and the use of an adverbial…

Maintains that the English language reflects sexist, male-centered attitudes that perpetuate the trivialization of female experience and socialize children into gender roles. Changes in the language are fundamental to improving the culture's construal of women and women's interpretation of their lives. (BB)

Examines American Sign Language (ASL) in the context of the orality/literacy debate and issues of language and cognition. Posits that ASL is a natural language independent of English, and asserts that examining other modes of language use can illuminate the nature of discourse in both oral and written forms. (MM)