Arising out of one reading clinician's journey through the training year in Reading Recovery, this paper articulates the content of the lessons learned and explores their implications for clinical reading practice. The lessons learned that are discussed in the paper are: (1) make no excuses for the learner or for yourself; (2) expect learning and…

A native English-speaker explores the reasons why she persists in speaking her husband's native language, Chinese, at an intermediate level at home, despite the fact that she lives in the United States. She looks, in a humorous way, at the errors she has made in learning Chinese, some cultural contexts for language choice, the importance of…

The non-English language background (NELB) population is projected to increase from 28 million persons in 1976 to 30 million in 1980, 34.7 million in 1990, and 39.5 million in the year 2000. The total number of limited English proficient (LEP) children ages 5-14 estimated for 1976 is 2.5 million, with a drop to 2.4 million in 1980 and a gradual…

Integration of extracurricular activities into the second language curriculum is supported in the context of culturally oriented communicative second language teaching. After methodological approaches in the literature are analyzed, various extracurricular program provided at the University of Toronto are described. (MSE)

A study of language use of bilingual Alsatian youth, 15-18 years old, showed French acculturation to be growing, although German dialectal tendencies persist. Socioeconomic status and the role of recent generations in this process are considered. (MSE)

A limited attempt to teach and assess the ability of native English-speaking adolescents is described. The concern is not to teach more language but to encourage use of existing language in a formal interview with maximum flexibility and effectiveness. Possible ties into second language instruction are considered. (Author/MSE)

Investigates the inconsistencies of personal pronoun production both in production and between production and comprehension in a pronoun-reversing child. (EKN)

The communicative method of language instruction is compared with other, generalized methods currently used, in terms of content, the variety of forms taught to express the same thought, oral and written language, emphasis on form versus message content, the nonverbal element, and the teaching of language context. (MSE)

Responses of Chicano and Anglo high school students to the concepts of mother, father, female, and male indicated: (1) ethnic differences in ratings of father and male; (2) sex differences that crosscut ethnic lines; and (3) the importance of sociocultural variables in accounting for differences between Chicanos and Anglos. (CM)

Does not support the hypothesis that "sounding Black" predisposes White listeners to respond more negatively than "sounding White," regardless of content. Partially supports the hypothesis that "sounding Black" predisposes White listeners (1) to describe the speaker in stereotypic terms and (2) to respond negatively…

Based on an interview study of 138 kindergarten children, the data for the most part did not support Bernstein's ideas. Speech style indicators did not cluster into elaborated and restricted variants. Neither social control strategies nor school achievement scores were differentially related to elaborated and restricted variants. (PD)

Presents case studies of two first-grade children, examining their writing as a linguistic and social process that involves the child in an exploration of both oral and written language within the social context of the classroom. (HTH)

Submits classroom research on students' recognition of cliches. Notes that many beginning writers are unfamiliar with many cliches. Suggests that teachers should be aware of students' limited language experiences and adjust their teaching methods accordingly. (RL)

Discusses the collected research on free modifiers and "minor sentences," or "formal fragments." Asks English teachers for less concentration on initial placement of modifiers, less rigidity concerning fragments, and more practice with punctuating final free modifiers. (RL)

Examines arguments in favor of the notion of dialect interference in writing; offers counterevidence and explores an alternative explanation for apparent dialect interference in writing. Concludes that pedagogies for teaching writing skills to native speakers of English that assume dialect interference are theoretically wrong, pedagogically…