Suggests links from research to practice in key areas of inclusive early childhood education including teachers' knowledge base and beliefs, communication, physical environment, activities and materials, social interactions, and curriculum and instruction. (DB)

Analysis of instructor (n=1) and student (n=61) postings on an electronic forum during a one-semester undergraduate phonetics course found students wrote about 340 topics in 143 postings, and the instructor wrote about 124 topics in 23 postings. Analysis of topics identified four interactive communicative categories that show interaction trends…

Investigates whether children ages 1;6 just beginning to learn words can learn new words in a variety of nonostensive contexts. The results of two studies involving adults interacting with children in games of searching for objects suggest that from very early in language acquisition, children learn words through active attempts to understand…

Analyzes some of the mistakes made and the lessons learned doing participant-observation research on six special congressional elections. Briefly describes seven of these lessons including schedule strategically, get multiple perspectives, do not overlook details, be a pack rat, and recognizing that some goals and processes are antithetical. (MJP)

Videotaped interactions of 98 mother-child dyads (40 with Down syndrome, 23 with neurological problems, and 35 with delays of unknown etiology) were examined for mothers' language facilitation strategies (modeling or eliciting) in two situations (play and teaching). Mothers emphasized modeling strategies more than eliciting techniques. This…

Presents a cross-linguistic and longitudinal study of language acquisition in adult migrant workers who acquire a new language without any formal instruction. The study investigates the ways in which adult second language learners use interactions with target language speakers to learn to understand. (20 references) (Author/CK)

Examines an in-service training session developed for use in the state sector in Thailand that aims to help teachers come to terms with some of the problems inherent in large classes. The article is based on the author's previous experience in Thailand and his continuing involvement there in teacher development. (11 references) (Author/CK)

Discusses the merit in having every English-as-a-Second-Language learner speak during every session to practice English as opposed to the value of allowing a period of silence until the student is ready to speak. It is crucial to provide a stimulus for meaningful interaction and to follow up with opportunities for each learner to use an individual…

Focuses on strategies of second-language learners who communicate among themselves. Pairs of students were left alone in a room with a sound recorder and instructions to describe a specific object. The communication strategy they selected to describe an object with no common referent was to paraphrase the object's function. (11 references) (CK)

This study used microethnographic techniques to analyze the communication strategies used by a hearing-impaired preschool child to access social interactions. Strategies tended to be similar to those of his peer subgroup, though nonverbal strategies prevailed. Teachers promoted the child's verbal request "Can I play," but it was unsuccessful in…

Studies and practices in which parents help children with oral reading are reviewed. The paper argues against techniques which focus on only the mechanical aspects of reading. The paper describes a program for training parents as tutors which uses transcripts of parent/child interactions during the reading process to show reading development.…

Describes the interactions of high school girls and boys during coeducational science lessons. Analyses of the audiovideo recordings of 144 lessons taught by 12 male teachers indicate that girls were more likely to initiate classroom discourse. Findings did not support the hypothesis that gender disparity in science achievement in favor of boys…

This study, involving four staff members in an institution for people with mental retardation, found that a computerized system of prompts to improve staff-client interactions produced more positive statements, improved distribution of interaction among clients, and resulted in delivery of more positive reinforcement than a traditional…

Explores perceptions of student teachers of English as a Second Language regarding usefulness of school experience in learning to teach. Describes a training program in Hong Kong involving an additional period of exposure to secondary school before the practice teaching period. This program focuses on acquainting student teachers with school…

Examines the potential usefulness of intensive interaction as an educational methodology with pupils whose learning difficulties are compounded by autism. Review of empirical case-study evidence together with questionnaire and interview data from teachers suggests that this intensive approach to developing fundamental social and communication…