Essays on second language teaching focuses on how the kinds of tasks performed by the learner relate to language output. "Choosing and Using Communication Tasks for Second Language Instruction" (Teresa Pica, Ruth Kanagy, Joseph Falodun) contains a taxonomy of communication task types, based on the concepts of goal and activity,…

These 17 papers attest to the deepening and broadening interest in self-directed learning as one solution to the lifelong learning needs of men and women in an increasingly dynamic society. The papers include the following: "Self-Directed Learning Knowledge: Some Issues" (Long); "Development of Self-Directed Learning Readiness: A…

This report discusses "multimedia" instruction as it applies to successful learning environments at Bank Street College of Education (New York), ranging from pre-electronic to electronic. In four of the interviews detailed, a Bank Street College professor, researcher, and two Bank Street School for Children teachers offer different perspectives…

Designed to provide a concise description of traditional instructional techniques, as well as more recent technology-based techniques, this 11-part guidebook includes the following sections: (1) "The Value of Planning"; (2) "Aids to Effective Instruction," reviewing the reasons for employing learning objectives, Bloom's taxonomy of objectives for…

This document contains plenary and contributed papers presented at the seventh PME meeting, held near Jerusalem, Israel in July 1983. Three plenary papers focused on implicit models in solving problems, discussions with teachers and children, and heuristics. Contributed papers were classified under seven headings: learning theories…

Motivation towards English learning in Japanese schools today is analyzed according to John Condry and James Chambers' process-of-learning paradigm. The four stages of learning (initial engagement, process, disengagement, and re-engagement) are shown to emit different processes of learning in students based on whether learning is intrinsically or…

This review of the research on the cognitive effects of computer-assisted instruction begins with an overview of the ACCCEL (Assessing Cognitive Consequences of Computer Environments for Learning) research program at the University of California at Berkeley, which consists of several interrelated studies examining the acquisition of such higher…

A second language teaching technique using relaxation, imagination, and music to accelerate the learning process is imagination, and music to accelerate the learning process is discussed. Part 1 describes the classroom setting and the stages and processes of the technique. Part 2 outlines the theory and sources of the method in the literature of…

A symposium of language learning specialists reviewing C.C. Fries' Oral Approach to English language instruction developed and used at the English Language Institute of the University of Michigan is summarized. The thesis of the symposium was that the basic Oral Approach concepts had and continue to have a profound and far-reaching, though largely…

People use and extend their knowledge of the physical world constantly. Understanding how this fluency is achieved would be an important milestone in understanding human learning and intelligence, as well as a useful guide for constructing machines that learn. This paper presents a theoretical framework that is being developed in an attempt to…

Though most definitions of literacy focus solely on the uses of reading and writing, a sociocognitive perspective that incorporates social practices, conceptions of reading and writing, and literacy as a way of thinking is more productive. Within this view, literacy is culturally based, involves the higher intellectual skills, and is learned by…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 21 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of a six-months school entrance age difference on reading, mathematics, and language achievement in primary school children; (2) relationships…

There have been three distinct eras in our expectations for student learning. In Era I (1837-1909), a little learning was expected from many students. Children were to be disciplined and taught the three Rs; learning was achieved through will. In Era II (1910-1975) much learning was expected from some students, but little learning was expected…

During the period 1984-1986, over 30 teachers from the Yorkshire (England) region have worked in collaboration with the Children's Learning in Science Project (CLIS) developing and testing teaching schemes in the areas of energy, particle theory, and plant nutrition. The project is based upon the constructivist approach to teaching. This booklet…

During the period 1984-1986, over 30 teachers from the Yorkshire (England) region have worked in collaboration with the Children's Learning in Science Project (CLIS) developing and testing teaching schemes in the areas of energy, particle theory, and plant nutrition. The project is based upon the constructivist approach to teaching. This guide…