Examines effective lesson-planning under the integrated curriculum approach. Proposes a seven-step plan of writing, discussing, and revising proposed plans. Suggests that using the writing process in lesson planning as a team creates a multidisciplinary, integrated curriculum with organized, power-packed lessons and activities, offering a…

Examines the role of language in providing individual quality care to infants in a group situation. Suggests that by using language, the natural medium of choice, the adult includes the infant in his caregiving, and this inclusion helps to set up the beginning of a network of communication that lays the foundation for mutual understanding between…

Evaluation of a leisure skill instruction program with five high school age students with severe disabilities found generalization of trained skills in activities with nondisabled peers. Additionally, attitude scores of high school peers showed a significant improvement following four months of interaction with a disabled student. (DB)

Examined the influence of input and interactional modifications on second-language acquisition, assigning 41 learners of Japanese to 1 of 3 experimental groups: (1) unmodified input with no interaction; (2) premodified input with no interaction; and (3) unmodified input with the chance for negotiated input. Results indicated that comprehension was…

Play-skills training, provided to eight Zambian elementary children with intellectual disabilities, resulted in more substantial increases in interaction between subjects and nondisabled children when coupled with teacher prompts, compared to training alone. Having a nondisabled child take the initiator role increased and maintained social…

This article describes a discourse-based language intervention strategy in which children with pervasive developmental disorders are taught to make use of prior linguistic context to participate verbally in structured, interactive dialogues. The paper also describes the use of behavioral methodologies, especially milieu therapies, and the need for…

Five teachers using a conversational approach to language teaching with hearing-impaired students were studied. Teachers tended to exert a high level of conversational control, though conversational control decreased over time. The children (ages 4-10) exhibited language growth in their imitations and responses but not in spontaneous utterances.…

This column describes British technological aids that can support children with communication and writing difficulties, including (1) writing aids such as predictive typing, abbreviation expansion systems, and alternative keyboards; and (2) socially interactive communication aids such as synthetic speech using portable computers. (JDD)

This article reports on interrelated measures of lifestyle quality for 20 severely mentally retarded adults in community settings. Size of the social networks and the number of family members were associated with frequency and variety of activities across home and community settings. Activity patterns were unrelated to number of members paid to…

Chronicles the experiences of a second-grade teacher as she accepts special-education students into her regular education classroom and emphasizes the cooperation between the special education teacher in charge of academic development and the regular education teacher who focused on the special education students' social development and the…

Examines the dialog of 82 secondary school students in Glasgow (Scotland) (13 male, 12 female, and 16 mixed-sex pairs) working in pairs on a computer-presented task to determine gender differences in expression of opinion. Implications of the differences between genders in interaction style and manner of progress through the task are discussed.…

Describes a study in which a World Wide Web learning environment was created using socio-constructivist instructional design principles. The study investigated the impact of cooperation and collaboration among university students, as well as group composition, peer support, printed guides, student interaction, and time factors. (Author/LRW)

Highlights two recent studies in the field of distance education. C.N. Gunawardena and F.J. Zittle found a high degree of variation between learner satisfaction and social presence in a computer-mediated communication environment. J. McDonald and C. Campbell-Gibson study demonstrated that groups meeting in a synchronous computer-mediated course…

Describes and contrasts the communication behavior of Hong Kong Cantonese bilingual speakers as they interact in comparable first- and second-language strategic formulations and decision-making meetings. Finds similarities in terms of volume, context level, and ideas; and differences in areas of turn-taking frequency, length of spoken time per…

Presents overview of the University of Surrey (UK) MA in Linguistics (TESOL) by distance-learning program and discusses quality-assurance measures such as learner-content (topic-focused bibliographies, study guides, updated modules, resource centers), learner-instructor (feedback, tutoring, pastoral visits, assessment and grievance procedures,…