Contains suggestions for improving writing instruction and stimulating student interest in writing. Suggests contest writing, using the poem "Jabberwocky" for vocabulary development, and an activity for structuring creative thinking. (JT)

Contributors propose five ways for students to improve their reading: combining television newscasts and note taking, determining the main ideas of pictures, using multicultural materials, developing vocabulary through color word contests, and finishing reading what a teacher has started. Also discussed is informal research indicating that…

Offers suggestions from five contributors regarding a calendar of reading activities related to bird observation, a way of involving parents in helping children with reading difficulties, formation of a special club for Title I children, an exercise in vocabulary development, and the value of using music to teach reading. (ET)

Addresses the issue of vocabulary in the English as a Foreign Language classroom and introduces a technique for interlingual lexico-semantic comparison: the lexigram. This technique is based on restricted word-association data gathered from native speakers of English and Spanish and gives insights into vocabulary development. (Author/PJM)

Tells how the author combines the study of metaphors and individual words in writing assignments about Shakespeare's plays and other works of literature. (RL)

Describes a variety of ways to use literature (including fiction and nonfiction trade books as well as children's trade books) in both content and English-as-a-Second-Language classrooms at the secondary level. Discusses modifying content with trade books, books as sources of individualized input, learning general vocabulary through literature,…

Presents an account of a study of the role played by a dictionary in the completion of written (encoding) tasks by students of English as a foreign language. The study uses an introspective methodology based on the completion of flowcharts. Results indicate the importance of information on spelling and meanings and the neglect of coded syntactic…

Used a pretest-posttest control group design to study the effects of interactive storybook software on the verbal development of 60 kindergarteners from low income families. Found that, for the 25 children who interacted with the software a minimum of 300 minutes over 7 weeks, there was a significant increase in verbal ability. (Author/KB)

Shows how one teacher skillfully integrates vocabulary instruction with his subject matter teaching. The teacher links the target vocabulary to the students' experiences and concentrates on word meanings and their written and oral forms and syntactic behavior, pushing students to accurate use of the words in context. (12 references) (Author/CK)

Reviews psychological aspects relevant to second language (L2) vocabulary list learning and reports on an experiment conducted with high school students learning French. Findings reveal that presenting vocabulary items in first language-second language order is the more versatile form of presentation if both production and comprehension of L2…

Nonword span (nonwords conforming to English phonology) was used to measure phonological memory and was found to be generally predictive of the number of trials needed for acquiring certain English (second-language) new words for 84 Hong Kong seventh graders. This relationship, however, was preserved only in those students whose English vocabulary…

Using a personalized word association method, six children with persistent reading difficulties in two British elementary schools were instructed in recognizing 100 common words. All children made significant progress, with the most progress made by those who originally had the smallest sight vocabularies. Students who devised their own sentences…

Studies the effectiveness of weekly vocabulary studies on students' proficiency in using contextual analysis and students' attitudes toward words and word learning. Finds that students made a significantly greater improvement in their ability to use contextual analysis than did students in a comparison group. Notes a slight increase in student…

Lists the factors to be considered when planning an effective second-language study program in the United Kingdom. These factors include important new vocabulary words, language skills and grammatical structures; student ability; basic, core and extension material; student evaluation; timings for each activity; and extra resources and materials…

Explains the process of focusing on one critical reading strategy--questioning. Notes that the teacher first modeled questioning while reading a book aloud. Concludes that as students become full participants in questioning, they understand new vocabulary, enjoy reading, and solve their problems. (PM)