A study investigated the effectiveness of a Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) program in an elementary school bilingual classroom with exclusively Mexican-American students (n=35). Because cooperative learning strategies are based on peer interaction and participants contributing to the common goal, the videotaped interactions…

This tutor training guide and handbook are designed to help organize training workshops for the new tutor of English as a Second Language (ESL), and to assist the tutor in understanding this student population and in organizing materials and activities for teaching. Materials for tutors include a discussion of the student population and its…

This monograph reviews the research findings related to the oral questioning behaviors and practices of teachers. It also gives some attention to written and student-generated questions. The purpose is to provide teachers with knowledge to assist them in making decisions about improving classroom instruction. The monograph examines past and…

A classroom ethnographic study of the uses of sound was conducted in church- and state-sponsored kindergartens in Haifa, Israel, and Konstanz, West Germany. Three German and four Israeli classes were selected for systematic study. Structured observations were made of class activities, the uses of space, and salient movements in the classroom.…

Concerned with the interaction between teacher writing values and classroom writing instruction, this report describes a naturalistic study of writing-related activities and teacher attitudes in a combined second and third grade classroom and a sixth grade classroom. It presents descriptions and analyses of seven occasions for writing that…

This book, designed for teachers and trainee teachers, provides an introduction to basic techniques and procedures in the classroom. The book illuminates these techniques and provides help in understanding their purpose and how they can be best used. There are chapters on essential topics such as lesson planning, lesson presentation skills,…

Teaching activities useful in enriching the classroom teaching of English as a second language are compiled from the relevant literature. Many are adapted from sources concerned with the teaching of languages other than English. Separate sections present suggestions of specific group activities or games involving audiovisual materials, discussion…

Materials from a teacher workshop on the Total Physical Response method for teaching English as a second language are presented. The technique describes the process of first language acquisition, uses physical activities in the classroom to reinforce learning, and allows a long period of receptive language learning before requiring production. The…

Over the last decade, it has been reported that American students lag behind their Asian counterparts as early as the first grade. This study investigated variables influencing elementary school students' mathematics achievement in Japan, Taiwan, and America. Children's mathematics achievement and cognitive abilities were tested. Children,…

It has been noted that students have an influential role in determining the nature of classroom events in the middle grades and that their teachers adjust their classroom behavior in response to the characteristics of students in the class. This paper analyzes instruction as discourse between teacher and students and the collaborative nature of…

The Computerized Observation System (COS) is a software program which an observer can use with a portable microcomputer to document preservice and inservice teacher performance. Specific observable behavior such as appropriate questions and responses shown to increase student achievement are recorded as Low Inference Observation Measures. Time on…

A discussion of foreign language classroom communication focuses on the ratio of teacher talk to student talk and its contribution to second language learning. It begins with the assumption that if students are to develop communicative competence in the target language, they must be allowed and encouraged to talk progressively more while the…

Behavioral differences between Soviet and American foreign language teachers are examined as a basis for improving intercultural understanding and promoting more productive work in the bicultural classroom. The observations are made by American language teachers who have known teachers from both countries as both students and peers. Specific…

A study examined the effects of using heuristics, a problem-solving approach, to respond to drafts written by six university students of advanced composition in English as a second language (ESL). The students had varied language backgrounds. The teacher responded to first drafts of each of three writing assignments by writing heuristic questions…

The benefits of using drama as a teaching technique became evident in the Work Orientation program at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center when a team of teachers presented two plays for their lower-level students. Students enjoyed the activity and were able to discuss work-related problems freely. As a result, the students' self esteem was…