The aim of this paper is to describe and critique key policies and policy documents relevant to older adults' learning and education from the 1980s to 2001. It describes relevant aspects of the historical struggles between competing discourses and ideologies which took place during the period. It then examines the impact of these struggles on the…

Analyzes the structure of Providence Island Sign Language as affected by the interaction of deaf signers with hearing signers in the Providence Island community. (AM)

Defines basic characteristics and types of social conversation within small groups and gives guidelines for classroom practice stressing preliminary discussion of situations, topics, appropriate vocabulary, and language style. Discusses teacher's role during students' conversation practice and describes materials suitable for initial practice.…

Discusses the literature on interference as the cause of errors in second language speech. A study is reported which shows that interference by the native language is most often the factor responsible for the largest number of mistakes in grammar and vocabulary. (Author/AMH)

Reports the study of ritual verbal insults among Black men and among gay men. Gives examples of these insults and explains the situations in which such insulting takes place. (PMJ)

Discusses implications for bilingual educators of some of the more startling culture-bound linguistic characteristics of relatively primitive (often preliterate) peoples. Includes a description of the bilingual education program among the ethnic groups of Peru. (JB)

Reports on an experiment investigating the modifications in lexicon, grammar, and phonology, made by language teachers as they related to varying levels of proficiency, and are compared to "foreigner talk." (AM)

Explores the culture of a summer writing course (at the University of Texas) for first-year ethnic minority students that is designed to help induct them gradually into the academic culture and improve retention rate. Observes and records behavior and discourses of the class's African American students. Focuses on learning strategies displayed in…

Presents data drawn from an ethnographic study of a kindergarten journal-writing activity. Discourse analysis of moment-to-moment talk and interaction reveals that activity participants assume a variety of roles available in the participation framework. The role of the participation framework is emphasized as a key factor in the distribution of…

Videotaped 14 mother-infant dyads during book sharing to examine categories of information mothers provided when talking about the book. Found a substantial amount of discussion about the books. Mothers modeled information structures of varying levels of cognitive demand, most frequently modeling the simplest of labeling pictures, with decreasing…

Describes those features that distinguish human tutorial explanations from those produced by computer-based instructional systems utilizing natural language interfaces. This is illustrated through a study conducted on an intelligent instruction system, drawing comparisons between student interaction with a human tutor and the system feedback.…

Investigates target language variability between speaking and writing in the second language acquisition of non-native English speakers. Results reveal that as narrators advance in English proficiency, they develop more abstract content and reported style in speech and writing and that speech and writing become more interactive. (28 references)…

Describes an inservice training project designed to raise trainees' awareness, through the analysis of transcriptions of teaching sequences, of the degree of communicativeness in their classroom interactions. Findings indicate an increasing awareness by trainees of their noncommunicative ritualized teaching behaviors, an awareness leading to…

Examines teacher-student exchanges in three content-based language classrooms. Data reveal persistent archetypal patterns of classroom interaction; teachers speak most of the time, and they initiate the majority of the exchanges by asking display questions, whereas student-initiated requests are referential. (30 references) (Author/CK)

Examines the discursive structures and linguistic resources of the interactional environments influencing the development of individual communicative competence, with specific reference to providing speaking opportunities to students studying Spanish as a second language. Findings reveal that the ways in which topics are developed differ from how…