The need to underline the relationship between spoken and written language in second language instruction is discussed, and the use of student dialogue journals to accomplish this is encouraged. The first section offers an overview of the whole language approach, which emphasizes integration of language skills. The second section examines briefly…

The development of written language is intertwined with children's experiences with diverse symbolic media. During their second year of life, children begin to use symbolic tools to invest meaning in drawn marks. The evolution of drawing is linked in complex ways to dramatic gesture and speech, sometimes combined in social play. Exploratory play…

This report on machine translation contains a brief history of the field; a description of the processes involved; a discussion of systems currently in use, including three software packages on the market (Teaching Assistant, Translate, and Globalink); reflections on implications for teaching; observations of results obtained when elements of…

Noting a recent trend in scholarship of using narratives to warn teachers of the possible dangers of un-theorized and uncritical utilization of technology in the writing classroom, this paper offers a story that does not involve students, anonymous messages, or private files that inadvertently become public, but instead concerns a series of…

This volume contains 31 narratives traditionally told by Kipnuk (Alaska) elders, printed in both the Moravian and modern writing systems, without English translation. The elders relate rules of ethical behavior, prohibitions and commandments, and warnings against committing transgressions. The stories reveal the results that ensued from adherence…

The question of whether students perform linguistically differently when writing under examination conditions than when writing term essays is addressed in this working paper. The study was prompted by the feeling by many students that their linguistic performance deteriorates in examination conditions and that this deterioration makes a…

A comparative, protocol-based study is reported of the first (Chinese) and foreign (English) language writing processes of six postgraduate English-as-a-Foreign-Language students. The study revealed the approaches of the six writers to the task of producing academic written discourse to be very different, and suggested that if composing strategies…

It is argued that teaching and learning a second language for communicative competence should not lead to neglect of students' understanding of the way the language works, but rather should include constant development of language awareness. While use of the language in a variety of communicative activities is the central goal of instruction,…

This paper describes similarities between the areas of second language (L2) teacher education and mother tongue (MT) literacy teacher education: similarity of definition, similarity of history, and similarity of a current pedagogical issue (immersion is necessary but not sufficient). Practitioners in both fields need to modulate the sharp polarity…

To clarify the relevance of Russian psychologist, literary critic, philologist, and educational theorist Lev S. Vygotsky's research to composition theory necessitates an examination of his account of the development of inner and oral speech. Vygotsky argued that the acquisition and development of oral speech is due to its function: it is primarily…

This report presents ideas on the use of poetry in teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Chapter 1 describes beliefs about language and language learning, and offers a theoretical justification for including the reading and writing of poetry in the language classroom. Chapter 2 is a collection of poetry activities that have been…

This article presents a method to make scientific written English accessible to speakers of other languages, specifically speakers of French. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

This study was conducted to determine the effect that hands-on, creative activity using the Language Experience Approach would have on language usage in students' written stories. Twenty-five fifth grade students were randomly divided into three sample groups. Sample A received hands-on, creative stimulus and art materials; Sample B looked at and…

A study investigated the degree to which scores on content-based tests were influenced by non-content factors such as difficulty with reading, lack of confidence in responding independently to a test, and inexperience with modes of responding to multiple-choice questions. A test compiled from science, math, and social studies material in a primary…

The validity of recent research concerning invented spelling, the developmental stages in children's writing, and whether children will attempt writing before reading and continue writing while learning to read were examined. Five developmental stages in spelling have been identified: (1) the precommunicative stage, involving the use of random…