Describes the use of a grid survey activity to promote natural communication in the second-language classroom. The surveys, which elicit descriptive information from students, can be easily adapted to several themes and subjects, are easy to design, can be used with low- or high-proficiency students, and can be used to provide feedback to students…

Analysis of videotapes of five trained teachers of deaf children found that the teachers did not fingerspell often, but when they did they sought to express a specific English word. Clarity of fingerspelled utterances varied greatly, ranging from whole-word gestalts to words wherein individual letters could be discerned. (Author/CB)

One teacher adopted a language teacher's method of calling on students without causing embarrassment by moving quickly from one student to the next, not penalizing students who were unable to respond, praising freely, and using humor. The technique encourages participation and self-confidence. (MSE)

Argues that time spent encouraging students to reflect about their learning is well invested. Offers four specific statements about what helps students to reflect: (1) students need relevant reasons for reflection and assurance that their reflections will be accepted; (2) students' opinions and judgments must be generally valued; (3) students need…

Reports a study of year-nine students' understanding of concepts related to acids and alkalis using collaborative concept mapping. (MKR)

The paper discusses general types of nonverbal behavior (NVB) and encourages teachers to use NVB influences in the classroom. (Contains eight references.) (LB)

Investigates the nature of small-group social interactions in the mediation of children's science learning. Reports that the teacher mediated the children's small-group science learning through discourse that negotiated children's status, actions, and meaning, as well as through discourse that established the normative structure of the small…

Lists common expressions and terms that teachers of English as a Second Language may wish to use and highlight for the benefit of their students. They include greetings, formulas of courtesy, inquiries, classroom management, praise, audio-vidual equipment, presentation, application, and student's favorites. (MDM)

Strategies to increase positive peer interactions of young children with hearing impairments include reducing teacher-child interactions, changing classroom activity structure, social skills intervention, peer-mediated interventions, increasing familiarity through intensive contact, and peer orientation. Evidence of effectiveness of these…

Describes how one elementary school teacher uses three cornerstones to build a safe community for herself and her students: getting to know parents by asking herself to dinner; working with big ideas on long-lasting projects that grab students' attention and focus their drive to belong and to communicate with their classmates; and portfolios. (SR)

Discusses the eight-month examination of interactive student-teacher journal entries of first-, third-, and fifth-grade Spanish-English bilingual classrooms. Concludes that students did not make a "transition" from native to second language, instead used a bilingual approach, shifting language in journal entries. Suggests mandatory…

States that talk in interaction is the prevailing form of instructional activity. Claims that an understanding of the interactional practices of reading and writing is necessary. Examines the practice of speaker turn design. Concludes by showing how this form of organization can be used in diagnosing problems that students encounter in solving…

Examines gendered aspects of literacy in two bilingual primary classrooms in a working-class Latino community. Centers on values that are associated with literacy in each room and the gendering of those values through specific classroom practices, with attention to gendered aspects of literacy tasks, texts that were written and read, and the talk…

Tests two models (the Motivation Model and the Learning Model) of the immediacy-learning relationship using path analysis. Uses Keller's Model of Motivation to explain the results, finding that teacher nonverbal and verbal immediacy enhances student motivation, presumably by impacting attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. (SR)

Finds significant correlation between student communication apprehension and student classroom apprehension. Reveals significant differences in classroom apprehension by class type, but no significant differences in communication apprehension by choice of occupation. Finds perceptions of academic performance negatively associated with classroom…