Teacher-student exchanges that occur in architecture studio teaching ("desk crits") were studied as part of a larger ongoing research program. In studio courses, groups of students are assigned to a studio teacher called a critic or crit who oversees the students' work both individually and in groups. From studio observations conducted…

This investigation focused on teachers' questioning skills and the use of wait time (length of pauses after questions). A sample of 40 experienced middle school science teachers from 5 suburban school districts in 1 central New York State county was divided into 4 treatment groups of 10 teachers each. One group received instruction in wait time…

The notional-functional or communicative approach to foreign language teaching as practiced in East Germany is described. The purpose of communicative foreign language teaching is to prepare the learner to communicate in real-life situations. Classroom and real-life situations differ in several respects, most notably in communicative intention.…

It is suggested that the foreign language teacher's role is not to answer questions about the logic of the language but to persuade students to use it. A response of a friendly "Because!," without apology, and sometimes with a comment about the occasional lack of logic or consistency in English grammar or constructions, is recommended.…

Dialogue, though a broad concept, may be characterized as the interaction of individuals engaged in the process of human growth. These individuals, who differ in values, needs, and orientations, communicate in a mode without static elements, rules, or dogmas. The application of dialogue-centered learning to the classroom is explained. (BJG)

This article discusses foreign language teaching in terms of communicative competence as a goal. Learning materials and media are discussed, as well as student participation in the learning process. (Text is in German.) (Author/AM)

This number of a journal devoted to ideas for teachers of English as a second language (ESL) contains the following articles: (1) "Using Authentic Discourse in Teaching the Conditional" by Helen Hoyt Schmidt, (2) "Better Communication through Summarizations" by John Battaglia, (3) "A Look at Discourse Analysis" by…

The importance of students' nonverbal communication in classroom interaction is pointed out in this short essay. Several examples of nonverbal communication are provided in order to illustrate the confusion in classrooms which can result from teachers' lack of understanding of pupils' conscious and unconscious attempts to communicate nonverbally.…

Research has established that classroom verbal interaction typically involves turn taking cycles described as "teacher solicits,""pupil responds," and "teacher reacts." A study examined the question/answer cycles occurring within 36 videotaped language arts lessons conducted by six elementary school teachers and made inferences regarding what…

This series, designed for use in inservice teacher workshops, addresses the question, "How do children and teachers use language to get things done?" The transcribed classroom discourse presented and discussed in each volume illustrates functional language in a real context based on the videotaping of undoctored events from kindergarten…

A two-year long study investigated the influence of being in a mainstreamed classroom on nonhandicapped children's abilities to communicate with the handicapped. The study involved three groups of students: (1) 66 nonhandicapped, nonintegrated (those in classes without handicapped children); (2) 24 nonhandicapped, integrated; and (3) 55…

This two-part learning module provides information and several exercises to help classroom instructors understand and improve their personal communication styles. The module first identifies two broad types of communicators: those who think before they talk and those who think while they talk. It then provides a series of exercises to help the…

This report presents the findings of a 17-month project whose aim was to analyze the complexity of language use in the classroom through the examination of one classroom event or key episode type: the "service-like event." This term covers those situations during periods of individualized instruction in which a child who is not working with the…

This observer's manual is designed to familiarize people with the System for Integrated Language Communications Observation (SILCO), which rates the degree of integrated language communications instruction occurring in elementary classrooms during 40-minute time blocks. Sections of the manual discuss SILCO's development, organization,…