This publication includes five papers that were presented at a language communications conference that emphasized integrating the language arts at elementary and secondary school levels. Walter Loban stresses the importance of classroom language activities that involve children in genuine purposes and that link language to thinking. Charles R.…

This bulletin is published annually in the interest of children with learning disabilities, language disabilities, or dyslexia. Specific topics covered in the 17 articles include: the effect of student failure on the quality of family life and community mental health; selecting initial reading instruction for high-risk children; the relationship…

A high school teacher tells how student talk became an integral part of her teaching program. She devised oral language activities, including reading aloud, debate, and small group discussions. She also rearranged the classroom to encourage discussion. Encouraging classroom talk led to improved writing skills. (SKC)

Considers the culturally patterned set of analogic renamings found in Huli baby talk, nursery rhymes, and children's verbal games. An analysis of socialization activities shows a marked concern with body motifs and appellations and inter-adult behavior involving talk about the body, and showing that such language sensitizes children to cultural…

Describes a project designed to teach elementary students to write interactive stories using an authoring system called Story Tree. Benefits of the project are discussed, including the development of oral language, listening, reading, and writing skills; and problems with the authoring system, the writing process, and the curriculum integration…

Discusses the issue of oral communication tests through an account of an oral test administered to nearly 1,000 students at Yarmouk University Language Center. The ways in which the institution attempted to overcome problems in the oral test's feasibility, validity, and reliability are presented. (Author/CB)

Presents the opposing viewpoints on grammar study, phonics and whole language instruction, and the role of information in English language arts. (SRT)

Argues that structured reading programs, workbook pages, and drills do not alone provide an adequate basis for beginning reading instruction and suggests that experiences, knowledge, and other environmental factors ensure success in reading. (HOD)

Identifies six approaches to teaching English practiced by Australian teachers: basic literacy, language meaning, oral language, creative performance, passive listening, and literary discussion. (HOD)

Argues that for a child to respond to a teacher, whether by reading, talking, writing, constructing a village, or painting a drama backdrop, the child must relate, remember, relearn, monitor, problem-solve, and do all those other mental activities that help humans adapt and create new solutions. (HOD)

Investigates second grade children's ability to understand the use of deictic terms (devices in language that convey information about the communicative situation) in three types of tasks: oral language, written language, and picture selection, and concludes that the difficulty of a word with deictic content depends largely upon the discourse…

Describes several storytelling activities that allow children to develop their speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills. (FL)

Discusses the strong oral tradition in the Appalachia region. Examines conflicts that arise when educators stress the importance of reading and writing to Appalachian children while ignoring the home and regional influences that shape their lives. (FL)

The interactive videodisc has two advantages for foreign language teaching: it captures the nonverbal element of communication and allows alternatives to written testing. However, there are no French-produced versions yet available, and there is the danger that the technique will go largely unused, as did language laboratories and educational…

Literacy consultant Joan Groeber provides educators with a teacher-friendly, step-by-step guide for creating and using rubrics to assess a wide range of literacy skills. Groeber's approach helps ensure that students gain a clear understanding of teacher expectations and assume a greater responsibility for their own learning. Offering an overview…