Summarizes the central assumptions of the communicative language teaching model and the potential difficulties that regular classroom teachers may face in implementing it. Seven criteria for use in organizing communicative classrooms are presented, and applications of these criteria to decisions about organizing classroom interaction and the…

Many students who use hearing aids effectively in quiet environments have a difficult time following information presented in large college classrooms. In the classroom, the instructor's voice is competing with background noise, room echo, and distance. Therefore, the intelligibility of the instructor's voice is degraded by the poor room acoustics…

The handbook, arising from a research project on adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teaching, presents ESL teachers with ways to use authentic English as a teaching tool in the classroom. The purpose of this book is to: examine the connections between current theories of spoken discourse analysis and classroom practice; encourage language…

The "new science" of leadership encourages and supports participative management and focuses on relationships. As they train educational leaders in democratic, humane, and inclusive principles, educators must model those same principles in their classrooms. Teachers seeking to evoke the voices of adult learners through transformative teaching must…

A technique for second language teachers to use in predicting and directing classroom interactions is outlined. The technique, if-then predictions is based on theories of cognitive information processing. The if-clause of a prediction describes the scope of conditions for a certain behavior or experience specified in the then-clause. The teacher…

This book looks at how teachers and young children talk to each other in the classroom, describing how a good teacher will use these conversations to build an encouraging classroom--a community where mutual acceptance is the priority and where children can learn the skills they will need in larger communities in the future. The skills include…

This case study was designed to investigate the effect on an instructor's simultaneously teaching the same course in both a distance and a traditional educational format. The study involved one male instructor-participant at a mid-sized regional university who, in one term, taught the same course in both distance and traditional format. Data were…

A study examined how pedagogic work in Queensland (Australia) schools could be reformed to meet the educational needs of low-achieving students from working-class and unemployed Samoan/Pacific Islander communities. Interviews were conducted with 39 primarily Anglo-Australian teachers and 35 Samoan/Pacific Islander parents and community members…

Classroom teaching methods and activities designed to encourage collaborative communication between teacher and students and among students in the English-as-a-second-language (ESL), bilingual, or mainstream class containing English language learners (ELLs) are presented. The approach is intended to reduce the teacher-controlled nature of…

This brief asks the question of what happens if the instructor isolates verbs and uses them in lesson plans for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students at the beginning and intermediate levels. The discussion is based on the experiences of one ESL teacher who found that the most pressing practical need of her students was a better command of…

The focus of this practitioner brief is: How do adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students manage their learning? The adult ESL instructor found that his students wanted more opportunities to speak English in class, and to practice actual oral communication skills in English, but felt too much of their time and effort was directed into rote…

Analysis of the relationship between number of published articles and student ratings was undertaken for two large and diverse faculty groups. Elements of teacher effectiveness studied included course value, student-faculty interaction, course organization, communication, materials, course difficulty and workload, and tests. Only in the social…

Bernstein's theory of the relationships among social class, language "codes," family/school social structures, and school success is discussed, as is Labov's rejection of the "verbal deficit" concept. A relevant experiment is described. (Available in microfiche from: Carfax Publishing Company, Haddon House,…

Recommends that college teachers and their students exchange weekly letters, in either paper or electronic form, as a familiar and friendly means of communication. The method increases dialog, suggests rethinking, and encourages rewriting while keeping the stakes low. Students respond well to the assignment. Samples of student letters and comments…

Outlines a series of strategies and approaches to increase undergraduate student participation. Strongly recommends the use of study questions (disseminated prior to the readings) and a classroom management style emphasizing participation and involvement rather than an immediate mastery of the material. Discusses the benefits and limitations of…