A middle school teacher describes the process by which she discovered a collaborative approach to teaching writing to a class including English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. To create a meaningful writing experience, she had students prepare a personal narrative, starting by having the class generate endings to the sentence beginning "I'll…

Problems in teaching English pronunciation to large groups of university students in Japan are discussed, and some solutions are offered. Pronunciation instruction requires close individual interaction between teacher and student, difficult if not impossible to achieve in a typical Japanese university classroom. However, it is possible to get…

This document is a teachers' compilation of instructions, step-by-step suggestions, and sample writing activities. It is designed to help the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teacher teach adult English language learners who already have excellent communicative and life-skills knowledge, but who need to build better writing skills. Examples are…

This study examined the talk of 20 university level learners of Mandarin as a Second Language in three instructional modes: teacher-led (TL), unstructured group work (UGW), and structured group work using a cooperative learning technique (SGW), in this case, Jigsaw. Statistical analyses showed that more learner talk (in terms of turns and c-units)…

Suggestions for teaching in a multicultural college classroom, based on experiences at American International University (England), include acknowledge and respect individual students' uniqueness; encourage and facilitate self-reflection; clarify institutional goals and objectives without implying that they are "right"; choose materials…

Describes a series of eight project activities designed to increase student communication and assess student understanding during a unit on functions and relations. Discusses different methods of evaluation and students' reactions to the activities. (MDH)

Discusses the use of Teacher's Partner, a multimedia tool that assists the foreign language teacher by presenting communicative exchanges among native speakers. Year-long research analyzing classroom interaction patterns showed increased use of communicative discourse by teacher and students in those class periods when the Teacher's Partner was…

In this study, we seek a better understanding of how individuals and their daily interactions shape and reshape social structures that constitute a classroom community. Moreover, we provide insight into how discourse and classroom interactions shape the nature of a learning community, as well as which aspects of the classroom culture may be…

This study explored the assumption that superior instruction can result from the supplementing of teachers' subject knowledge with a formal psychological understanding of learning styles and learner characteristics. Preservice language arts teachers (N=113) were asked to state what they thought would constitute appropriate responses to a middle…

The need to acknowledge and overcome classroom problems arising by students' difficult behavior is the central issue addressed in this book. The aim of the articles presented is to consider ways in which both student and teacher achievements in the resolution of challenging behavior can be encouraged, supported, and valued. A major emphasis is…

A study conducted in a freshman English class in a Taipei (Taiwan) university investigated how peer response groups functioned in their native language (Mandarin Chinese) and English, a second language. Analysis focused on (1) whether there were qualitative differences in the comments students made about peers' writing in the two languages, and…

This paper investigates the teacher's role in discussion-intensive pedagogy, arguing that one of the teacher's roles is to support an atmosphere of intellectual ferment. It offers possible language and stance for examining, describing, and analyzing these aspects of classroom discourse; language that is capable of finer distinctions, and a stance…

This guide to sexual harassment awareness education in grades 6-12 offers five chapters: introduction, preliminary notes, core lessons, supplemental activities, and resources, and an appendix containing seven relevant readings taken from legislative materials, periodicals, and newspapers. The core lessons are: (1) Flirting vs. Sexual Harassment: A…

The handbook presents guidelines for cross-cultural understanding and communication to assist teachers in culturally and linguistically diverse classes. The guidelines are presented in the form of suggestions in ten areas: (1) become familiar with basic concepts in anthropology, sociology, and related disciplines, and use the knowledge to build an…

This paper discusses the use of English as the main language of instruction in higher education in many developing nations, and reports on a pilot study of learning and teaching strategies used in Filipino- and English-language classrooms at De La Salle University in Manila, The Philippines. The study examined the "teacher talk" and…