The lack of authentic, real-world interaction practice in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom is described and discussed, and the ways in which dialogue journals answer this classroom need are detailed. A dialogue journal is an interactive, self-generated, cumulative and functional writing and reading exchange between teacher and…

To help students develop needed skills in listening, teachers need to (1) encourage improved listening through interesting learning activities, (2) involve students in presenting ideas as well as listening to content, (3) vary kinds of learning experiences, (4) provide direct training in listening skills, (5) recognize differences in students'…

An investigation was made to determine whether teacher expectations influence the way teachers interact with students and, if they do, to assess what effects teacher behavior might have. Also addressed was the question of whether teachers treat males and females differently in ways that may discourage females in math. All teacher/student…

Prepared as part of a series applying recent research in oral and written communication instruction to classroom practice, this booklet examines the language interaction that takes place between student and teacher and between student and student whenever a geniune dialogue about an important event or problem occurs. The first section of the…

Articles on teaching effectiveness for foreign teaching assistants (TAs) are presented. Topics include: adapting to the U.S. academic environment, understanding the role of the TA and gaining confidence, anticipating undergraduates' expectations, improving communication skills, and teaching laboratory classes and recitation classes. Titles and…

This ERIC Digest delineates problems posed by the increasing number of language-minority children in schools and offers suggestions for teaching children from different cultures. It is maintained that a group's language reflects its culture, and the uses to which that language is put are culturally determined. When children and adults do not share…

This paper reviews ways in which teachers inadvertently reinforce negative behavior of elementary school students through negative verbal or nonverbal communication. Discussion first points out differences between nonverbal and verbal communication, and then focuses on consequences of negative communication for children. Special attention is given…

The central question addressed by this book is, "How can middle and secondary school teachers overcome seemingly impossible circumstances in the classroom and elicit students' attention, effort, and cooperation?" The first five chapters focus on teachers' responsibility for student's classroom behavior, and ways for teachers to manage…

This paper advocates oral communication as one of the most effective methods of improving classroom instruction in all subjects. It focuses on the teaching of mathematics and science, where the grasping of concepts is essential to student learning. The paper provides a rationale for oral communication across the curriculum. Further, the paper…

This study determined if the relationship between teacher communication style and teacher effectiveness differed for traditional undergraduate students and non-traditional adult learners. Subjects, 192 traditional undergraduate students and 167 non-traditional adult learners, provided teacher communication style and teacher effectiveness ratings…

This exploratory study describes a sample of teacher-pupil interactions in a high school containing a large number of at-risk students. The study was also initiated to contrast a group of mentor teachers with nonmentor teachers in terms of teacher-pupil rapport. Mentors were chosen from a pool of volunteers by the school principal and a committee.…

An experiment concerning Japanese college students' ability to express themselves in English to non-Japanese English-speakers is reported. Freshmen and sophomores at two Japanese four-year colleges were asked to give written English responses to six specific communicative situations. Results showed that while few of the responses were…

Based upon the hypothesis that a person's behavior is dictated by the immediate environment, a study was conducted to investigate whether student's perception of their best liked and least liked subjects was affected by their teacher's perception of the subjects they liked to teach best and felt most knowledgeable about. Participants, 47 third…

Emphasizing the importance of developing a social classroom climate, this book addresses the organization of the reading/writing classroom. Nine sections: (1) present a statement of principles based on this concept of classroom organization (J. Steinle); (2) discuss scheduling the school day as an important area of teacher planning (P. Sloan and…

This study examines natural language use in the bilingual, early childhood classroom in the context of: (1) functional patterns of requests and turn allocators used by Spanish-speaking children; (2) formal patterns of requests and turn allocators used by Spanish-speaking children; (3) the use of language alternation to make requests and allocate…