The connections among language learning, language education, and children's wordplay are explored in this book. Each chapter examines some aspect of the interrelations between wordplay activities and the goals of language education. The book is divided into three sections, with the first section exploring wordplay and language learning in the…

Five one-hour broadcasts of KPIX Eyewitness News (San Francisco) were analyzed to provide examples of a signification process and to understand both how humorous instances arise in the newscast and their likely meaning for the viewer. One general finding was that the amount of humor or attempted humor is quite small. Banter between anchorpersons,…

The bilingual booklet contains poems, song lyrics, thoughts, humorous stories, riddles, and games used by Katimavik, a nine-month volunteer community service learning and work experience program for 17 to 21-year-old Canadians. The first six pages of the document contain poems and song lyrics, some written in English, and some in French; the…

There are three "communication contexts": interpersonal, intrapersonal (relating to others through internal thought), and mass media, especially television (relating to others in an indirect, impersonal manner). People satisfy different needs through different contexts. Open-minded people may choose television for relaxation and the interpersonal…

The 17 articles in this journal issue focus on writing and writing instruction. The articles discuss the following: (1) the NorthEast Texas, Texas Hill Country, and University of Arizona writing projects; (2) the necessity of dealing with truth in the writing class, not as a concept to be defined, but as an act that creates and recreates…

Methods of helping students reduce test anxiety are discussed, including guided fantasy which leads students to imagine a setting in which they feel competent and relaxed. Catastrophic-anastrophic expectations teach that different expectations create different feelings and make students aware that they are in charge of their own attitudes. Anxiety…

The thesis of this study is that the secondary school American literature curriculum in a particular region should include the cultural heritage of that region as reflected in its oral literature. In this study, aspects of the growth of a distinctive American humor are traced from colonial times to the present along the eastern seaboard, with…

Over 200 participants from 10 states and 17 universities attended "The First National Symposium on Chicano Literature and Critical Analysis." Five of the papers presented at the symposium are given in this publication. The papers cover Chicano poetry, novel, drama, and popular folklore humor. "National Character vs Universality in…

The purpose of the course on satire in the Quinmester Program is to make the student more aware of satire in literature and the other media, in order to add to his enjoyment of literature and add to his perception of human nature. The course includes the study of art, cartoons, movies, television, and editorials in addition to literature.…

Children in grades 1-3 were asked to retell and explain a series of riddles. Ability to recall riddles was not predictive of ability to explain them. Three cognitive factors seemed to determine level of riddle competence. Implications concern the relationship of riddle competence to reading ability and metalinguistic facility. (CHK)

Approaches a writing assignment in an all-girls classroom by differentiating between what men think is funny ("guyfun") and what women think is funny ("galfun"). (NKA)

Appraises the results of an exercise in which students in a composition class attempted to write detective stories. Concludes that many of their syntactic errors result from their intentions exceeding their level of writing skill. (RBW)

Links the teaching of contemporary folklore with writing instruction. Finds that the study of folklore can help students learn to write well and to think analytically. (RBW)

An analysis of the kinds and uses of laughter in five adult introductory foreign language classes is presented. The importance of this form of nonverbal communication in the teaching situation is examined in the context of classroom ritual's effects on learners' nonverbal behavior. (MSE)