A study examined the patterns of talk in discussions of literature in classrooms where students are labeled "average," and examined the perspectives of teachers and students in such classrooms on the goals and difficulties of discussions of literature. Five English teachers and their 8th- through 12th-grade students participated in…

Story-telling is a language-learning activity providing many opportunities for students to use language spontaneously and imaginatively. As an open-ended activity, story-telling helps students to expand literate behaviors, to explore and to spontaneously stretch composing strategies into meaningful contexts before they set their pencils to paper.…

A model for analyzing classroom interaction is presented. The model focuses on two issues: management of turn-taking and the relationship between ways of interacting and outcome of the teaching/learning process. Turn-taking is seen as one element of conversational style, in which speakers signal degree of involvement by using different linguistic…

A case study examined the logic of a student's unconventional interpretation of a poem. The subject, an outgoing and well-spoken student from the lower-middle class enrolled in a remedial composition class at the University of California, offered an unconventional reading of a poem by a contemporary Japanese-American writer. Data consisted of…

Noting that it is important in communication classes to devise ways to help students to be comfortable with each other, this paper maintains that icebreakers and group builders are strategies that are vital in creating openness and trust in such classes. The paper offers eight icebreakers (activities designed to help students feel comfortable with…

Designed to grade children's knowledge of commonly used instructional terms in a particular language arts program, the AIT consists of a verbal part and a situational part. Each part assesses the same commonly used instructional terms: word, begin, letter, name, makes sense, beginning sounds, print, trace, capital letter, rhyme, period, stands…

The two studies reported in this article examine the verbal and nonverbal interaction patterns of (1) bilingual teachers as they switch from one language to another, and (2) bilingual adults in the same classroom, usually a teacher and an assistant teacher or aide.

The results of the study seem to support a conclusion that teaching methods involving student/teacher interaction produces superior student achievement when compared with a pure lecture approach. (Author)

Author discussed the problem the classroom teacher faces when meeting "disruptive behavior" during his teaching time. (Author/RK)

Presents definitions of terms used in communicating about Transactional Analysis (TA) and explains how TA may be used in science classes to make students feel more able and less captive. (PEB)

Reviews four articles on communicative competence as a goal of study, chosen from 1974-75 issues of four journals. Topics discussed include: Setting goals, ascertaining levels of achievement in communication, possibility of sectioning groups according to ability, and actualizing communicative activity in the classroom. (Text is in German.)…

The classroom teacher ought to consider teaching methods which will produce a climate for open communication. (Author)

Communication between students and teachers is crucial at all educational levels and is particularly important in adult learning situations. Good feedback should be descriptive, specific, and constructive. Constructive feedback requires an atmosphere of trust and, above all, should not violate the personal integrity of either the sender or the…

A variety of ideas for classroom second language learning activities are presented. Most are for the intermediate level, but some beginning and advanced level activities are included. Two elements are common to all of them: regard for the cultural element in the language and maintenance of a low-risk, non-intimidating classroom atmosphere. The…

Cross-cultural awareness in the multicultural classroom has become an important issue in recent years for two main reasons: a continued increase in the number of international students studying in the United States and an increased emphasis on faculty skills for dealing with minorities in the classroom. Faculty approaches to maintaining cultural…