Reports the results of a three-year qualitative observation study of a Japanese foreign language in the elementary school (FLES) program. The observation was analyzed from the sociocultural point of view led by Vygotsky, which treats learning through social guidance and motivation as central to an account of language development. (Author/JL)

Examines factors influencing students' personal voices becoming part of the public talk of an 11th-grade U.S. history class and an 8th-grade language arts class. Finds student participation in discussion is influenced by peer and gender relations and differing conceptions of teaching and knowledge. Notes encouraging students to exercise their…

Examines the "living dialogues," or the complex interplay between discourses, among three children, their families, and teachers to recontextualize the often polarized debates about literacy instruction. Argues the creation of more inclusive school literacy practices requires a consideration of how discourses function within and across homes,…

Notes that communication between teachers and culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students need serious consideration especially in recognizing potential sources of miscommunication and misinterpretation. Considers sources of miscommunication within verbal and nonverbal communication. Discusses each element and offers examples in CLD…

This study investigated topic features and the effect of topic variation on performance in a test designed to assess the language skills of international teaching assistants in chemistry. Results suggest a relationship between topic of input (as defined by the topic features of concepts, math, and calculations) and test scores. (Author/MSE)

Classroom discussion is one of the most frequently used and often embraced pedagogical strategies. In attempting to enhance participation quality and discussion effectiveness, there is concern over what to do about students who are less inclined to participate voluntarily. We examined the context of intensive graduate business classes--in which…

In this article, the role of young children's emotional practices in science learning is described and analyzed. From the standpoint of performativity theory and social-constructionist theory of emotion, it is argued that emotion is performative and the expression of emotion in the classroom has its basis in social relationships. Arising from…

Deliberative discussions are grounded in particular conceptions of democracy and are intensely difficult to learn to lead. This study uses a sociocultural lens to examine the cases of two elementary school teachers as they worked to foster deliberation in their classrooms. Speech code theory is used to uncover conceptual tools the teachers used as…

This article on pedagogy in the classroom seminar combines the basic principles of dialogue and liberation as expressed especially by 20th-century thinkers Bakhtin and Freire. It argues for a pedagogy of educational growth and facilitation of ideas. Through learner-centered knowledge, dialogic interaction, open exploration, mutual respect, and…

This article seeks to explore the practice of repair in classroom discourse from an ideological perspective of language and literacy. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in an urban high school with a predominant English Language Learner (ELL) population, this paper outlines the theoretical foundations of repair from a "conversation…

Numerous classroom-based research projects have examined the important role social skills play in an elementary classroom (Browning, Davis, and Resta 2000; Burns 2003; Palmer and Wehmeyer 2003; Stone 2001). As Stone (2001, 18) suggested, "Teachers have an enormous influence on children's behavior by speaking directly and honestly to them,…

This study examined the functions that student talk served during partner reading events in a second grade classroom. Five major themes of talk emerged from the data including organizational, disputational, word strategy, meaning making and personal talk. All of these types of talk functioned to support partner reading except for personal talk,…

Promoting discussion and argumentation of mathematical ideas among students are aspects of the vision for communication in recent school mathematics reform efforts. Having rich mathematical discussions, however, can present a variety of classroom challenges. Many factors influence classroom discussions and need to be addressed in ways that will…

In dual immersion classrooms, students from different language backgrounds are immersed in the minority language for large portions of the school day with the expectation that they will become equally proficient in their first language (L1) and in their second language (L2). Research on dual immersion indicates that students reach above-average…

The study set out to investigate the impact of the official endorsement of 'interactive whole class teaching' on the interaction and discourse styles of primary teachers while teaching the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. In both strategies, interactive whole class teaching is seen as an 'active teaching' model promoting high quality…