The patterns of moves in one type of teaching setting is very fixed: the teacher sets the stage for the learning, then sets tasks or asks questions for others to respond to and then comments on the performances. The problem with this pattern in language classrooms is that language is used differently in non-teaching settings. If students are…

The first part of this study explored the form of verbal exchanges in the classroom, the effects of various conditions upon the exchanges between child and adult, and the child's competence in producing questions and narratives. Research was carried out in two first-grade classrooms located in a predominately Hawaiian working-class suburb of…

This year-long study explored the linguistic and cognitive transactions of immigrant language-minority kindergarten students in the social context of classroom collaborative talk in their native language. Collaborative talk transactions were selected from 13 videotaped sessions involving 27 Hispanic kindergarten students, mostly recent arrivals…

Papers from a conference on the teaching of grammar, particularly in second language instruction, include: "Grammar: Acquisition and Use" (Richard Johnstone); "Grammar and Communication" (Brian Page); "Linguistic Progression and Increasing Independence" (Bernardette Holmes); "La grammaire? C'est du bricolage!" ("Grammar? That's Hardware!") (Barry…

In cooperative learning environments, small groups of students work together to accomplish specific pedagogical tasks, and teachers act as facilitators. One highly significant characteristic of cooperative learning that has received little consideration so far is the shift in the participation frame that takes place when students are left alone to…

Compares the activities of different groups of music teachers during rehearsals and the amount of time spent on each activity. Dependent variables included preparation time; initial teacher talk; and time in warm-up, playing of instruments, breaks, and dismissal. Discovers that student teachers talked most and allowed students to play least. (MJP)

Presents 5 activities for the K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8 grade levels and for in the home in which students explore the concept of triangle through cooperative open-ended investigations. Provides related reproducible worksheets. (MDH)

Presents an ethnomethodological study of how Australian high school geography teachers and students rely on common sense knowledge and reasoning to facilitate learning. Analyzes portions of transcripts from a class activity in which students built a scale model of a city. Explains location categorization devices, illustrating how learning involves…

Based on litigation patterns, discrimination because of accent occurs most frequently in colleges and universities, particularly in the classroom. Accent discrimination cases are unlike other employment discrimination cases because successful claims generally do not depend on qualifications, but on accent's effect on job performance. Specific…

A five-year study of college classroom incivilities (CI) in large survey courses at a large research university found the most problematic to be teachers displaying aloof, distancing mannerisms; teachers discouraging student involvement with fast-paced lectures; student noisiness and indifference; students coming late, leaving early; and students'…

Challenging the Cartesian dualisms that essentialize difference, this essay offers strategies for building transracial, feminist alliances through pedagogy. The authors argue that resistive classroom spaces should be created in which students and teachers challenge the discourses of domination that structure our understandings of identity and…

According to recent U.S. census reports, while the population of the United States increased by 10%, the population speaking languages other than English at home increased by 38% between 1980 and 1990. One in six of all youth in the United States, ages 14 to 19, either speaks a language other than English at home, was born in a foreign country, or…

An exploration of student participation in the second language classroom looks at teacher expectations for classroom participation and examines factors constraining interaction, based on personal experiences with learning and teaching a second language. First, common definitions of student participation are examined, and personal styles of student…

A survey of a random sample of Illinois elementary, junior, and senior high school second language teachers investigated three areas: (1) teacher preparation, training, and oral proficiency levels; (2) percent of the target language used by the teacher in the classroom within a specific time span; and (3) the teacher-perceived usefulness and…

A study was conducted at an American university to collect data on how native English-speaking students asked questions in class. The data were analyzed for use of syntactic forms, formulaic expressions or prefatory comments, terms of address, functions fulfilled by the questions, and politeness markers. The results were then compared with the…