The 161 tests cited in this bibliography are for all age and grade levels. Many of the instruments are test batteries in which writing skills are measured in a subtest. The tests may contain objective, multiple-choice or essay-type questions. The tests included here are in English and for native-speakers. This document is one in a series of…

This catalog is a checklist that provides an overview of objectives that can be explored in an adult literacy program. It is intended to (1) help instructors form a quick idea of what students already know; (2) show learners that they already do know a great deal; and (3) help learners and instructors plan the program ahead by making a selection…

The responses of four scholars in the field of second language education to questions about language anxiety in second language learners are presented. The four respondents were Stephen Krashen, Alice Omaggio Hadley, Tracy Terrell, and Jennybelle Rardin. The formats of the interviews included telephone interviews on questions presented beforehand,…

In 1983, Charles County Community College (CCCC) initiated a project to infuse academic information from the sciences, humanities, and social sciences into developmental courses. The reorganization assignments related to 27 topics that promoted academic examination and cultural literacy while at the same time drawing from students' own…

Everyone sees through advertisements, yet no one is immune from their appeal. In a writing class the students were able to look at ads without being injured or seduced by them, but doubted that others could do the same. It is important to encourage students to discuss what they actually think about writings rather than what they are supposed to…

A Francis Christensen-oriented, "generative rhetoric" 12-step approach to sentence skills was used in two English-as-a-second-language composition courses at Wichita (Kansas) State University in 1980. The classes consisted of approximately 50% Middle Eastern students, 35% Southeast Asian students, and 15% African and South American students. Two…

Basic writing (BW) programs and teachers are often victims of the various political systems of academia. Administrators seldom devote energy or funds to BW programs and expend little effort to secure qualified faculty for them. BW courses are most frequently taught by part-time faculty, largely in unsupervised situations and without a common…

A curriculum for intermediate composition for students of English as a second language is presented based on the use of levels of specificity as an organizing principle. The course objective is for students to write well-planned, coherent paragraphs acceptable to the American academic audience, within limited formats. Two additional fundamentals…

A "maps in the news" unit can be used to help middle and junior high school students in many subject areas recognize basic map components and identify and analyze thematic maps while building writing skills. Prior to beginning the unit, the teacher introduces students to thematic maps, the parts of a map, and writing organization (topic…

Some children become capable readers and writers before ever attending school and without exposure to formal instruction. This phenomenon--sometimes referred to as natural literacy development--is not, in the strictest sense, natural; as the adult presents much of the literacy environment to the child in a socialized, mediated form, teaching is…

Concerned with the interaction between teacher writing values and classroom writing instruction, this report describes a naturalistic study of writing-related activities and teacher attitudes in a combined second and third grade classroom and a sixth grade classroom. It presents descriptions and analyses of seven occasions for writing that…

A course designed for college students with severe writing problems, especially those stemming from nonstandard speech patterns, was adapted to a variety of noncollege settings: two high schools, a labor union, a manpower training program, and the staff education department of a psychiatric hospital. Each setting attempted to integrate classroom…

This resource material, written by Georgia teachers and field tested statewide, provides 45 strategies--or motivational activities--to use as supplemental materials when students have difficulty mastering language arts skills. The strategies are listed alphabetically for easy reference and are presented as alternative ways to reinforce…

College composition instructors need special knowledge and skills in teaching black students. After pointing out the difference between black dialect and standard English, teachers need to discuss with students the practical reasons for using standard English in writing. To avoid being arbitrary or patronizing during this discussion, instructors…

As a preliminary study evaluating the relative merits of skill development and information exposure in speech communication classes, an opinion survey was administered to students taking two variants of the introductory course. The two courses, labeled "Basic Blend" and "Blend: Public Speaking Emphasis," included roughly equivalent units on…