Examines the underlying causes of the failure of writing courses for skills-deficient students, especially as they relate to composition texts and teaching methods based on them, and suggests new approaches. (DD)

Shows how the study of literature and the skills of writing and thinking can be mutually reinforcing activities. (DD)

The article gives a critique of current practice in the field of learning disabilities and examines several popular approaches to remediating educationally handicapped children. (Author)

Addresses the problem of poor listening skills in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners. A strategy to rectify the problem is suggested, and a set of procedures for a remedial course is outlined. (Author/CB)

The article offers an interpretation of "specially designed instruction" in arithmetic computation for learning disabled students which challenges overreliance on paper-and-pencil methodologies, rule-oriented procedures, and traditional sequences. Long division is used as an example of developing conceptual understanding to undergird computation.…

Research based instructional procedures to facilitate generalization of learning strategies by remedial students are offered at four levels of generalization: antecedent, concurrent, subsequent, and independent. Within each level, specific procedures mediated by the special teacher, the regular teacher, peer, and/or student are illustrated.…

Recommends the resourceful, well-planned utilization of carefully selected current news stories from sophisticated publications to enrich the content of remedial writing classes. Presents three sample cases in which news items become the basis for the exploration of major social and ethical concerns. (DMM)

The effects of remediation of hypothesized component deficits prior to remediation of known academic deficiencies were compared with remediation of academic (reading) deficiencies alone among 76 elementary grade learning disabled students. Results indicated better achievement for students receiving both remedial treatments. (Author/DB)

Presents guidelines for effective vocabulary instruction, stressing the importance of using mixed methods, learning vocabulary in context, maintaining student interest, and active learning. Describes three generative vocabulary strategies: student-initiated vocabulary study, the keyword method of imagining, and concept cards. (AYC)

Explores three current approaches to describing what happens to basic writers when they enter college. Seeks a more comprehensive approach that takes into account the differences in dialect, discourse conventions, and ways of thinking, through the notion of a language community, and W. Perry's developmental model. (HTH)

Discusses the characteristics of the ideal basic writing instructor, including commitment, curiosity, and confidence. Describes some of the ways in which the Ohio State University faculty has tried to foster these characteristics in its basic writing instructors. (HTH)

Presents sentence-combining exercises that can help basic writing students to produce correct surface-structure transformations in their writing. (HTH)

Examines the origin and development of the Learning Assistance Center at California State University-Long Beach, which offers classroom support, individualized self-paced instruction, and tutorial services. Provides a rationale for the learning assistance support system and describes programs, services, and management features. (DMM)