The reading, writing, speaking and listening standards in this paper describe what Pennsylvania students should know and be able to do with the English language at four grade levels (third, fifth, eighth and eleventh). The standards provide the targets for instruction and student learning essential for success in all academic areas, not just…

This study analyzed informal Finnish compositions written by the first pupils in Vaasa (Finland) who were taught Swedish by immersion method and the compositions of their parallel class. Compositions in the fourth and fifth forms were compared. The immersion pupils were taught mostly in Swedish, while their peers in the parallel group were taught…

This report describes a program for improving writing skills through choices of structured and unstructured writing process. The purpose of this program is to increase their ability to produce quality writing as measured by the district's fourth grade writing rubric. The targeted population consisted of an average fourth grade class, located in a…

This paper describes unique opportunities offered by the Internet for Japanese college students learning to write in English. It focuses on tasks that students were assigned using discussion forums on the Internet. It begins by describing the Web site, which is <http://www.esljapan.com>, looking at software considerations, privacy issues,…

This paper discusses the hazards of using standardized assessment in English/language arts. Using standardized tests to measure student competency with language is problematic because of inattention to what counts as appropriate language usage. Standardized tests reify textbook language usage only and do not distinguish between correct and…

This manual contains a description of the procedures to be used when administering the Nevada fourth- and eighth-grade Proficiency Examinations in Writing, along with detailed instructions to be read to students. Test administrators should make sure that students understand these instructions thoroughly before the testing session so that students…

This annotated bibliography presents an overview of journal articles and books on public relations that can be helpful to teachers and students as well as to practitioners and managers. New categories for this 1999 edition of the bibliography include Public Relations Theory, Feminist Issues in Public Relations, and Environmental Public Relations.…

The book examines why college students still write poorly and why various attempts to redress such poor writing skills have failed for the most part by presenting 19 essays by leading writing professionals, English professors, educational theorists, teachers, and curriculum designers. The essays describe what students can and cannot do in the…

This information capsule explores the effectiveness of score ranges on the Computerized Placement Test (CPT), used to assess the skills of entry-level students at Miami-Dade Community College and place first-time-in-college students in classes. Data are provided for students entering in Fall terms 1996 and 1997 showing the number of students…

A study investigated the effects of explicit versus implicit instruction in story grammar on the narrative writing skills of English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students at the university level. Subjects were 83 freshmen enrolled in English at the Faculty of Education at Suez Canal University (Egypt). The subjects were randomly assigned to…

This Digest reviews studies that deal with use of newspapers in grades K through 12 and as part of the language arts or general curriculum, as well as other studies that examined specifically journalism student performance in secondary schools and beyond. It concludes that evidence from all these studies is decidedly positive when comparing…

This study evaluates student attitudes about the use of portfolios in an English composition course. During the course of a semester, students in an English 101 course at Central Arizona College compile a portfolio of their compositions. Included in the portfolio is a rewrite of the first assigned paper (P-1). The P-1 paper was due the second week…

Revised version of a paper presented at the Wisconsin Symposium on Linguistic Perspectives on Black English, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, May 1970. Special issue on Black Dialect: Historical and Descriptive Issues'' edited by William A. Stewart. (RS)

A survey of current research in the teaching of English, describing several experimental programs in secondary school level composition and literature appreciation, and a study in children's literature instruction. (JB)

Urging that the technical student be taught the kind of English which he will encounter in his classes and textbooks, the author uses examples from chemistry textbooks to illustrate the kind of situation and the language material found in one particular area of study. To be continued in a later issue. (FWB)