Given the importance of proficiency in English for meaningful participation in Australian society and employment, a government-funded study examined the barriers to employment, training, and job promotion for 57 women with English language and literacy difficulties. Specific barriers are reported, including the new competency-based vocational…

Four adults with moderate/severe disabilities were taught to request objects by using the manual signs "want" or "please" plus an object label sign, within the context of familiar activities in which needed objects were missing. All participants acquired a generic requesting response, and three acquired an explicit requesting…

Suggests using lesson plans in a lesson series as a means of reflection to help inexperienced or preservice teachers utilize their experience to effect self-development in teaching. The author discusses preparation of reflective lesson plans and demonstrates their use in effecting teaching improvement. (11 references) (CK)

Describes a study conducted to test the hypothesis that focused conversations with native speakers held on a weekly basis will contribute to the development of learners' internal grammars of Spanish. This study centered on college students as they developed an appreciation of the different contexts requiring the preterite or the imperfect tense…

The relationships between emergent literacy skills and phonological awareness in preliterate children are examined, and a developmental model for facilitating literacy development is presented. Suggestions for enhancing metaphonological skills and a checklist for the early identification of young at-risk children are offered. (Author/DB)

Argues that schools should reflect the perspective that diversity, rather than being a problem, is an opportunity for every American to experience other peoples and cultures. Teachers should acknowledge diversity by showing respect for students' names, languages, and cultures in their classroom, curriculum, and teaching style. (MDM)

A model of service delivery for elementary students who stutter is described, emphasizing the integration of fluency-shaping and stuttering modification techniques. The treatment program includes procedures for helping children to understand and identify fluency problems, techniques for teaching and integrating fluency-shaping and stuttering…

Eight curriculum guides are provided for music and social studies; reading/language arts/social studies; reading/language arts; science; science/art; social studies. Objectives, resources, grade level, activity procedures, evaluation and follow-up suggestions are outlined for each activity. (JKP)

Members of the Association of State Technology-Using Teacher Educators completed questionnaires about the availability of computer programming within the California State University (CSU) system, noting its characteristics if it existed. Though programming still exists in there, it is evolving to include authoring tools and is still taught for…

The article explains how elementary teachers can strike a balance between whole language and traditional approaches to reading instruction, describing successful programs and sharing several teachers' suggestions for combining the two methods in the classroom. A list of reading resources is included. (SM)

This article summarizes the literature and suggests future directions concerning the education of gifted students with primary languages other than English. It addresses student characteristics, appropriate procedures for identification, service delivery, instructional methods, and community involvement. (DB)

The Tennessee value-added assessment system (TVAAS) is described. TVAAS is a statistical process measuring the influence which school systems, schools, and teachers have on indicators of student learning. Initially, TVAAS will furnish information at the system level for grades three through eight in math, science, reading, language, and social…

Describes the bachelor of arts program in applied language at the University of Brighton, England, which combines second-language learning and linguistics. The limitations of the program as it was originally conceived are examined, as well as recent improvements. Course objectives, content, and teaching methods are discussed. (17 references) (MDM)

Discusses efforts by Agnes Scott College to develop a languages-across-the-curriculum program and other initiatives to link language study with other disciplines, and examines the strengths and weaknesses of the program after three years and plans for future expansion. (Contains eight references.) (MDM)

Focuses on the mentoring of beginning (preservice) mathematics and science teachers in classrooms with large populations of bilingual students or students for whom English is a second language. Mentors can play a crucial role in preparing preservice teachers to instruct language minority students. (SLD)