Two experiments study the effects of structure and content variables on memory and comprehension of prose passages. The first experiment tests the effects of systematically varying the amount of structure present in to-be-learned passages. The second experiment assesses the independent contributions of structure and content variables in…

Argues for a reconceptualization of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research in order to enlarge the ontological and empirical parameters of the field. Claims that methodologies, theories, and foci within SLA reflect an imbalance between cognitive and mentalistic orientations, and social and contextual orientations to language, the former…

Explores, from a feminist perspective, the discourses of choice regarding how women make their choices as consumers in the education marketplace. It argues that mothers as parents are not free to choose but act within a range of constraints, i.e., their choices are limited by structural and moral possibilities in a patriarchal and racist society.…

Using extracts from a corpus of naturally occurring French conversation, this study examines how the collaborative construction of episodes of shared laughter contributes to the achievement of affiliation between interlocutors. Results show that how laughter is initiated, where it is placed, and who joins in are significant to the task of…

Compares Spanish and English essays written by bilingual writers. Describes each writer's discourse-organizational and clausal-combining strategies. Suggests that organization on the discourse level is reflected in the type of clausal combinations chosen by the writers at the sentence level. (TB)

Examined large corpus of spontaneous English conversation for pronunciation of "the" and speech patterns immediately following. Found that speakers use "thiy" (versus "thuh") pronunciation to signal immediate suspension of speech to deal with a problem in production; problems were at many levels of production, including articulation, word…

Examines syntactic choices available to journal article writers for making reporting statements and the conditions governing such choices. The article investigates the way in which the choice of theme affects the syntactic form of the reports. The resulting syntactic forms are shown to be associated with the function of reports in their contexts.…

Examines first-year college students' conceptions of a good discussion and whether activities designed to encourage the conversation-like discussions found in adult book clubs affected these conceptions. The article presents stories of four students illustrating changes in their conceptions and analyzing them along three dimensions. (21…

Examines the in-class essay as written by university freshmen to assess the extent to which students use formulaic expressions to minimize the cognitive burden of generating a coherent and adequate answer. Results show that students made extensive use of formulaic expressions and shaped their answers to reflect the way the information had been…

Explores evolutionary changes in students' (n=46) motion-related language mediated by computer-based Newtonian microworlds. Documents how ways of talking emerge and how the convergence of meaning arises from the affordances provided by the interpretive flexibility of the microworld, conversations with the teacher, and the microworld which assures…

Journal entries of disadvantaged students in a preadmission prep course illustrate the potential of such "personal" writing to perform a powerful cultural critique and bridge the gap between academic and personal discourses. A conflict appeared between literate practices students already used and those they were expected to adopt in academia. (SK)

Examines a particular "style of speech" used by a farming community in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, which is characterized by code-switching with Xhosa and by prevalent terms of address. The social significance of the speech style in terms of the identity communicated is explored and discourse features are discussed. (Author/JL)

Argues that the National Science Education Standards uses a discourse of invisibility to lay out its reform for science education and does not directly address ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, and theoretical issues. Proposes that the standards ought to provide arguments and evidence in support of the reasons why equity should be a guiding principle…

Discusses the mutually opposed stances towards learning represented by early formulations of deconstruction and of hermeneutics. Identifies shifts in later formulations of both which provides a more inclusive context for understanding learning as a human undertaking, including the identification of tensions that are more promising than the…

Describes disposition designed to provide students with some of the substance of proof as an element of the practical rationality invested in engaging students in proving. Discusses how video episodes enhance chances of eliciting the practical rationality of mathematics teaching and how these records and artifacts function in the context of a…