Discusses a method to give English as a second language students preparing for postgraduate work the opportunity to practice writing in their areas of study. Students suggest questions in their subject, which the teachers reword as proper examination questions. These are then answered by the students under examination conditions. (SED)

Describes experiences in teaching adults to read and discusses the following needs of illiterate adult students: a program containing adult materials and a low student/teacher ratio, teachers skilled in teaching basic skills who are knowledgeable about a variety of teaching methodologies, and a way to find and bring them into the classroom. (EL)

Concludes that, at the beginning of their school careers, children are quite different as far as reading and writing are concerned, and that there are certain universal prerequisites to reading and writing that may be termed "metalinguistic skills." (FL)

Responds to teachers who are still unconvinced of the value of word processors or computers in professional writing courses. Describes word processing units offered in a technical writing course and reports results from a questionnaire on the units given to students in the course. Contains a copy of the questionnaires. (EL)

Describes how using traditional methods to grade students' written compositions forces evaluators to undertake simultaneously two incompatible tasks, responding and assessing. Suggests that, because of variations in grading, team grading procedures be used as a workable method of arriving at fair and reliable composition grades. (EL)

The National Writing Project (NWP), begun in Berkeley, California, in 1974 as the Bay Area Writing Project, has expanded to more than 100 sites in 43 states. Current programs in New Hampshire and Virginia exemplify the potential offered by the NWP for improving student writing. (JBM)

Forty language class activities are suggested for reinforcing vocabulary and structures used in all types of French second language programs; reinforcing the four areas of knowledge (comprehension, speech, reading, and writing); developing communicative skills; integrating culture into French language programs; and integrating other subject area…

Describes an experiment in which 21 first-year university students were trained in study techniques, then followed through their first examination. When their examination results were compared with those of control groups, statistically significant differences were found, indicating that elaborate study skills can be learned and may facilitate…

Outlines an introductory literature course wherein students learn to apply Jakobsen's schema of the communications process to the analysis of a variety of readings, both as a means of improving their critical reading skills and as a heuristic device for the essays they write on the readings. (FL)

Describes SPAWN, a technique for helping teachers make writing assignments in which students must first read, then integrate information from reading with their background experiences, to produce a piece of writing. (FL)

Argues that in language development, children display a sustained and conscious effort to learn (L) words and expressions, assimilate (A) the language system, and acquire fluency (F) in using it to communicate. Maintains the same is true in literacy development. (FL)

Many social and intellectual forces focus introductory courses not on the process of inquiry but on its products. Changes that can help refocus these courses include limiting class size, emphasizing writing skills, having all levels of faculty teach the courses, and promoting exchange of ideas in the classroom. (MSE)

Relies on a study of articles on agronomy and engineering to argue that teachers of technical style need to examine more closely the structures used by technical writers, particularly subordinate clauses that may be a means of distinguishing the "languages" of various technical disciplines. (EL)

Examines flaws in the literature of dialect interference, examines the seven correlates of Patrick Hartwell's print code hypothesis and finds them wanting or uninstructive, and sets forth suggestions for a more sophisticated study of this issue. (HOD)

Explains a technique for teaching proofreading to basic writing students that calls forth their inner competence with language and causes them to attend to what is actually written in order to find and correct manuscript errors. (EL)