Reviews research on sex differences in language use. Describes a study of the language patterns of 20 female college students in basic writing or freshman composition. Addresses instructional implications. Reviews relevant reading theories, discusses the relationship between women's language patterns and their reading schemata, and recommends…

Presents summaries of research studies related to instructional computer use: three compare word processed and handwritten text of students with and without learning disabilities; one compares student retrieval skills using print and electronic encyclopedias; and one examines computer use by math and science teachers via data from a U.S. national…

Writing for the BBC World Service "Short Story" Program provides English as a second language students with the necessary conditions for "authentic writing," namely authentic and communicative writing practice, encouragement of language acquisition, and improvement of the teacher student relationship. (CB)

Course offerings listed in a national directory of training programs for junior/community college teachers were measured against the opinions of Iowa community college writing teachers about helpful training for community college teachers. Results indicated a need for more course offerings in remediation techniques, composition theory, speech,…

Describes the dynamics of problem solving through spoken discourse in one-to-one tutoring of second-language writing in order to determine whether these processes vary with either instructional approach or language used. Tutors' and students' cooperative efforts to solve problems in the students' draft compositions focused primarily on local…

Describes a representative sample of recent research on the uses of microcomputer-based word processing in composition instruction. Topics discussed include revision strategies; collaborative writing; student attitudes and motivation; writing quality; implementation of word processing; problems; equity issues; and questions for future research.…

Describes the Graphic Story Writer system, which was written to explore ways in which a computer can simulate the presence of an active listener for early readers and preliterate children as they explore story construction. An authoring tool that allows adults or more advanced students to create or edit new scenarios is also described. (Contains…

Describes the development of an interactive compact disc on CD-ROM XA that was designed to help adults learn to read. The application of technology to learning is discussed, differences in learner control in computer-based systems are considered, virtual writing is described, and assessment activities available on the disc are explained. (five…

Discusses what is known about cognitive skills writing. Reports results of an experiment in which 288 youth in grades 7, 8, and 9 were given writing assignments relating to planning, translating, reviewing, and revising their papers. Discusses gender differences in cognitive writing processes and reviews literature on interventions for cognitive…

Examined the literacy activities of 47 father/child pairs over a two-year period in New Mexico. Found a variety of reading and writing activities and concern among fathers relating to school preparedness and bonding opportunities. Devised five recommendations aimed specifically at fathers to develop early reading and writing skills in their…

Draws on classroom observations, interviews, and writing portfolios to contend that competing demands in modern classrooms can lead to environments that sabotage the teaching of argumentative and persuasive writing. Concludes that the epistemology fostered by classroom talk and other activities was inimical to the complex rhetoric the teacher was…

Concentrating on the unintentionally dominant group, the author considers how Walter Ong demonstrates that novice writers have a narrow concept of audience that is really a narcissistic fiction projected as an ideal reader (1975). Given this, writing instructors can work to broaden their students' sense of audience to consider readers who are not…

The goal of the study was to compare the literacy challenges faced by children who speak nonstandard dialects of English and for whom Standard English is a "second dialect" with challenges faced by children for whom Standard English is a "second language." The study focused on the extent to which discourse patterns in the…

One in a series of annual publications, this booklet contains reviews of books relating to the teaching of English and the language arts. The books are divided into 12 categories: teaching principles and practice, source books and course books, writing, teaching reading, books for the slower reader, dictionaries and oral work, prose, poetry,…

Describes the development and use of a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) laboratory in the English-language teaching unit at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Undergraduate students in a writing skills course were trained to use word processors which were available for the students' writing assignments. (LMO)