In this article, the authors reflect upon their professional "journey through oracy" by offering a review of literature on "talk"--an exploration of the various ways in which "talk" has been explored by theorists and researchers in the last century. By interweaving into this review a collection of reflections on their own published work, the…

The target for the year 2004 is that 70% of all 14-year-olds should achieve Level 5 English. This figure rises to 85% for 2007. "Schools that are beginning to work on literacy across subjects...are asked to prioritise objectives from the "Framework for teaching English: years 7-9"" (Department for Education and Employment,…

This article is a summary of our working group's continued discourse from the Conference on English Education (CEE) Summit, where our discussions focused on English teacher candidate competencies, program assessment, the Standards and Guidelines, and National Council of Teachers of English's (NCTE's) roles and responsibilities. For the purpose of…

The Language Arts 6-12 Program of the Des Moines Independent Community School District (Iowa) is directed by its mission statement to provide a quality educational program to a diverse community of students where all are expected to learn. The Language Arts supervisor is responsible for supervising and coordinating all aspects of the middle and…

Two years ago the University of Tampa acquired the "BASIC SKILLS" software program developed by Computer Systems Research to help underprepared students bring their reading, writing, and mathematical skills up to college levels. Two studies were undertaken to determine the effectiveness of the software and to establish the most effective…

A study examined classroom discourse in three literature class discussions among 15 high school juniors and their teacher as they tried to make sense of "Hamlet" and "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead." Participants' moves (what the students and teacher were trying to do with their language during the discussion);…

A research project was conducted in 1982 by Sacramento City College's Assessment Center to evaluate the effectiveness of selected English courses found in three levels of English: English 55 and 56 (the lowest level); English 57 (level two), and English 1A (level three). The study focused on students who had reading and English scores required for…

This report evaluates the Chapter 1 Program in Community High School District #218 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It covers the following four areas: description of the program, comparison between sites, program conformity with stated goals, and assessment of impact on students. The evaluators found much variation between sites. The mathematics program is…

Maintaining that sentence-combining language experience is the single most beneficial tool currently available to improve student writing, this paper speculates about the value and effects of the adoption of the language experience approach across the English curriculum. It presents six tasks that need to be undertaken by teachers, researchers,…

Draws an analogy between reading and writing, and between reading and responding to the world. Concludes that reading, like writing and responding to the world around us, is revisionary. (MS)

The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of using a Multiple Intelligences-Based Training Programme on developing first-year English majors' oral communication skills. Based on literature review and related studies, a list of 20 oral communication skills was prepared and displayed over a panel of jury members to select…

Discusses one Sudanese student's frustration with learning English his second year in the United States. Describes writing assignments used in the seventh grade class. Notes that Simon, the Sudanese student, found poetry to be an easier way to express himself using the English language. (SG)

Concept-teaching procedures in five basal language programs for kindergarten were analyzed on the basis of 11 design-of-instruction criteria. Concepts such as position, color, shape, size, and directionality were examined. Results suggest that the programs' concept-teaching procedures failed to adhere to essential principles for designing…

Looks at the discussion of a small group of girls (ordinarily reticent or diffident in class) in a senior English class as they interpreted the character of Ophelia in Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Discusses the idea that thinking can develop through dialogic (collaborative) rather than dialectic (conflictive) transactions. Notes classroom…

Presents a school-year-long case study of a fourth-grade boy with a history of language difficulties. Describes development of a set of curriculum-centered, classroom-based strategies for language and literacy support. Focuses on changes in the student's language constructions and communicative competence, in the form of the teacher's supportive…