Discusses the ways language shapes meaning and knowledge. Considers how writing instruction is vitally linked to the concepts of social constructionism. Outlines a class exercise in which the teacher shares an essay-in-progress with students and discusses the idea of writing and revision as "conversation." (HB)

Discusses one teacher's approach to "advanced" English instruction. Reflects on such topics as the undigested transmission of the canon and the problems of the "common sense" style of teaching. Includes comments by two students who participated in the course being described. (HB)

Explains the new conception of literary genre as it is being devised in the fields of literary studies, linguistics, and rhetoric. Suggests how this new conception has affected the thinking of teachers on writing and writing instruction. (HB)

Suggests that using personas helps students to engage as active learners in their study of William Shakespeare. Describes how students can assume an invisible metaphoric mask in their writing about a play. Argues that the persona approach aids students in recognizing Shakespeare's relevance for their lives. (HB)

Dramatizes the give and take that accompanies any attempt to get an English department to speak with one voice and arrive at a consensus regarding curriculum revision. Provides details of the curriculum reform process undertaken at the University of Oregon. (HB)

Responds to Garth Boomer's classic 1984 essay on English teaching. Notes that the essay (1) enabled the author to articulate what he found disengaging about the essay and much of the current professional writing on English teaching; (2) clarified what he most valued in his colleagues; and (3) clarified his understanding of the purpose of the…

Relates the author's experiences as a teacher with a high school student, a soft-spoken Japanese young woman, who taught the author and her fellow high school students much about understanding, forgiveness, and peace. (SR)

Calls for a recasting of English in tune with changes that new digital technologies are heralding. Argues that it will be essential for children to acquire skills such as selecting, sequencing, manipulating and re-forming texts and to co-ordinate different layers of meaning. (NH)

This 2-year longitudinal study explores the process by which three populations of practitioners (mentors, co-ordinators, and teachers) interpreted a national curriculum involving a change in policies for teaching English as a foreign language. The analysis revealed that the process of managing the changes brought about by the new curriculum…

This paper reports a small-scale study of wider reading at Key Stage 3 in current English classrooms in secondary schools in the south of England. Six English teachers, three of whom were relatively new to teaching, were interviewed on what they thought about wider reading. The findings indicate that because of a lack of time and absence of demand…

Designed primarily for English faculty at two-year colleges in California, "Inside English" includes articles on major instructional, curricular, administrative, and employment issues of concern to teachers in the field as well as information on the activities of the English Council of the California Two-Year Colleges (ECCTYC). This…

Because of the inadequacy of the three models of English teaching in Australia (the skills, personal growth, and cultural heritage models) in carrying the impact of English instruction beyond its own confines, a new model--the person-process model--is necessary. The model focuses on the individual, but serves to locate individuals in their life…

This paper provides a brief introduction to the principles underlying Charles Fillmore's case grammar, contrasts it with other approaches to grammar, and suggests ways in which case grammar could be used in the language arts curriculum. Examples of the transparencies to which the text refers are included. (AA)

Argues that freshman composition courses should incorporate the study of communications systems (Cybernetics) and the idea that a situation or subject cannot be explained by a single series of logical steps (Overdetermination) as part of their rationale. (RB)