Learning communities are common on two- and four-year college campuses. Estimates suggest that they exist on four to five hundred campuses and can be found in most states. Such numbers signal that interest in learning communities is going strong, and there are indications that on two-year college campuses, interest continues to grow. As…

The study aimed to examine teachers' and students' views on the impact of the Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) on students' college readiness and on teaching practices. Literature in the areas of college readiness, critiques of the English curriculum at the secondary level, and a review of research on the effects of ERWC are…

As is known, writing is an indispensable part of language education. As far as English Language Teaching Departments are concerned, writing courses, especially Advanced Writing Skills, are taken as a course of higher importance. However, forming a syllabus for Advanced Writing Course for English Language Teaching Departments is not an easy matter.…

The English curriculum tends to be framed in relation to two unconscious boundaries based on the dichotomies between writing and reading as well as print and image. This paper re-envisions the curriculum as comprising a hybrid space where students are involved in composing texts that integrate writing and reading practices while also considering…

An article entitled "Pupils Persevere" covered the front page of Madison's local newspaper in February 2005. Highlighting the plight of four alternative programs in Madison's public school system, the article both angered and pleased students at this school. Although the central point of the front-page article was a plea for a larger physical…

Current theoretical conversations in the field of Rhetoric and Composition, particularly conversations related to first-year curricular design, are increasingly concerned with the issue of "teaching for transfer." While developing successful transfer pedagogy is a challenging undertaking, one that may require writing instructors to…

While discussion about the nature and function of the PhD has flourished for years in the broad context of English studies (Bérubé; Lunsford et al.; Nelson) and for more than a decade now in rhetoric and composition (Brown, Meyer, and Enos; North; Young and Steinberg), the Master's degree has attracted scant attention. No doubt this traces to a…

In this review of research in applied linguistics and language teaching and learning in Singapore, more than one hundred national publications for the period 2000-2007 will be reviewed. Since this period encompasses certain changes that were introduced in Singapore schools at the start of the new millennium, it would be appropriate to take stock…

Defends the place of grammar instruction in the language arts curriculum by distinguishing it from prescriptive and orthographic conventions. (HTH)

Across the country, numerous efforts are currently underway to provide struggling adolescent readers with the high-quality interventions, materials, and instruction they need to bring their literacy skills up to grade level expectations. Over the last several years, a strong coalition of educators, researchers, policymakers, professional…

Shows how a school writing program based on the National Writing Project model can be presented in the framework of a simple accountability system devised by Leon Lessinger. (FL)

Recounts how personal experience led to the realization that writing should be the physical and metaphysical center of what goes on in the English classroom. (JL)

Compares a teacher's proposed improvements in the English curriculum written in 1912 with current ideas. (JL)

Discusses the growth of business writing courses and their shift from business to English departments, the needs of the English department members brought about by the shift, the advantages of business writing courses, the nature of textbooks for the subject, and alternative course content. (FL)

Argues that thematic units may be the best way to avoid the lack of compelling journal writing topics. Argues that themes introduced in a journal writing assignment prior to the study of the text are good preparation for reading. Presents some examples of themes, topics, and accompanying literary works. (RS)