Contributors suggest ways to (1) phrase reading for second-language learners, (2) improve comprehension through creative mapping, (3) improve student "browsing" skills in a library, and (4) help students overcome writer's block. (FL)

Study tested influence of writing self-efficacy, writing apprehension, and writing aptitude on 181 ninth-grade students. Aptitude and self-efficacy had direct effects on performance. Girls and boys did not differ in aptitude or performance, but girls reported lower writing self-efficacy. Native English-speaking Hispanic students had lower aptitude…

Discusses writing apprehension from the tutors' point of view, drawing on observations recorded in journals. Suggests that research and discussion about writing apprehension can form an important focus for developing a tutoring course. (MM)

The paper presents a model for teaching written language to hearing impaired students on which curriculum can be based. In addition, activities, techniques, and resources are suggested that can be used when implementing the writing program. (Author/PB)

A study investigated how future teachers viewed themselves as writers and writing teachers and how these identities were being addressed in teacher education programs. Subjects, 226 student teachers at Middle Tennessee State University, responded to a questionnaire designed to measure both writing apprehension and beliefs about the role and…

D. P. Thompson (1987) pointed out that the e-mail network can help students work collaboratively, solve problems, and experience writing as communication in the real situation. This study examined the impact of e-mail debate on intercultural sensitivity, writing apprehension, and computer anxiety. Fifty-four students in two sections of a…

The personal attitudes of a writing instructor are often much more important than the pedagogical orientation, and certain teacher attitudes seem to affect student performance and attitude more than others. Research on writing apprehension shows a correlation between attitude and writing. Several theorists have postulated that the sources of…

This ERIC/RCS Special Collection contains two ERIC Digests (brief syntheses of the research on a specific topic in contemporary education) and nine FAST Bibs (Focused Access to Selected Topics--annotated bibliographies with selected entries from the ERIC database), providing up-to-date information in an accessible format. The collection focuses on…

To learn more about the initial effects of word processing on essay-writing performance and on writing apprehension, eight English instructors at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, conducted a one-semester controlled experiment with freshmen in eight randomly selected college writing classes. Eighty students wrote essays using terminals…

A case study approach was used to explore the sources of negative attitudes toward writing of three unskilled college freshman writers. The studies included interviews both with the students concerning their writing histories and with their former high school English teachers. In addition, information was gathered about their verbal abilities and…

To identify and help alleviate the apprehensions of returning adult students at the University of Illinois at Chicago, 42 subjects were given the Miller and Daly Writing Apprehension Test (WAT) before and after a composition course, their grades were recorded, and their teachers completed questionnaires regarding student attitudes and performance.…

The brain-flow writing technique, which might also be called the "fast flow" technique, offers a particularly useful means of helping adults overcome writer's block. It also offers some bonuses in the form of enhanced creativity, improved thought-flow, and much faster writing output. There are six steps to brain-flow writing. In the…

Outlines a multistep writing program in which English as a second language students participate in the writing process and relate to their fellow writers (classmates and teachers) in various ways, using journals, learning logs, and essays. The extent to which activities increase writing proficiency and reduce students' writing apprehension is…

Describes a method for teaching developmental writing using reader-response theory and the works of James Joyce and Plato. (HTH)

Presents three broad areas--writing anxiety, motivation, and beliefs--that seem to be ripe for study in terms of affect, and suggests that the constructivist views refined by George Mandler could be helpful to drive such research. (NH)