This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 37 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) composing strategies used by college freshmen; (2) three methods of assessment of writing ability; (3) one child's growth in writing; (4) the relationship…

By building up the confidence of student writers, writing teachers hope to reduce the hostility and anxiety so often found in authoritarian introductory college composition classes. Process oriented writing theory implicitly defines confidence as a wholly personal quality resulting from students' discovery that they do have "something to…

Approaches that were used to teach English to fifth grade children of Mexican-American migrant farm laborers are described. The students were categorized as limited in English language proficiency. The children's academic self-concept was so low that they perceived learning as involving impossible tasks, and they believed that they were the source…

Six issues of a University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) newsletter by and for teaching assistants (TAs) are presented. Each newsletter is a theme issue, covering writing, anxiety, motivation, TA role, and TA training. Topics include: student problems and psychological and counseling services, philosophies about writing, approaches to making…

The case study examined the development of English writing skills in a native Russian-speaking college student with no previous instruction in English as a Second Language. It drew on writing samples from 2 years of English language instruction. Theories of first and second language acquisition, especially in written expression, are analyzed in…

The film, "Telling an Old Story" (part of the series "Writers Writing" that was coproduced by WNET and Learning Designs and televised by WNET in 1985), was integrated into college developmental writing classes and proved to be an effective strategy for the improvement of students' writing skills. The film was presented with the…

Creating a writing workshop atmosphere using computers in the English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom improves the opportunities for integrating all language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The computer also represents a new way of learning, emphasizing students' problem solving strategies and learning processes. Teachers…

This report describes the Learning Disabled College Writer's Project, implemented at the University of Minnesota during the 1985-86 school year and designed to aid learning disabled college students master composition skills through training in the use of microcomputer word processors. Following an executive summary, an introduction states the…

Realizing that many preservice elementary teachers experience writing apprehension which may affect their role as writing instructors, this semester-long study was undertaken in order (1) to provide preservice teachers with an appropriate role model of a teacher who gives positive feedback and improves students' concepts of themselves as writers;…

This paper offers an example of how to apply action research to improve English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL)/English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing instruction. This research was conducted over a 5-year period while the researcher taught 9 semester-long sections of advanced EFL writing to Taiwanese undergraduates. Using Reid's (1987) Perceptual…

A series of interviews carried out over a 6-month period investigated: (1) why and how five New York City high school teachers used writing-to-learn across the curriculum, and, (2) the outcome of conducting research on one's own colleagues. Subjects were a math teacher, a physics teacher, and a career education teacher from a high school for…

A study investigated links between writing apprehension, preferred writing processes, and academic achievement in 28 adult learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). One group was of varying language background in an intensive intermediate ESL class and the other consisted of francophone Canadians in an evening intermediate ESL writing class…

A project using on-campus electronic mail (e-mail) to teach communicative writing in English as a Second Language to Japanese junior college students is described. The project had three stages: (1) planning; (2) piloting with a small group of students; and (3) implementation in three large classes (n=55, 28, 36). The aim was to help students write…

This issue contains eight articles on a wide variety of topics in business and training education. "Ethics and beyond: Enhancing Communication and Critical Thinking Skills through Ethics Instruction" (Sandra A. Howard) offers strategies for incorporating ethics instruction in the business curriculum that can also enhance students'…

The three issues of the journal on second language teacher education include these articles: "Monitoring and Evaluating the Production of Materials on a Large Scale Trainer Training Workshop" (R. Williams, Choong Kam Foong, Diana Lubelska); Sensory Channels in ESL Instruction" (Michael E. Rudder); "Using the In-Service Feedback…