This article analyzes illustrative classroom events documented during an ethnographic study of bilingual classrooms in a "high-achieving" school. Through a performativity lens that emphasizes the discursive constitution of subjectivities, I demonstrate how discourses around achievement and success in the current reform context exacerbated one…

A number of exercises for promoting communication and self-expression in the classroom are described. (RM)

A reciprocal teaching procedure is described that involves four strategies: clarifying, identifying the main idea, summarizing, and predicting. Benefits are illustrated from transcripts of teacher-student interaction during adult student second-language reading classes. (Contains three references.) (LB)

Natural and enthusiastic communication among students is a goal of every second-language class. Whole-class interaction activities promote interpersonal sharing as well as intense oral practice of targeted linguistic structures in a relaxed atmosphere. Examples are given. (Contains four references.) (Author/LB)

This article discusses nonverbal communication in its relation to teaching of foreign languages. Nonverbal communication is defined, evaluated, and discussed in terms of function, teacher personality, training techniques, and class arrangements. (CHK)

This annotated bibliography contains references to articles and books that provide teachers with specific techniques to use in class to develop their students' oral proficiency. The items cited can be obtained from any good college or university library. Most of the publications have appeared since 1970, and the works cited pertain directly to the…

A number of conversation exercises are described for use in second language teaching which are intended to promote communication in the foreign language by creating among the students a need to talk and a need to listen. (RM)

Describes classroom language as used in teaching an FL, recognizing it as belonging to an artificial rather than a real-life situation; this fact must be kept in mind and "the game played" in the classroom. Examples are given. (IFS/WGA)

This book is the story of four nonnative children's acculturation into an American elementary school, as seen by the author, the teachers, the parents, and the children themselves. The book states that some of the challenges stem from linguistic barriers, but that others are cultural issues so endemic that neither the teacher nor the student is…

A discussion of ethnographic research methods in language learning research focuses on what is involved in good descriptive and analytic ethnographic research and the value of the approach in the study of English as a second language (ESL). A basic definition of ethnography is offered, some key research principles are identified, and the…

This handbook provides classroom teachers with information to assist them in enhancing Samoan students' social adjustment and academic achievement in U.S. schools. The information complements the 25-minute videotape, Samoa, which is designed for student viewing. The handbook provides background information on the Samoan people, their islands, and…

Participants in classroom discourse must be able to see, hear, speak, and be heard. In managing these aspects of the language classroom, the teacher must also command various strategies for managing students'"face"--the right to contribute or not, the right to acceptance of one's contribution in form and content. (Contains nine…

This article reports on a study that investigated the dual characteristics of willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language (L2): trait-like WTC and situational WTC. By adopting methods of classroom observation, participant interviews and questionnaires, consistency between L2 learners' self-report WTC and their actual WTC behavior in an…

Student apprehension about discussing intellectually "risky" ideas in the foreign language literature class can be addressed through construction of a classroom environment in which students gain confidence. The governing principle is the sequencing of risk. Students perceive risks to be in: (1) making a linguistic error; (2) making an error of…

A study of communication anxiety in second language learning investigated: (1) the role of four factors (sex, language learning experience, language studied, and confidence) in student apprehension about speaking in the classroom; and (2) students' stated reactions to speaking. Subjects were 101 college students in 4 intact French, Spanish, and…