In this article we introduce a practical self-assessment tool for primary English language teachers which can be used in pre-service as well as in in-service contexts. It consists of methodological descriptors that have been derived from a qualitative analysis of representative textbooks. Through the application of thematic coding, common…

Close reading, as Paula Moya (2016) writes, may remain the "most powerful discipline-specific tool we have at our disposal" (p. 9). At a time when the work of English teachers is threatened by many factors, including political polarization and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), close reading may be the soundest way of unifying and…

In his developmental writing courses, Keith Vyvial often encounters students from diverse cultural backgrounds. As an English instructor, he has witnessed the prevalent problem of weak self-efficacy among students enrolled in developmental writing. For support, he strives to empower students from all sociocultural backgrounds. His personal…

Implicit learning occurs in the absence of the intention to learn an unfamiliar skill and is particularly useful when the acquired knowledge is not initially easily verbalized in explicit terms (Cleereman et al., 2019). Implicit learning is simply a way of craftily making learning more meaningful so that students are either not immediately aware…

This document provides an overview of historic policy reforms that have improved student success and close racial equity gaps in completion at California Community Colleges.

All too often lost in the pressure and intensity of the current practice of English teachers and literacy educators is due acknowledgement of the continuing importance of history. This paper brings together two concerns: the work of Margaret Meek Spencer as a key figure in the history of English teaching, reading pedagogy and literacy education,…

When Amber Northern was a beginning teacher 30 years ago, one of her students, Earl, was in 9th-grade English for the third time. He only came to class once or twice a week and intended to quit school, with his father's permission, once he turned 17. Northern delves into the research on chronic absenteeism and considers which, if any,…

This article was originally published in "English in Australia," number 5, 1967. The text is Professor A. D. Hope's presidential address to the Australian Association for the Teaching of English from April, 1967. It manifests his concern for the state of English teaching in Australia.

"The Ballad of Proxima-B" is an educational RPG that promotes learning and collaboration. Students contribute to world-building and game mechanics, creating fictional worlds and characters, including a dystopian Earth, the planet Proxima-B, and alien races. The game incorporates constructivist, constructionist, and Dynamic Systems Model…

Lily Rosene began her teaching career in 2020 when COVID-19 derailed her career plans and anearby school was desperate for teachers. She entered her first 9th-grade English classroom without a clear understanding of her students or the curriculum. However, she knew reading was important to any English classroom, so she decided to make silent…

In this article the authors explore the phenomenon of 'selective amnesia' as it relates to education. We define this as a politically engineered loss of collective memory, both curricular and pedagogic, which has adversely affected what teachers and teacher-educators do. Through an intergenerational dialogue between four secondary English…

The graphic novel "Invisible" (2022) by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriela Epstein demonstrates that adolescents can create a positive difference in the world and build friendships with people different from themselves. The novel's themes, nonlinear chronology, and innovative bilingual format make "Invisible" significant and…

This paper provides educators a foothold in the tricky terrain of metaphor, its theoretical underpinnings and pedagogical possibilities. Metaphor provides us with a means of comprehending domains of experience that do not have a preconceptual structure of their own. Conceptual metaphors permit mental imagery from sensorimotor domains to hold sway…

This article details a unit of study bringing together shared reading, place-based pedagogies, and climate-centered texts to engage students in youth participatory community action (YPAR). The authors envision an English classroom where youth read, write, and argue for change as activists as they encounter climate justice literature through YPAR…

This article discusses the legacy of Fred Rogers, and bridges the connections of his work in early childhood development to the needs of older students. The author draws upon her own experiences as a child watching "Mister Roger's Neighborhood," and as a teacher who has tried to incorporate several of his ideas into her own high school…