This article proposes two general instructional strategies that a course designer or materials writer may use to create a second language course that makes new demands on learners, yet contains feasible learning tasks. First, course designers can manipulate task components believed to determine task difficulty, components such as input text, the…

This report presents the concepts and issues discussed at a Regional Symposium on Long-term Planning in Higher Education held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, September 21-30, 1986. Chapter 1 explores some fundamental issues about the rationale for the objectives of long-term planning. It defines long-term planning in higher education, considers its…

Using the DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) process, the British Columbia Ministry of Education performed a task analysis of the work of recreation workers. A survey questionnaire was developed and mailed to 600 practitioners in the field; 262 were returned, with 232 of these usable. The majority of the respondents were from the Vancouver area, were…

Answers are provided to some of the most frequently asked questions about teaching and education in Canada, and a guide to other publications and institutions that can provide more detailed information is presented. It is especially noted that each province and territory in Canada has its own autonomous educational system and may make its own…

It has been suggested that cognitive style interacts with performance on tasks measuring formal thought. It is hypothesized that cognitive style interacts with task context rather than with the underlying formal thought processes. Experiments are reported to clarify the type of task that elicits an interaction and to determine whether such…

Research into problems associated with job training programs resulted in a method for defining on-the-job training where a substance organization must serve as the training base for the organization in which the trainee ultimately will serve. The method involves determining the tasks required by the jobs men do in the target organization and…

Discusses authentic activities and case based learning and describes two cases that were developed as support materials for master's degree students undertaking a major multimedia design project at the University of Wollongong (Australia). Examines Jonassen's model for a constructivist learning environment and considers desired outcomes against…

Reports a study that investigated three concepts from the literature on task-based language teaching: planned/unplanned, closed/open, and required information exchange. After a workshop on these concepts, 33 inservice English-as-a-Second-Language teachers in the Philippines were asked to label and adapt activities according to the three concepts…

Examines strategic differences between more and less competent novices in story-sorting, problem-solving tasks by comparing two Hong Kong primary school teachers, two competent and two less competent secondary students on problem-solving tasks. Indicates subjects used a wide variety of solution strategies. Suggests that success depended on how…

Teaching and learning activities for idea generation and planning, used to teach expository writing to university students in Singapore, are described. The techniques are applicable to both English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and English-as-a-first-language composition classes. (14 references) (LB)

Analyzes the discourse completion data collected through Japanese English-as-a-foreign-language learners with reference to four speech functions--thanking, apology, request, and offering. Compares Japanese learners' expressions with expressions obtained by native speakers of English stored in the London-Lund corpus of Spoken English. (Author/VWL)

The study investigated the effects of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) use on pupils with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Nine Greek primary school pupils with ADHD symptoms and four others with no such deficit worked on a computer, either individually or collaboratively, once a week for a six-week period.…

Two studies are presented on expressive happy and sad drawings made by British 4- to 12-year-olds (n = 80 and 160, respectively) in which the drawings were assessed individually for the quantity and quality of expressive devices. Quantity was measured in the number of appropriate expressive content themes and formal properties evident in each…

The aim of this paper is to offer a view of the primary school as an institution with structural properties comparable to institutions in general. Five studies will provide the basis from which such a view is developed, those by Sorokin, (1938), Perrow, (1965), Schon (1970), Taylor, "et al" (1974) and Collins and Porras, (1998). The…

Background: WILSTAAR comprises a programme for identifying and treating 8-10-month-old infants who are at risk of language and cognitive difficulties. It has been adopted by health trusts, and included in Sure Start intervention schemes, throughout the UK. This study addresses one of the main queries raised by critics of the programme, by…