Compares the behaviorist to a hunter and the humanist-educator to a fisherman, maintaining that the teacher of English may play both roles to his students' advantage and expressing concern over the shortcomings of an exclusively behavioristic approach. (RD)

Translation can be useful in teaching advanced students to make decisions about structure, assess the communicative consequences of those decisions, assess perceptions of language contrasts, and increase feelings for communicative appropriateness. Two methods are suggested: word-for-word or "spoof" translation, and back translation. (Author/MSE)

Recounts how a teacher used herself as a model to motivate black students to speak standard English. (JL)

A recommended class activity is a simple gift exchange. Vocabulary, including a wide range of options, holiday terms, and idioms, is introduced at the beginning of class. Partners are assigned, exchange takes place, and thank-you notes may be written. Student enthusiasm and attention are often by-products. (MSE)

Low motivation to study abstract theoretical material and lack of background in mathematics are two problems encountered by students learning electronics. To combat these problems a systems approach to learning is suggested for the study of electrical circuits and devices. (Author/TG)

Explored teachers' verbal motivational strategies, applying a framework derived from expectancy-theory which addresses student motivation for academic tasks. Audio-taped math and literacy lessons of two exemplary second grade teachers showed a high number of comments related to experiences and relatively few related to valuing tasks. Teachers made…

The reasons for teaching/learning English in China are examined, followed by a delineation of the obstacles to be overcome and an explanation of the advantages of using a communicative approach. Experiences of foreign teachers in the classroom and Chinese educators' attitudes are discussed. (21 references) (Author/LB)

Attempts to define children's (age 8-10) linguistic needs and interests to provide a basis for foreign language syllabus planning. A questionnaire administered to 637 children determined the social and psychological roles children like to play; the topics they prefer to discuss; the functions they most frequently use; and the notions children are…

Ten suggestions for fostering motivation in adolescents with learning disabilities include encourage choices; advocate ownership; strive for relevance; give positive and negative feedback; set high, but manageable expectations; encourage activity and interaction; and model--share your enthusiasm for books. (DB)

Because college teaching aims to elevate, not entertain, it must be nourished and appreciated as a pedagogical alchemy mixing facts and feelings, ideas and skills, history and mystery. The current debate on educational reform should focus more on quality of learning experience, and on how to create and sustain it. (MSE)

Research on animated pedagogical agents (agents) is viewed as a very positive attempt to introduce more pedagogical support and motivational elements into multi-media instruction. Yet, existing empirical studies that examine the learning benefits of agents have had very mixed results, largely due to the way that they are designed. This article…

Teachers often play a mistaken notion of lecturing their students about the importance of the past rather than allowing students to discover for themselves the significance of past events. In this article, the author talks about the "detective" strategy he used which strengthens the critical thinking and analyzing skills of his students in their…

Librarians need to work with classroom teachers and college faculty to find ways to help students become more intrinsically motivated to learn. They can do this by providing challenging learning experiences that promote feelings of competence and mastery. It is the intrinsically motivated student that becomes a lifelong learner. In this article,…