Advocates teaching etymology in composition classes and offers suggestions for arousing students' interest in word history and for keeping it relevant to writing classes. (HTH)

The cloze technique can be used to help word-by-word readers acquire more mature reading strategies. This article provides suggestions for creating and using cloze exercises which vary in difficulty and focus. Recommendations are made for introducing and directing cloze training. Sample exercises are given. (Author/PJM)

Suggests an alternative approach to the teaching of indirect or reported speech. Deixis is proposed as a means of clarifying the anomalies of reported speech. The problem is assessed from a grammatical and semantic point of view in the reporting of statements (as opposed to the reporting of questions or commands). (GLR)

Argues that students must be attuned to the fact that language serves those who are in power and excludes those who are not. Describes an exercise demonstrating this arrangement that uses a simple "degrees of meaning" list. Notes that students realize that linguistic rules are only as strong as those who impose them. (RS)

Shows how certain principles of the study of semantics might be employed in the journalism curriculum as a means of enhancing student reporters' understanding that their perceptions are limited and subject to distortion. Provides a model for explaining these limitations. (HB)

A professor recounts how he communicates his philosophy of education and establishes an interactive classroom atmosphere during a class's first meeting by using a questioning, game-like discussion of the meanings of such terms as "education,""student," and "teacher." (DB)

Empirical evaluations suggest that use of interactive technologies can reduce the costs of instruction by about one-third. In addition, they can either increase achievement by about one-third while holding time constant or reduce time needed to achieve targeted instructional objectives by about one-third. These technologies can be delivered over…

This article summarizes published research on vocabulary instruction involving students with learning disabilities. Nineteen vocabulary studies that comprised 27 investigations were located. Study interventions gleaned from the review included keyword or mnemonic approaches, cognitive strategy instruction (e.g., semantic features analysis), direct…

Instructional design is an integral part of a balanced approach to teaching vocabulary instruction. The goal of this paper is to reflect on several lessons using research-based vocabulary strategies, and to present think-alouds that detail the steps in matching instructional design with those strategies in order to reach the learning outcome.…

This article focuses on traditional vocabulary instruction that has often had pernicious side effects: drill and kill that turned kids off to reading and word study. This trend can be reversed through careful attention to the needs and predilections of students as well as conspicuous consideration of the ramifications of time-cost. Here, the…

Based on empirical research and qualitative analysis, this paper aims to explore the effects of L1 use on L2 vocabulary teaching. The results show that, during L2 vocabulary teaching process, the proper application of L1 can effectively facilitate the memorization of new words, and the bilingual method (both English explanation and Chinese…

In line with recent critiques of communicative language teaching (Byrnes and Maxim 2004; Byrnes 2006), this paper considers how instances of spontaneous, creative language play can afford access to a range of linguistic practices that are often devalued or ignored in classrooms. To this end, it examines how university students in an advanced…

Describes a study to determine whether instruction in general semantics would reduce ethnic prejudice in high school students and to create a course of study in general semantics which would cause a reduction of ethnic prejudice. (TO)

Discusses the various uses of visual and audiovisual aids in language instruction. (Text is in French.) (AM)

Foreign language teaching concentrates on phonology, morphology and syntax, to the neglect of semantics and vocabulary. The method of teaching meaning that is proposed here is based on the concepts of "contextual" semantics. An experiment in the use of the method is also briefly described. (KM)