The language across the curriculum approach explored in this book implies the restructuring of curricula away from so-called "coverage" of content and toward creation of opportunities for learning in discussions, games, and in-class writing projects. Following an introduction and overview in chapter one, chapter two summarizes and…

In order to attempt to identify the linguistic difficulties of slow learners, errors made by two groups of English-speaking adults learning French as a second language were compared. The subjects of the two groups shared similar characteristics, with the exception of the amount of time required to cover the same linguistic material (Group 1: 17…

Research on learning-disabled secondary school students' academic deficits, response to classroom environment, and response to instructional interventions is integrated with research on metacognition in text learning. A metacognitive orientation is recommended for instructional intervention programs, which should address general comprehension…

Challenges the belief in contemporary English language teaching that students should be exposed to authentic or natural language focused on achieving practical purposes, and draws some lessons from the classroom from the way young children play with language. (15 references) (Author/CK)

Discusses why and how American Sign Language should be used to teach English literacy skills. It is argued that previous studies have not systematically investigated the effects of American Sign Language on the development of English. (22 references) (CB) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)

This article presents arguments for using listening and reading activities as an option for techniques in grammar pedagogy. It describes two possible approaches: Processing Instruction (PI) and Enriched Input (EI), and examples of their key features are included in the appendices. The article goes on to report on a classroom based quasi-experiment…

The articles in this journal issue explore current theories of the reading/writing relationship and practices in writing instruction. The titles and their authors are as follows: (1) "Cognitive Processes in Writing and Reading" (Roderic C. Botts); (2) "Brainstorming and Writing" (Brock Dethier); (3) "Group Writing:…

Focusing on the reading-thinking-learning process, the classrooms in which such processes occur, and the means for studying these processes, this book presents essays on teaching, learning, and assessing the reading process. The first section contains essays on learning contexts that are interactive and participatory, while essays in the second…

Research indicates that reading and writing should be learned together since both are language processes, and that children should be shown how the skills they have acquired during learning to read apply to learning to write. A language experience approach is useful for accomplishing this. Many aspects of writing point out the integrative…

Adult English as a second language (ESL) students must develop listening comprehension skill for two reasons: they need it for survival purposes immediately and it is the first step toward acquisition of English. These two needs reflect the distinction between listening for comprehension and listening for acquisition; they must be accounted for in…

A study was conducted to determine whether students who mapped prior and post knowledge of a basal reading lesson would achieve higher scores on a comprehension test and write better summaries of those stories than would students who received traditional basal reading instruction. Subjects, 30 fifth grade students, participated in either a…

Although much has been said about the influence of reading upon writing, little information is available concerning the effect of writing practice upon reading comprehension. During one experimental study, college freshmen students in a remedial reading course wrote in the expressive mode for ten minutes a day. This simple act of writing, without…

Linguistic cohesion involves the semantic and syntactic relationships that link sentences together. Research on linguistic cohesion is related to readability and to developmental and ability-level issues in reading/writing. Instructional strategies for low-ability readers/writers include predicting comprehension problems through cohesion analysis…

Utilizes M. A. K. Halliday's theories concerning the social and cultural functions of language to construct a series of social studies/language arts integrated learning activities. First graders wrote letters to an imaginary mouse in their desks and third graders answered the letters. Analyzes this activity and includes an annotated bibliography.…

The best way to teach writing is to make it the way to learn something else. Instructors need to look at written communication as it is used in real life. When students take pains with their writing, it is because what they have to say is important to them. The students' need to communicate a particular meaning for a particular purpose guides them…