Past studies have identified the impact of situational and enduring variables on second language (L2) learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) in the L2. This qualitative study triangulates data from two classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with four students and class instructor, and personal experiences including communication…

Class differences and class warfare have existed since the beginning of western civilization, but the gap in income and wealth between the rich (top 10 percent) and the rest has increased steadily in the last twenty-five years. The U.S. is heading for a financial oligarchy much worse than the aristocratic old world that our Founding Fathers feared…

This paper reports a small-scale investigation into the differences in learning behaviour exhibited by members of an intercultural group undertaking an online course on educational enquiry in support of doctoral research in education. Differences in learning behaviour can be attributed in part to the different cultural and linguistic backgrounds…

Educational assessment, as it is typically conducted in U.S. schools, does not successfully capture or build on potentially important content knowledge and understanding of Indigenous students. In fact, current policies (such as the No Child Left Behind Act, 2002) are interfering with the implementation of many of the things we know about making…

A 3-year classroom study of learning styles among students of advanced English-as-a-Second-Language composition in Taiwan is reported. The study gathered data on 81 students' preferred learning styles and classroom tasks through closed-item and open-ended questionnaires, writing conference interviews, and student journals. Results indicate that…

The socialization processes occurring in the Japanese elementary school classroom are analyzed, particularly the processes that are implicit, teaching children to be competent members of society by participating in detail routines. A perspective is that the specific participation structure of Japanese classrooms serves as a major socialization…

This collection of 18 stories of the Scottie Creek People of Alaska is presented in both Upper Tanana, an Athabaskan language, and English in line-by-line translation. The stories, which include personal narratives, cultural explanations, and traditional tales, were recorded in 1988-94. The tales are told by Mary Tyone, a traditional storyteller…

A group of university students consisting of native speakers of Chinese (n=63), Japanese (n=33), Korean (n=21), Indonesian (n=20), and Arabic (n=13) with relatively extensive exposure to the American university environment and a control group of 20 native English-speakers were asked to rank the social appropriateness of 104 conversation topics.…

This report examines the college aspirations and decisionmaking factors gathered from 53 interviews with Black, female, college-bound students, their parents, friends, college counselors, teachers, and school staff. The goal was to reveal how the students' lives and their access to postsecondary education have been framed and structured by the…

Prepared to assist the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges in the development of its "New Basic Agenda" for 1995, this report discusses several major statewide trends with important implications for California's community colleges. Data are reviewed on population and enrollment growth, labor market and technological…

The collection of 21 narratives of the Tatl'ahwt'aenn (Upper Ahtna, or Headwaters People) of Alaska focuses on stories about historical events and traditional territory. The stories are told by six elders in Upper Ahtna, one of four dialects of Ahtna, an Athabaskan language. An introductory section offers background information on the population,…

Graduate students have long expressed difficulties adapting to different expectations graduate schools place upon them. Foreign students pursuing knowledge in the field of speech communication encounter cultural difficulties. Foreign graduate students are students at risk because they become a central locus for cultural tensions in relation to:…

The collection of essays on discourse as a form of social interaction includes: "Discourse as Interaction in Society" (Teun A. van Dijk); "Discourse Pragmatics" (Shoshana Blum-Kulka); "Conversation Analysis: An Approach to the Study of Social Action as Sense Making Practices" (Anita Pomerantz, B. J. Fehr); "Institutional Dialogue" (Paul Drew,…

In Johnson City, New York, the schools have sustained positive, meaningful educational change since 1964. The Johnson City schools have also given birth to the national movement of Outcome-Based Education (OBE). This book provides a cultural history of the relationship between community and school in school reform. The book describes the…

Research conducted during the last decade supports the notion that educational reform must be comprehensive and systemic. This paper summarizes major issues and trends in the management of elementary-secondary education. The synthesis is designed to promote an understanding of how broad in scope systemic reform must be. Twelve chapters present…