The determiners in English include three categories: predeterminers, central determiners, and postdeterminers. The focus of the present study is the central determiners because they comprise the largest group and because a minimum of one central determiner is required in the generation of any noun phrase. Furthermore, the central determiners have…

This paper aims to show how its author/researchers were brought to reconsider some of the assumptions behind a small arc project that was being conducted on the professional development of student teachers in Australia. A small group of English Method students were invited to participate in three focus group interviews: before their first teaching…

In January 2004, college students from postsecondary institutions across Wisconsin were invited to join US Representatives Tammy Baldwin and Mark Green at The Johnson Foundation's Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, Wisconsin. The purpose of the discussion was to engage students' attitudes regarding politics, and their understanding of…

This paper focuses on the efforts at Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina to extend the writing efforts of a writing across the curriculum (WAC) retreat into a greater matrix of scholarly activity, not only in the classroom but outside as well. Noting that the initial idea was that an intensive year of emphasizing scholastic activity could…

A female African American educator with dreadlocks in a class of predominantly white college students begins each semester by warning students that the terms "black" and "white" will be used regularly. She also points out factors that might inhibit speaking in class, such as white students' fears that awkward phrasing of their…

A study sought to explore and define the nature of gendered religious socialization in a non-denominational Christian school, using the lens of submission theology. Many Christian schools today are less rigid in their rules and doctrines than formerly and are no longer separate from the world. This study was conducted in one such school, where a…

The question explored in this report is whether electronic networks are effective tools for creating and sustaining reflective teacher communities. Over the past two decades, computer mediated communication (CMC) technologies have been used in a variety of efforts aimed at fostering teacher learning and teacher collaboration. A study sought to…

In spring 1998, the Writing across the Curriculum (WAC) committee at Abilene Christian University (Texas) began an 18-month review of the school's Writing-Intensive (WI) courses. From the initial review, it was noted that two problems needed to be addressed: in spite of regular workshops and group meetings, the teachers worked in isolation…

Sees English as the language of power and status, with a gatekeeper role in the economics and political contexts of many countries. Discusses the English classroom as a site that breaks down the barriers between the school discourse and the world discourses. Discusses specific classrooms where teachers, students, or community members take the…

Principles of ethnographic inquiry are used to address professional training needs of English-for-Special-Purpose teachers interacting with clients in a business environment. A course designed for English teachers in Hong Kong that explores "discourse communities" is described. (Contains 25 references.) (Author/LB)

Presents a study of the grammatical subjects as used in scientific discourse. Provides evidence that the grammatical subjects in a sample of scientific discourse are markedly long. Identifies three pressures that operate on scientists to produce such markedly long grammatical subjects. (HB)

Examines literary discourse that occurred in a sixth-grade language arts classroom within a departmentalized, multidisciplinary, and then an interdisciplinary, context. Identifies discourse elements. Organizes elements into the following broad themes: (1) the text and the story world; (2) the reader and the story world; and (3) discipline…

The purpose of this study is to analyse pupil welfare team meetings as an institutional context for handling dilemmas of schooling. Our focus is on how difficulties encountered by teachers and pupils are categorized and accounted for by team members (teachers, school administrators, and various experts). As a discourse community, the pupil welfare…

A learning community is a relatively old phenomenon that has resurfaced; it is making educators at institutions of higher education stand up and take notice. Grounded in collaborative and cooperative learning theories, learning communities have created environments in which student learning is the center of attention. The social construction of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of community of practice in sustaining teachers' participation in a blended (face-to-face and online) professional development course. Design/methodology/approach: A longitudinal multiple-case study methodology was used in researching groups of five teachers in Australia and four teachers…