Two lines of research are synthesized in this study: (1) structural aspects of children's narrative discourse and (2) the role of maternal styles of talking with young children. Personal narratives of 20 Japanese preschool children, aged 4 and 5 years, and their mothers were analyzed for developmental differences in the 2 age groups. Then…

This paper describes the 3-year development of the Language Resources Centre at the University of Southampton. The Centre provides a range of self-access resources and facilities in a pleasant working environment for language learners. It offers assistance for languages taught at the university as well as for languages not taught at the…

Among the three NTE Core Battery tests, Professional Knowledge purports to measure skills that are acquired only after academic experience as an education major, while Communication Skills and General Knowledge both purport to measure skills that do not require this specialized experience. The scores of education majors for the 1986-87 national…

Post-apartheid South Africa has been struggling with the question of how to restructure its institutions of higher education to both foster an equitable society and contribute to economic and technological development. Proponents of community colleges in the United States suggest that these institutions may best meet South Africa's needs.…

Research indicates that nearly all language-minority children and adolescents are language brokers for their parents and other family members. Children from diverse language backgrounds and as young as eight or nine years old perform difficult and demanding linguistic and communication tasks normally done by adults, both related and unrelated to…

This paper proposes an integrative approach for teaching English as a second language to students in Hong Kong to develop their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English to meet the challenge of an English curriculum. The integrative approach provides an authentic language environment for learners to develop language skills in a…

This document reports on a project to conduct four to six in-service workshops for adult basic education (ABE) educators to develop their public speaking skills and create a speakers' bureau of ABE alumni. The goal of the speakers' bureau was to increase recruitment and retention of ABE students and improve public awareness of ABE. The packet of…

This handbook is one of a set of six which provide a systematic means to help students in grades 4 through 8 learn the process of writing while building specific writing skills. The handbook focuses on paragraph writing, and offers 25 reproducible lessons, in a variety of formats, to help students improve their use of descriptive, narrative,…

Part of a larger research project, this descriptive study identified the range and characteristics of learning strategies used in studying foreign languages. Related studies include a course development study, in which foreign language instructors teach their students to apply learning strategies, and a longitudinal study that analyzed differences…

The experience of eight prominent Canadian business organizations was examined in terms of how basic skills deficits are identified in their work force, the impact of those deficiencies on organizational competitiveness, and why corporate programs are developed in response to the issue. Some of the key findings were as follows: (1) employee…

A workplace literacy project was conducted cooperatively through the Minnesota Teamsters Service Bureau and Northeast Metro Technical College. Project objectives, which were met, included the following: (1) establishing a project steering committee; (2) developing workplace literacy curriculum materials and resources specific to commercial vehicle…

A project was conducted to assess the need for further education and training (FET) of the labor force. It documented institutional arrangements, policies, and practices regarding FET; analyzed their strengths and weaknesses; and considered possible action by public authorities. The concept of FET was found to have a strong economic character and…

In response to Congressional direction, an assessment was undertaken of programs developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) that can be made available to civilian organizations to provide immediate support and assistance to upgrade skills for better civilian employment opportunities. The assessment focuses on interactive courseware programs and…

This booklet provides an introduction for people working in organizations concerned with housing and homelessness about basic skills. It provides background on the link between poor basic skills and poor housing and information about ways in which people use basic skills in their daily lives. Two reasons for housing organizations to be involved…

The ways in which assessment materials developed for the Speaking and Listening strand of the Australian English Profile have helped refine the continuum of skill growth are explored. In Australia, profiles map the progress of learning during compulsory schooling. Each profile is divided into strands representing critical areas of a learning…