Scientific language is not simply for recording facts but it is also an instrument of thought. It has a central role in not only developing a sense of social identity for members of the scientific community and students in the classroom but also in inculcating views on the nature of science and reality itself. Physicists have created a language in…

This 20-minute videotape program presents poet and Columbia University professor Kenneth Koch conducting a poetry workshop with a small group of fourth and fifth graders. The program's notes explain that Koch believes that students should be allowed to write poetry in the same way that they are allowed to dance and sing--with freedom,…

Argues that abstract, figurative senses of polysemous words are better retained when learners are given core senses as cues, because providing a core sense helps learners develop a "precise elaboration." Results of a series of vocabulary studies involving Dutch learners of English show that providing a core sense results in better guessing and…

This examination of the frequency of occurrence of multiple meaning expressions in the oral speech of teachers found that such expressions as indirect requests, idioms, similes, metaphors, and irony were used in about 36 percent of all utterances by two different teachers at each grade level from K-eight. Implications for language-impaired…

Provides a brief history of the use of metaphor and its potential usefulness with children. Describes eight strategies for using metaphors with children, offers a systematic approach for constructing interwoven metaphors for children, supplies a case example, and lists some of the limitations of metaphorical language in counseling. (RJM)

Describes a unit in a writing-intensive course on reading in the content areas in which students take a familiar fairy tale and rewrite it in a modern context. Describes the four class sessions, including class activities and writing assignments, noting figurative language, elements of fairy tales, and critical reading, thinking, and writing…

Explores the potential of cognitive linguistic notions such as conceptual metaphor and conceptual metonym for comparing the figurative phraseologies of English and Malay and anticipating second language learner difficulty. A comparative analysis is undertaken that identifies six types of relationship between figurative expressions in the two…

Discusses whether it is worthwhile to refer the literal sense or origin of an unfamiliar figurative expression as it is encountered by a language learner in specialized reading. Cognitive semantic tools were applied to reading economic discourse. The hypothesis that an enhanced metaphoric awareness on the part of language learners can be…

In the mid-1960s, the foundations of Participatory Research were being laid in Tanzania and around the world through the work of muckraking adult educators--President Julius Nyerere, Marja-Liisa Swantz, Orlando Fals Borda, Rajesh Tandon, Budd Hall and many more of their friends and colleagues. At the same time, a bunch of American kids were over…

This article looks at the way language subtly shapes and constrains the way we perceive reality. It examines one term-parental involvement. This apparently simple and democratic term serves as a portfolio of meanings that separate and divide. It illustrates two of these meanings, which take the form of a conjoined metaphor of "full/empty", or…

This teacher-research study examines the roles of talk and metaphorical representation in the construction of personal and social literary interpretation. Over three years, the investigator collected data from fourth-grade children's sketched interpretations about literature, their written commentaries, and conversations that occurred before,…

"Illiteracy" is still a powerful concept in adult literacy education. St. Clair and Sandlin examine the use of the term and the policies and programs it currently justifies. The authors argue that the concept of illiteracy should be avoided due to its inherent deficit focus.

Individuals with Asperger Syndrome (AS), a high functioning variant of Autism, are often noted to possess intact language ability, yet fail to use this language capacity to engage in interactive communication. This difficulty using language in a social context has been referred to as a deficit in pragmatic language. In particular, difficulty…

This narrative explores how picture books can be used in the literacy classroom for pupils aged between 11-12 years. It discusses the links children can make when interpreting pictures and then returning to text. It highlights pupils' ability to understand metaphor and narrative structure when reading picture books, and how they can show their…

This article suggests that temporary (project based) filmmaking organizations, and film directors as their leaders, lend themselves to examining a plethora of leadership issues, from social sources of power to competencies in network organizations. It advances for classroom discussion and teaching the cases of Almodovar and Coppola as examples of…