This article summarizes major research in the teaching and learning of written composition from the elementary grades through college. The research is discussed under the following headings: (1) "History to 1900," (2) "Objectives and Curriculum: 1900-1935," (3) "Influences on the Curriculum: 1935-1965," (4) "Difficulties in Research," (5)…

This study investigated the personal and academic qualifications essential for successfully teaching high school English to slow learners, and attempted to outline a curriculum that would foster the traits found desirable. Information was gathered from (1) extensive reading by the investigator, (2) questionnaires completed by 475 school…

This ISCPET study set out to determine the effect that various approaches to teaching literature to prospective high school English teachers might have on their literary knowledge and later teaching competencies. The curricular patterns used to teach literature at three colleges--survey approach (University of Illinois), author and historical…

Teachers in Arizona were surveyed by questionnaire to determine the present quality of English instruction and to prepare a profile of English teachers and English teaching in the state. Returns were received from 81 of 113 schools surveyed (647 of 1026 teachers). Information obtained on English teachers indicated that (1) 41% of the English…

Excerpts from college students' ratings of their English instructor are presented along with some remarks about the usefulness of such ratings. Students' replies were concerned with the instructor's (1) knowledge of and interest in his subject matter, (2) effectiveness with explanation, (3) annoying mannerisms and eccentricities, (4) bias, (5)…

Twenty-nine articles in this publication describe the efforts of Kentucky educators to keep pace with accelerating educational change and recognize the outstanding work of local school systems and individual teachers. New directions in English programs are discussed first: the flexibility provided by English electives and individualized…

This book suggests that first graders could express themselves on paper more easily and naturally if they were taught the Initial Teaching Alphabet (i.t.a.). The chapters take up (1) the neglect of writing skills in a reading-oriented nation, (2) a comparison of the writing performance of students who learned the i.t.a. with that of students who…

A desirable approach and sequence for the presentation of rhetorical principles to students of junior high school age is outlined. Principles of invention, logical ordering, strategy, and style are discussed with special reference to writing models, developing skills of observation, audience consideration, and precise diction. Specific objectives…

Thirteen papers have been collected in this book to indicate professional concern about English instruction at all levels and to articulate the role of the teacher, teacher educator, academician, and federal government in changing current English teaching practices. Topics of articles are (1) the intellectual, civic, and ethical responsibilities…

The Specialized Language Activities Program (ESEA Title 3 Project) to motivate students to improve their oral language was conducted in an essentially rural section of Maine with an experimental group and a control group of 80 ninth-grade students with an I.Q. range of 85-100 and poor language usage. Sixty-seven percent of them had repeated at…

To determine the duties of English supervisors and the effect of certain organizational factors upon them, a questionnaire was sent to 702 English language arts supervisors in 50 states. Replies were received from 354. An interpretation of the data provided a profile of the average English supervisor, a description of his position and its…

The major hypothesis tested in this investigation was that college students using audiovisual aids and current reading materials would achieve greater competency in composition than would students taught by conventional methods. The "STEP Writing Test," the "STEP Reading Test," and writing samples were used for evaluation. Also tested were the…

The central activity of literary criticism, the understanding of literature, is related to the process of establishing a context for the works of literature being studied. Choosing not to discuss the factual elements of literary criticism, the author clarifies and concentrates on the "lower" and "upper" limits of criticism. While the "lower" limit…

In this collection of articles by 25 linguistic experts, aspects of modern linguistics from language origins to computer programs are covered. Subjects discussed include phonology, morphology and syntax, lexicology and semantics, the origin of language, the English language family, English language history, British and American standard and…

The first section of this report describes the follow-up program designed to determine any improvements in the teaching of English language and composition achieved by participants of the NDEA Institute at State University College Cortland, N. Y., 1968. It covers (1) the background and planning of the program, (2) school visitations of the summer…