Using Language


Book Description

Herbert Clark argues that language use is more than the sum of a speaker speaking and a listener listening. It is the joint action that emerges when speakers and listeners, writers and readers perform their individual actions in coordination, as ensembles. In contrast to work within the cognitive sciences, which has seen language use as an individual process, and to work within the social sciences, which has seen it as a social process, the author argues strongly that language use embodies both individual and social processes.







Opening Minds


Book Description

Introducing a spelling test to a student by saying, 'Let' s see how many words you know,' is different from saying, 'Let's see how many words you know already.' It is only one word, but the already suggests that any words the child knows are ahead of expectation and, most important, that there is nothing permanent about what is known and not known. Peter Johnston Grounded in research, Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Livesshows how words can shape students' learning, their sense of self, and their social, emotional and moral development. Make no mistake: words have the power to open minds – or close them. Following up his groundbreaking book, Choice Words, author Peter Johnston continues to demonstrate how the things teachers say (and don't say) have surprising consequences for the literate lives of students. In this new book, Johnston shows how the words teachers choose can affect the worlds students inhabit in the classroom. He explains how to engage children with more productive talk and how to create classrooms that support students' intellectual development, as well as their development as human beings.




Power Talk


Book Description

Show up on time, work hard, do well, and rise up the corporate ladder? Maybe. Oral communication is the most crucial ingredient in advancement on the job. In Power Talk, Sarah Myers McGinty analyzes the social and psychological elements of speech in the workplace, helping readers hear who's in charge and talk their way ahead. Fast trackers match the right speaking style to the situation and develop a corporate voice that comes across loud and clear. From the voice mail message that gets a call back to navigating a department meeting, listeners will learn how to become their own best spokesperson and advocate.




Using the Language Experience Approach With English Language Learners


Book Description

"Nessel and Dixon show teachers how to effectively support English language development by using the Language Experience Approach." —David E. Freeman and Yvonne S. Freeman, Professors of Literacy, ESL, and Bilingual Education The University of Texas at Brownsville "Provides the tools teachers need to use this natural way of helping English Language Learners. The Language Experience Approach makes language and language arts accessible to the students in need of basic skills." —Roberta E. Dorr, Associate Professor of Education Trinity University, WA Support ELLs while meeting the goals of your literacy curriculum! English Language Learners (ELLs) enter the classroom with different levels of proficiency—and confidence—in English. The Language Experience Approach offers K–12 teachers an instructional framework and classroom strategies for meeting students at their level and helping them use their strengths as speakers and listeners to build reading and writing skills. Research-based and used successfully in practice, this method actively engages students by allowing them to construct their own texts and bring their personal experiences into the learning process. The authors: Offer detailed, step-by-step directions for using the Language Experience Approach in English language instruction Include examples of the kinds of texts that are generated by ELL students Describe activities teachers can use with those texts to refine and extend learners′ literacy skills Appropriate for teaching students at varying levels of English proficiency, Using the Language Experience Approach With English Language Learners is a valuable reference for teachers, literacy coaches, and reading specialists.







Using Picture Books to Teach Language Arts Standards in Grades 3-5


Book Description

This manual of ideas zeroes in on current picture book titles. It features reproducible worksheets, writing activities, related reading-based activities, and technology for grades three through five. The ideas have been tested in the authors' libraries and are linked to national curricular standards. Designed for school librarians, the book is also a valuable resource for the classroom teacher and the reading specialist. Librarians will find the ideas and plans valuable as they collaborate with teachers to teach content area standards. This manual of ideas zeroes in on current picture book titles. It features reproducible worksheets, writing activities, related reading based activities, and technology for grades three through five. The ideas have been tested in the authors' libraries and are linked to national curricular standards. Though school librarians are targeted as the main audience for this book, it also is a valuable resource for the classroom teacher and reading specialist. Librarians will find the ideas and plans valuable as they collaborate with teachers to teach content area standards. The most similar resource to this book of lesson plans is the authors' first book, Linking Picture Books to Standards. This new book has the same format, but focuses on upper- level picture books and activities. It provides the librarian, classroom teacher, or reading specialist with worksheets that are ready to copy and patterns that are easy to follow. There are few resources of a similar genre on the market today—this book should help bridge the gap and provide much needed materials. Grades 3-5.




Making and Using Word Lists for Language Learning and Testing


Book Description

Word lists lie at the heart of good vocabulary course design, the development of graded materials for extensive listening and extensive reading, research on vocabulary load, and vocabulary test development. This book has been written for vocabulary researchers and curriculum designers to describe the factors they need to consider when they create frequency-based word lists. These include the purpose for which the word list is to be used, the design of the corpus from which the list will be made, the unit of counting, and what should and should not be counted as words. The book draws on research to show the current state of knowledge of these factors and provides very practical guidelines for making word lists for language teaching and testing. The writer is well known for his work in the teaching and learning of vocabulary and in the creation of word lists and vocabulary size tests based on word lists.







Using Reading to Teach a World Language


Book Description

To help your students learn a world language, don’t forget the power of reading! In this practical book from Donna Spangler and John Alex Mazzante, you’ll gain a variety of strategies and activities that you can use to teach students to read in a world language, boosting their comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. Perfect for any age or proficiency level, these classroom-ready activities can easily be adapted to suit your needs! Special features: A discussion of the challenges to teaching reading in the world language classroom A variety of adaptable pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading strategies and activities for students across grade levels and languages Essential tips for cultivating vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension Reader’s Theater – a special chapter of strategies for implementing this exciting technique A list of helpful websites and apps for world language teachers Useful appendices, including reproducible material for your classroom Busy world language teachers will love this book’s numerous classroom examples, ready-to-use templates, and free online reading sources. Bonus: The book includes eResources that are free to adapt and print for classroom use from our website, http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781138853515.