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The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of writing to a real audience for a real purpose on the writing skills and self esteem of seventh grade students. Inner city, culturally diverse seventh graders exchanged a series of letters with successful members of an urban community. The study investigated the effects of this exchange on the writing skills and self esteem of the students. The twenty five seventh graders in the study were matched randomly with the adults. They wrote at least four letters each, over a four month period, and received responses. They celebrated their connection by meeting at the middle school for a breakfast. The results of the study were documented by pre and post tests, opinion questionnaires from students, teachers and parents, overall grades and grades in English and reading, anecdotal observations, and an exit interview. The data supports the general hypothesis that when seventh grade students in an inner city, culturally diverse middle school write to a real audience for a real purpose, their writing skills improve and their self esteem is enhanced. After writing at least four letters to caring local adults, many students showed improved overall grades, and better English and reading grades. They used the appropriate friendly letter heading, longer sentences, varied end punctuation, and more interesting topic sentences. Their paragraphs indicated clear thought, and were better organized. Their stories during the exit interview proved to be overwhelmingly in favor of the writing exchange. Their parents and teachers felt the students showed improved self esteem, and a clearer connection to their community. Students indicated a greater comfort level with school, made friends with their Pals, got advice from them, and enjoyed their company. The study validated the idea that students become more conscious of thinking and learning when their tasks are real and that learning is best achieved in a social context.

Contemporary theorists have explored the potential benefits of using literature in higher education foreign language programs to achieve a broader linguistic, cultural and aesthetic focus. Their insights have drawn attention to the current practice of college foreign literature. Three problems having serious implications for the pedagogical results have emerged. First, the potential benefits of foreign literature study are still unrecognized and the role of literature in college foreign language instruction remains unclear. Second, since there is still a bias against the integration of literary criticism into undergraduate curricula, students are not equipped with critical concepts and methods needed for higher levels of literary study. Third, because empirical research is lacking, many pedagogical issues and instructional ideas have remained undiscovered. The purpose of this study was to examine content and methods of current pedagogical practice in college foreign literature instruction, and the viability of teaching literary criticism at the undergraduate level. Using Spanish as a prototype, a survey based on questionnaires and follow-up interviews was conducted with Spanish language and literature instructors at the Five Colleges in Western Massachusetts. The investigation included: objectives for teaching literature; selection of curriculum; perspectives on literary criticism; relative study of literature and language, and literature and culture; and finally, the structure of literature courses within language programs. The data revealed that foreign literature teachers see the ideal curriculum as developing reading comprehension, content analysis, multicultural awareness, and critical thinking. Four pedagogical issues were identified: the gap between literature and language; the inadequacy of cultural study in literature; the difficulty of teaching criticism; and the structure of literature courses in foreign language programs. The majority supported the teaching of literary criticism as a goal of the college literature major's professional training. However, no concerted efforts have been directed toward this goal. The areas of difficulty that emerged were the following: students' limited linguistic level; theoretical and textual problems of criticism; and the deficiencies of course structures. Ideas, approaches and techniques were also explored.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 242 p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Education, June 1999. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.