Because idioms are omnipresent in the authentic language students are exposed to, to successfully comprehend and produce natural language, learners of a second or foreign language need to possess a good knowledge of idioms and competence in idiom use. This paper examines the approaches to teaching and learning idioms. A discussion of the…

The study sought to isolate and identify patterns occurring in language interactions between mothers and their nonhandicapped and Down Syndrome children. Data were collected as part of a 3-year study of language interaction. Twenty nonhandicapped (NH) and 20 Down Syndrome (DS) children and their mothers were evaluated via a demographic inventory,…

Discusses the noun-plus-adjective construction in contemporary German and problems in translating this pattern into English. (AM)

It is proposed that many students are unable to distinguish between unguarded writing patterns and literate or expository ones, and it is becoming increasingly necessary in writing instruction to clarify and impose the distinction between these patterns. This problem is confounded by current trends toward exclusively spoken language in the…

Spanish language teachers are encouraged to introduce popular sayings, figures of speech, and proverbs into the language curriculum, both as a means of maintaining the usage of the expressions and to bring variety to the language taught. Definitions, characteristics, origins, and general uses of such expressions are outlined. Some of the most…

A simplified pattern of noun formation is outlined that can assist the German teacher in helping students understand constituent relationships in long or obscure German nouns, providing an overview of significant patterns that covers a relatively complete noun system. First, significant patterns in nouns outside the process of formation, and…

The Concept Attainment Model is a teaching strategy based on analysis of the nature of concepts and how they are acquired. Using this theory, three strategies for second language instruction have been developed: the reception, selection, and unorganized materials strategies. In the reception strategy, the most structured, students must be guided…

This discussion of English participles is intended to aid teachers of English as a second language in both understanding and teaching their use. The forms, functions (as verbs and adjectives), and meanings of participles are first outlined, and an approach for presenting this information to students is detailed. It begins with establishing a…

Metrical phonology, a linguistic process of phonological stress assessment and diagrammatic simplification of sentence and word stress, is discussed as it is found in the English language with the intention that it may be used in second language instruction. Stress is defined by its physical and acoustical correlates, and the principles of…

Both aural-oral practice with the sounds of English and formal rules are important in pronunciation instruction, and have a role to play in interlanguage development. Formal rules provide self-evaluation for purposes of self-correction, a process which allows learners to judge or self-correct their own utterances against rule-generated predictions…

Children with language delays often manifest low rates of self-initiated expressive language, particularly in school settings. Children with mild to moderate language delays appear to develop this pattern as a means of coping with situations in which they believe they are unable to perform or may perform poorly. Interactive language training…

This paper describes an educator's decision to change careers from that of foreign service officer to teacher of English as a Second Language is traced to a December 1985 event in Korea in which the American Cultural Center in Kwangju was occupied by protesting Korean students. Analysis of this event and its effect on the educator focuses on the…

A study analyzed patterns in one speech act, that of refusal, in 60 native English speakers (responding in English only) and 120 native Spanish speakers (60 responding in English and 60 in Spanish). Native English speakers were college students in the United States and Spanish speakers were students in Spain. A questionnaire was used to elicit…

The study evaluated the effects of an auditory monitoring and feedback approach on an adolescent boy's schizophrenic language patterns. The approach attempted to increase the subject's auditory awareness and to train him to identify and correct the linguistic errors of others and, eventually, of himself. Language samples were analyzed at baseline…

Use of Robert Gagne's model of instructional design for teaching English as a Second Language is illustrated in a unit intended for community college students of varying linguistic and educational backgrounds. Students must be literate in English, have a prescribed level of listening comprehension, and be familiar with certain English vocabulary…