Presents data which shows, in a systematic and objective way, how the same speaker can express the same meaning in a variety of ways depending upon the social situation. Such data offer the teacher of English a basis for discussing some of the linguistic features involved in this variation. (Author/PJM)

For better comprehension and more communicative production among francophones, students of French should be taught the use and function of detached phrases as they are used in popular spoken French. A specific approach distinguishing between appropriate spoken and written usage is outlined. (20 references) (MSE)

Discourse competence is made up of both communicative competence and textual competence. Since each literary genre has its own typological and textual style, the study of each will help to build diverse competencies in students. (MSE)

The importance of the distinction between form and function in language use, the appropriateness of language to varying situations, the elements of discourse structure, and the paralinguistic features of communication are discussed. Classroom activities employing these principles to develop communicative competence are included. (PMJ)

Presents a language teaching method designed to increase communicative competence through an application of speech act theory and the use of dialogs and the source language. (AM)

A study compared subjective and objective methods of evaluating college students' second-language communicative competence as expressed in their writing. (MSE)

Discusses an approach to analyzing teacher talk in second-language classrooms that assumes communicative classrooms are characterized by teacher talk reflecting external communication patterns. Argues that this analysis is over-simplistic, ignoring the reality of the classroom context and the features that make for effective communication within…

The basic premise of this paper is that second language learning or teaching is an exercise in contrastive linguistics because learners filter and assimilate the second language through the categories and experiences represented by the first language to create situationally appropriate utterances. By selecting and exchanging information,…

Twelve learning-disabled children, aged 8-11, were compared with normal peers on various discourse errors. No significant quantitative differences were found in the total number of discourse errors between the disabled and normal groups, but the errors were qualitatively different. Male subjects made significantly more errors than female subjects.…

In its first year, the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program combined kindergarten and first-grade students in two classes. About half of the students had no speaking knowledge of Hawaiian; the remainder had attended Hawaiian-language preschools and/or spoke Hawaiian at home. Both teachers, fluent speakers of Hawaiian, were new to teaching. The…

Recent research on affective variables and classroom second language learning suggests that: (1) affective variables are context-sensitive in at least two ways; (2) attitudes are contagious, and the general attitude of students can be influenced from various directions; (3) research in pragmatics, discourse analysis, and communicative functions…

The project studied a critical aspect of school performance, how children know how to display interactional competence during classroom lessons. Using videotapes of classroom lessons and interviews with participants, the study analyzed the language used by teachers and students as well as their physical behaviors to infer the knowledge needed for…

A classroom observation technique that describes classroom events at the level of activity and analyzes the communicative features of verbal exchanges between students and teachers within each activity is described. Activity characteristics indentified include type, participant organization, content, student modality or skills used, and materials;…

This collection of conference papers includes: "When Does Teacher Talk Work as Input?"; "Cultural Input in Second Language Learning"; "Skilled Variation in a Kindergarten Teacher's Use of Foreigner Talk"; "Teacher-Pupil Interaction in Second Language Development"; "Foreigner Talk in the University…

An instructional module designed to help prepare college-level teaching assistants (TAs) for their duties in second language instruction is presented. The module focuses on the teaching of oral language skills in a beginning or intermediate language course. The first section examines features of spoken language, including the range of uses of…