Designed to assess a reader's comprehension of items differing in contrastive vocal stress, this test consists of 64 items divided evenly between eight sentence types: declarative active, declarative passive, interrogative, and imperative, with each in a positive and negative form. The element of contrastive stress is placed on nouns functioning…

A technique for helping English-as-a-Second-Language students learn to write accurate paraphrases and summaries, free from personal interpretation, is described. Students first read, in pairs, a paragraph that has a main idea and requires some inferential thinking, especially about the tone and/or purpose. After a specific period of time, students…

Provides several typical negative sentence structures, discusses why children find them difficult, and suggests how to begin teaching them to handle negatives. (FL)

Points out problems associated with the language of textbooks and the development of reading-related skills (e.g., reading maps and charts). Discusses specific teaching strategies for coping with textbook language and facilitating text comprehension and memory. (JM)

Common problems encountered in teaching Chinese that involve classical, intentional malapropisms (learned errors) are discussed. Three aspects unique to Chinese are addressed: (1) since Chinese writing is logographic, some malapropisms occur because of similar graphs; (2) since many expressions come from classical Chinese, and instruction in…

Outlines the goals and content of the syllabus aimed at developing reading and listening comprehension in a beginners' course in German. Types of written and spoken texts; language register used; language structure patterns desired; lexis and vocabulary; and language function are discussed as they are included in the syllabus. (CHK)

Offers suggestions from five contributors dealing with word games, the teacher's role in reading instruction, running and reading comprehension, video games and Rubik's Cube and photoessays. (FL)

Describes a classroom activity that emphasizes syntactic fluency and the richness of linguistic resources available in written language, while downplaying the "dos and don'ts" of traditional punctuation instruction. (RL)

Dimensions of word meaning are examined, and a framework for describing and teaching Chinese words in the context of Chinese second language instruction is offered. It is argued that every word has limitations of usage that must be understood before it can be used appropriately. The limitations, or dimensions, include these: connotative (emotional…

The graphemic and functional distribution of Chinese punctuation markers are outlined, and the implications of Chinese punctuation practices for second language instruction are discussed. Three kinds of Chinese punctuation markers are described: those graphically unique to Chinese, those written and used in the same manner in both Chinese and…

A teaching technique used in a short course in reading scientific and technical Russian without previous Russian language experience is described. A special grammar-and-dictionary is used in a rule-governed manner to produce semi-automatically a sentence-for-sentence analysis of specialized texts. (MSE)

Four French language class activities are described, including a game using proverbs to review animal names and encourage comprehension; videotaping a class debate in French, to promote both exchange of ideas and student confidence before a group; a role-playing exercise in which a television news program is created; and a specialized activity to…

Reciprocal teaching, a method of teaching first language reading comprehension, is explained and three distinct applications of the method and materials in second language instruction are described. Reciprocal teaching is viewed as a three-level hierarchy of components and strategies, reflected in the organization of materials and activities. The…

The collection of essays on classroom research for second language teachers includes: "Teachers as Researchers in the Language Classroom: An Overview" (Anthony J. Liddicoat, Louise M. Jansen); "A Visit to the Art Gallery: An Oral Exercise in a Second Language" (Meri Dragicevic); "Encouraging Class Cohesiveness in the LOTE Classroom" (Corine…