Learning a second language (L2) is not merely mastering an additional linguistic system, but rather learning a new way of conceptualizing the world. Grammatical development does not always align simultaneously with conceptual development in L2. That explains why L2 learners may produce sentences that are grammatically correct, but pragmatically…

When it comes to teaching vocabulary in foreign language classes words are often taught in isolation, without regard to the context in which they appear. The paper draws attention to the importance of teaching words in context so that the meaning of a word often results from the meaning of a larger construction it is part of. After presenting the…

Reading critically involves examining the language choices authors make to "get the job done" -- in other words, to communicate effectively in specific ways with particular audiences. Not all students in middle and high school intuit this type of reading and may experience challenges when they go to write for academic purposes. Their…

This teaching tip highlights a strategy that assists teachers in structuring classroom discussions about texts. Specifically, this conversational technique helps students think and talk about a text beyond its literal meaning. During classroom conversations that employ this strategy, teachers help students extend their overall understanding of a…

This article addresses key issues and considerations for teachers wanting to incorporate spoken grammar activities into their own teaching and also focuses on six common features of spoken grammar, with practical activities and suggestions for teaching them in the language classroom. The hope is that this discussion of spoken grammar and its place…

This Teaching Tip article explores the importance of phrasing while reading. It also presents an instructional intervention strategy for helping students develop greater proficiency in reading with phrases that reflect the meaning of the text.

For the past few decades, stylistics has emerged as a discipline that encompasses both literary criticism and linguistics. The integration of both disciplines opened many opportunities for English literature and language teachers to get creative in their teaching--by introducing the stylistic approach in their classrooms. However, in a typical…

This volume brings together theoretical perspectives and empirical studies in second language (L2) acquisition and bilingualism and discusses their implications for L2 pedagogy. The book is organized into three sections that focus on prominent linguistic and cognitive theories and together provide a compelling set of state-of-the-art works. Part I…

In this book, the authors share procedures for teaching grammar effectively and dynamically, in ways that appeal to students and teachers alike. Ideal for teachers just beginning their work in grammar instruction, this book includes day-by-day units and reproducibles to help them embed grammar lessons into writing instruction. Using visuals,…

In this article, the author offers a new strategy for working with sentences in college composition that prompts students to access and apply their native grammatical abilities. The chunking strategy that she advocates is based on meaning and rests at a level of analysis that transcends varieties. It builds on the grammatical competence that…

Lexical items, because they are language specific forms are undoubtedly one of the most difficult tasks in learning a second language. Phrasal verbs perhaps further exacerbate this difficult task since the meaning of already known verbs changes drastically when combined with different particles. Hence, facilitating the learning of these commonly…

This lesson uses a text about the houseboats of Kashmir to give students practice with descriptions, compound words, and participles. The lesson plan could be adapted to tourist destinations familiar to the students. Students are asked to write a description of their homes and create a tourism brochure for their own cities or towns.

This article examines variant word order in subordinate clauses, in particular clauses introduced with "weil" in spoken discourse. Current studies point to discourse-pragmatic conditions that guide the placement of the verb in second or final clause position. An analysis of empirical speech data shows that German speakers use both V2 and VF in…

This article focuses on the value of developing the skills involved in grouping text into syntactically appropriate units with students having reading problems. It suggests use of phrase-cued texts (in which phrase boundaries are explicitly marked) to move from word-by-word reading to reading in meaningful phrases. (DB)