Examines the nature and structure of idioms and idiomatic language and offers suggestions for teaching them. Topics addressed include the relationship between idioms and erroneous language, idioms' appropriateness in context, proverbs, and metaphors. Some exercises are included. (Author/MSE)

Introduces the concept of powerful/powerless talk for instructors interested in incorporating this construct in their classrooms. Provides a brief summary of powerful/powerless talk literature. Offers guidelines for introducing these research findings into the curriculum. (AEW)

Four French language instruction ideas are presented, including an exercise in using articles and possessive and demonstrative adjectives; student production of radio programs; a lesson in writing postcards to friends; and a young children's game focusing on recognition and assimilation of written words and structures already learned orally. (MSE)

Four ideas for classroom French instruction are described, including a lesson in the use of indicative and subjunctive moods; creative writing exercises; a comparison of the text styles of letters with different purposes; and a beginning French geography lesson. (MSE)

Fifty-five structures of the Chinese language are described and their particular usage patterns are discussed for the use of teachers, linguists, and advanced students of Chinese. Each structure is listed by its major structural element(s), its grammatical element(s), or a combination of the two. The examination of each structure consists of an…

The casual conversation of six pairs of Japanese and six pairs of American colleges students was analyzed for evidence of two related aspects of conversation management: the linguistic characteristics of utterance units and back-channel strategies. Utterance units are defined as those occurring between identifiable pauses or breaks in tempo.…

The handbook, arising from a research project on adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teaching, presents ESL teachers with ways to use authentic English as a teaching tool in the classroom. The purpose of this book is to: examine the connections between current theories of spoken discourse analysis and classroom practice; encourage language…

This paper contends that many of the difficulties students of Chinese have in reading comprehension are directly related to their level of understanding of Chinese language and culture, and that these difficulties could be alleviated by providing students with knowledge about the value system, social customs, formation of Chinese characters and…

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…

Proposes that courses in English for Special/Academic Purposes use instructional materials reflecting the needs, communicative purposes, and standards of effective discourse as perceived by the targeted discourse community, make the linguistic structures explicit, help learners self-evaluate and become independent learners in the workplace, and be…

An English-for-Special-Purposes (ESP) text embodies structure and conventionalized features that play important roles in conveying its message to members of the specific discourse community. This means that such a text should not be simplified or otherwise subjected to loss of its generic integrity, yet these texts are often difficult for…

This study analyzed the discourse of electronic mail (e-mail) exchanges between students of English as a second language (ESL) and other ESL learners from other cultures and at varying proficiency levels (keypals), focusing on what these exchanges may reveal about learners' progress through the "Zone of Proximal Development," a…

Techniques for integrating English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction and mathematics instruction, particularly the language of mathematics, are discussed. Focus here is on mathematics instruction for limited-English-speaking students in the mainstream classroom. First, examples of the academic language of mathematics that students must…