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…

Demonstrates how a constructivist approach to teacher education helps inexperienced teachers understand learning and teaching of aspect, a core grammatical concept. By consciously experiencing the process of narration, apprentice teachers construct deeper awareness of form/meaning aspectual correlations of the target language. More generally,…

A study investigated the effect of classroom instruction in giving compliments on actual encounters between native and non-native speakers of English. Production of compliments and replies to compliments were compared in two nine-member groups of Japanese learners of English as a Second Language, one group receiving six hours of formal instruction…

Issues in the teaching of grammar in a second language are explored, and classroom presentation methods are discussed. The first chapter introduces four views of grammar and its use: as description; terminology; rules; and pattern. Each is illustrated with examples from instructional materials in several languages. In the second chapter, the…

The phenomenon of language is discussed and suggestions are made for using its unique aspects to enhance classroom second language teaching and learning. Five main points are made about language: (1) it differs in kind, not simply in degree, from other species' communicative behaviors; (2) the wonder of human language is rivaled by only one other…

A discussion of passive verb forms and the passive voice attempts to explain the nature of passives and to offer composition teachers some reference points for teaching them. Twelve arguments are proposed to explain resistance to the teaching of passives; each is termed a continuum in order to help assess understandings and attitudes. The 12…

Looks at the influence students' native languages have on comprehension of Anglo-Saxon and Greco-Latinate elements of English vocabulary. Suggests use of a dictionary with etymologies, dictionary of English idioms, small group work involving both non-native and English speakers, etymological reference book, pre-med courses in Greek and Latin…

Onomatopoeia is overlooked in many French grammar courses but plays a key role in everyday speech. Classification according to the feelings communicated stresses their importance. Students enjoy learning the sounds produced by animals in a second language and discovering the abundance of onomatopoeia in songs, commercials, comic books, and slang.…

The comparison of languages can be an effective instructional technique if used well. The comparison of isolated elements is less effective than the examination of languages at several levels: system, norm, and usage. (MSE)

The importance of training second language learners in the patterns of occurrence of certain phonemes is discussed, focusing on the use of spelling as a primary predictor of pronunciation. Four different pronunciations of "ng" in English (as in "engaging, singer, changing, dangle") are used to illustrate this principle. A review of pronunciation…

An approach to teaching expository writing in English as a Second Language (ESL) to native speakers of Chinese is offered. It is based on a comparison and classification of rhetorical patterns in the two languages. Chinese rhetoric contains a wide variety of methods of presentation, including both direct and indirect, or metaphoric, forms. It is…

A discussion of some occurrences of metaphor in Modern Greek is intended to offer insight to foreign language teachers on the handling of the phenomenon in classroom instruction. Some implications for machine translation are also suggested. First, a brief theoretical account of metaphor points out that metaphor occurs in nearly all discourse and…

An experimental study investigated the effectiveness of multimedia instruction in improving listening comprehension of high school students studying second-year Spanish. Specific comprehension difficulties were found in recognizing linguistic and cultural implications, making guesses based on key words and phrases, and understanding and responding…

Instruction in business letter-writing, particularly in the context of the business French course, is discussed. First, the kinds of business communications (face-to-face, print, and electronic) currently used are surveyed briefly, and a taxonomy of the content of business communication is presented. Conventions of French business letters are then…

The teaching of English present perfect tense to Japanese learners of English as a second language at the high school level is discussed, focusing on how this is currently done and how it could be done better. It is suggested that the greatest problem encountered by Japanese learners of English is aspect, and that students must dissect their own…