This study examined whether discourse-marker use changes in nurse-patient interactions as a function of nurses using their first (L1) or second (L2) language. Discourse markers were analyzed as turn-maintenance markers that indicate acknowledgement and discourse-shift markers that signal shifts of a topic or speaker in the conversation. These two…

This article explores what happens when humans, objects, and digital technology collaborate in creating a short stop-motion film. It investigates how animation making as a hugely repetitive mechanical process interlinks with language, communication, and learning, and how it can affect our responsiveness and readiness to communicate. The article…

One of the most complex aspects of verbal interaction to master in a second language is the use of pronouns of address. In French for nursing students, pedagogical prescriptions favour the use of "vous" for interactions with patients; however, corpus linguistic studies have shown that "tu" is increasingly used in the French…

This study examines the role of listeners' native language (L1) background in judgments of comprehensibility (ease of understanding) for speakers from same and different L1 backgrounds, to determine the extent of a shared second language (L2) comprehensibility benefit. Forty L2 English speakers from Mandarin, French, Hindi, and English backgrounds…

Variations in how L2 learners work in pairs/groups have been noted by a number of researchers. However, explanations for such variations are often made in terms of differences in L2 proficiency or culture. What has often been overlooked is the participants' orientation to an activity and, in particular, their motives and goals. The importance of…

A study analyzed repetition in the discourse of students of Spanish as a second language working on a writing assignment in collaborative dyads (n=5). Results show the sociocultural and mental activity was mediated by repetition of both first- and second-language utterances, whose effect was to create and maintain a shared perspective of the task…

A description of the French language training program used in Canada's Public Service Commission outlines its two components, a core course for lower levels and an independent study package, and other program aspects, including program characteristics, application of the communicative approach, notions as organizing principles, methodology, tests,…

In response to a study of functions of first-language usage in the second-language classroom, it is suggested the findings extend the scope of sociocultural theory by complementing studies in which language is seen to mediate the learning of concepts, in this case the second language, and gives insight into issues currently under vigorous…

Contrasts classroom questioning with questioning functions used in normal discourse and suggests ways in which teachers can promote more normal questioning exchanges in the second language classroom. (Author/MSE)

Results of the first Canadian field-tested interactive video for language learners using real conversation demonstrate how simple technology, used properly, can increase students' motivation, drive, and effort. (25 references) (Author/MSE)

A taxonomy of the forms of literacy found in the Northwest Territories is proposed. The forms include Biblical, pragmatic vernacular, high vernacular, schooled vernacular, pragmatic English language, and essayist literacy. General and specific literacy functions, addressor-addressee relationships, and typical message form and script are noted for…

A study of native language (L1) use in the collaborative interaction of five dyads of native English-speaking adult learners of Spanish as a second language (L2) found that L1 serves a critical function in students' attempts to mutually define task elements, provide each other with scaffolding help, and externalize inner speech. (Author/MSE)

Argues that classroom dialogic (structured, open-ended) inquiry, through problem-posing, is a tool for classroom research into second-language instruction, helping teachers develop better understanding of students' backgrounds, motivation, cultures, and strategies for learning English. Outlines steps in dialogic inquiry, and offers examples of its…