There is a general public concern in Kenya that majority of Form Four school leavers lack communicative and linguistic competence and thus cannot sustain conversation in English language without occasionally code switching to "Sheng" or Kiswahili. This study sought to find out the classroom activities used by teachers to promote…

Compensation strategies, the attempts made by non-native speakers to remedy the disparity between their communication needs and the linguistic tools at their disposal, are examined. Two tactics for non-native speakers are distinguished: that of averting problems by acting on oneself, and that of averting problems by acting on one's interlocutor.…

This study explored the relationship between conceptual level, a social cognitive variable, and second language communicative competence. The subjects were female secondary school students in five second-year French classes. The research hypotheses stated that conceptual level was related to the development of communicative competence while…

Discusses the consensus among language teachers that the teaching of grammar helps second language learners develop linguistic competence as part of communicative competence. The article argues that pedagogical grammar can be made less formal by keeping metalinguistic terms, concepts, and analysis at a minimal level. (45 references) (Author/CK)

The developer of the two-cone model of second language teaching and learning outlines the original model and its concepts, and presents some further ideas concerning it. The model represents the native and second languages as two cones with pronunciation at the apex, morphology and syntax (grammar) at the center, and vocabulary around grammar and…

Theories of human cognition and language suggest that there is a gap between the phases of perception and the phases of production of language. Unfortunately, this is often forgotten in language teaching, so that beginners' courses too frequently contain simplified and non-authentic linguistic input to assure that output does not lag too far…

Metalinguistic knowledge, or linguistic awareness, involves the ability to focus attention upon the form of language in and of itself, rather than merely as the vehicle by which meaning is conveyed. This ability to analyze language structures lags behind spontaneous speaking and listening performance because of the additional cognitive skills…

Six adult students of English as a second language were ranked according to individual input into classroom oral interaction. Four hypotheses were then tested, regarding correlation between degree of input generation on the one hand and achievement and performance on the other. It was found that: (1) high input generators (HIGs) performed better…

Videotape is much like audio tape in that it is magnetic tape on which a signal is electronically recorded, but it carries both an audio and a video signal. Video equipment demands a rather large initial expense but tape is relatively inexpensive. The magnifying, dynamic and synthesizing properties of this medium lend themselves to meeting some…

This study is intended to help experienced practitioners and student teachers gain a systematic understanding of language learning. Part I is a general introduction discussing the second language learner and first language learner. Part II describes the adult interview study; the method, procedure, and results of interviews with good and poor…