Comparison of human and machine French translations of independent clauses from an English journal article about physics found that automatic translation was generally faithful to the original thematization, although English complexities and lexical gaps caused the machine to lose, create, and garble some themes. The human translation, although…

Compares the quantity of characteristics of negotiation by second-language learners in interlanguage talk in two approaches that encourage information exchange. One approach is guided by explicit cues and is introduced by dialogs that demonstrate language functions as they occur in discourse settings, and the other is based on information exchange…

Compares conversion, a morphological process by which a word formed without explicit derivational mark, to phenomenon of multifunctionality; discusses with reference to alternative label of zero-derivation and directonality. Drawing on English and Italian second-language acquisition data, study shows process is productive from initial stages of…

Explores the nature of code switching by comparing and contrasting learners' code-switching behavior with that of speakers in a bilingual speech community, hypothesizing that the more students succeed in overcoming the psychological dichotomy between themselves as learners and individuals, the less they will resort to code switching as a mode of…

Describes an investigation of the differences and similarities existing between the intonation systems of French and English. The unity of the procedures described here is confirmed by an analysis of intonational errors made by English-speaking learners of French. (Author/VWL)

Analyzes the differences in usage of the Spanish preterite and imperfect by native speakers of Spanish and by nonnative speakers of Spanish whose first language is Dutch. Teaching strategies to enhance the learner's awareness of context and sequencing are suggested. (LMO)

This study compared the exam performance of 65 foreign students of Dutch whose homework had been regularly checked by a computer program with 62 students whose homework had been randomly checked. On a 100-item proficiency test the former group obtained an average score of 77.2, while the latter group obtained an average score of 65.4. (Contains 21…

To study the adequacy of the brief oral examination format as a basis for assessing oral skills, the study compared samples of 15-minute oral exams with 3-hour written exam results by the same students. The resultant average size of oral samples was about 77% of that of written samples, with good comparability, leading to useful conclusions about…

Investigated whether there were differences in retention of language when both visual and auditory stimuli were employed as opposed to just a visual stimulus. It was found that reading-only resulted in higher scores on tests taken immediately, whereas combined listening and reading resulted in higher tests when tests were delayed. (12 references)…

Examination and comparison of the forms and functions of the passive structures used by native and second-language writers of English and Japanese yielded strong empirical proof of definite interplay and transfer of native language form and function to the target language, resulting in awkward, if not completely incorrect, sentences. (27…

This is the first in a series of articles on general phonetic characteristics of American English. Language research techniques of spectrographic analysis, spectrographic synthesis, articulatory motion-picture study, and statistical calculation are briefly described. Thirty-five areas of phonetic difference for comparison of English to Spanish,…

Comparison of the performance of Japanese college students (N=10) on a cloze test and a test using comic strips to assess English as a second language acculturation revealed that the comics were as effective and reliable as the cloze test and that the comics' attractiveness appeared to activate students' minds. (CB)

Discusses the importance of the cultural component in the language learning process for providing a sound communication base. Examples are presented that reflect differences in speech patterns, such as politeness, of native speakers of British and Moroccan Arabic, with emphasis on culturally specific language patterns. (25 references)(OD)

Study investigated effectiveness of two techniques in second-language vocabulary development: spacing of first-language (FL) and second-language (SL) words and reversal of the conventional FL/SL order in paired associate learning. Subjects were 16 English-speaking grade-seven students of French. Results showed superior performance in both spacing…

The article criticizes present-day overemphasis of contrastive analysis procedures in second language instruction. Recommendations are for language teachers to reappraise their classroom objectives and to give paramount importance to mastery of language use rather than mastery of language structure. Pedagogical procedures based on situational…