Discusses a technique for teaching the usage of the present perfect tense to students of English as a second language. (CFM)

Reports findings of a corpus analysis of a grammatical structure taught in intermediate- or advanced-level English-as-a-Second-/Foreign-Language texts: clauses that contain the modal "would" to signify hypothetical and counterfactual meaning. Categorizes the conditional and hypothetical uses of would-clauses in spoken and written corpora…

English modal verbs constitute a problem for the student of English as a foreign language. This study presents a methodology for a systematic presentation of the meaning of modal verbs. The modals "can,""may,""must," and "have to" are studied. (SW)

Examines how language corpora can inform the pedagogic process and asks who is to be the voice of authority with regard to spoken grammar. (Author/VWL)

Urges the combination of grammatical instruction with pragmatic spoken usage in the teaching of language. (LG)

Makes a case for including corpus linguistics in initial language teacher education to enhance teachers' research skills and language awareness. Offers examples of corpus-based tasks for increasing students' understanding of word classes, register-related grammatical choices, and socioculturally conditioned grammatical choices. (Author/VWL)

In a survey, 130 English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students were asked to describe the meanings of English tenses in terms of time concepts used in ESL grammar texts. Results suggest that grammar teaching utilizing descriptions of time accepted in English-speaking communities to explain usages and meanings of English tenses can limit learner…

This study examined the sensitivity of adult second language learners to deviance in English sentences. The subjects were 18 Egyptian, Arabic-speaking students attending classes at the English Language Institute of the American University in Cairo. (Author/CFM)

Paper presented at the TESOL Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, March 1971. (VM)

Reviews various approaches to the description of conversation and discusses the role of conversational discourse dimensions. Mentions the participants' assumptions about conversation and strategies, in relation to the acquisition of conversation skills in a second language. Also examines the effects of transfer of L1 conversational norms into a…

This article discusses an experiment designed to examine the relationship between the external explanations that learners give for their language behavior, and actual language performance. The subjects who were native and non-native speakers of English were tested on their use of definite articles. (CFM)

Presents the rationale for and the results of a pilot study attempting to document in detail how automatization takes place as the result of different kinds of intensive practice. Results show that reaction times and error rates gradually decline with practice, and the practice effect is skill-specific. (36 references) (CK)

Paper prepared under contract with the English Language Branch--Defense Language Institute, Lackland Air Force Base, Lackland, Texas, and delivered in 1971 to staff members of the Branch. (VM)