Theoretically speaking, semantic minimalism and semantic maximalism are two current dominant assumptions on the nature of meaning in the linguistic communication. The former lays more emphasis on the syntactic basis of sentence meaning, while the latter stresses much over the pragmatic properties of utterance meaning. This paper, grounded on the…

In the current study, data from A Corpus of English Dialogues (1560-1760) are used to consider contexts with the have-perfect and temporal adverbs of the definite past time such as yesterday, last night, ago. Data analysis is conducted within the framework of a usage-based approach, which gives evidence to the hypothesis that in Early Modern…

This paper presents an automatic dialogue scoring approach for a Dialogue-Based Computer-Assisted Language Learning (DB-CALL) system, which helps users learn language via interactive conversations. The system produces overall feedback according to dialogue scoring to help the learner know which parts should be more focused on. The scoring measures…

This paper introduces a Dialog-Based Computer-Assisted second-Language Learning (DB-CALL) system using semantic and grammar correctness evaluations and the results of its experiment. While the system dialogues with English learners about a given topic, it automatically evaluates the grammar and content properness of their English utterances, then…

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…

In an analysis of stress and intonation, stress is shown to distinguish semantic and grammatical meaning on every level of language. It is suggested that the distinction between stress and intonation is particularly important in teaching English as a second language. Written texts and fabricated examples of dialogue are used, with a focus on…

Text linguistics can make significant theoretical and practical contributions for writing teachers. Borrowing from classical rhetoric and cognitive psychology, text linguists investigate defining text, creating text grammars, and identifying communicative aspects of text. To show how these investigations are useful for writing teachers, this…