The problem of providing a systematic understanding of Language Awareness (LA) is reviewed. Topics covered include principles behind the various terms used to refer to LA and types of knowledge about language, intervention, and the value of studying genre awareness. (39 references) (Author/LB)

Demonstrates the willingness and ability of non-linguists to provide information about "what they know" about everyday speech activities in the form of their interpretive responses to various tape-recorded fragments of talk. Three types of information are identified from these responses, including overtly "available" information about a variety of…

Examines the subprocesses of reading, as identified in first- and second-language reading research, and the two types of input required, i.e., data from the text and learner stored data. It is argued that, through activities designed to work with each one of the subprocesses in turn, attention can be focused on the subprocess as well as the…

Argues that in the initial stages of learning a new form in a foreign language and its associated functions, communicative needs and learning needs are fundamentally opposed. Suggests that what is needed is an orientation to language that is based on prior familiarity with specific forms and meaning that can be used in discourse as anchors to…

Discusses the relations in learning between primary (L1) and second languages, including the theme of language learning and face-to-face verbal interaction; the conjunction of research in language learning and in bilingualism; and work on the role of metalinguistc activities in this area. Notes that the ethnographic data collected show that resort…