Knowledge of vocabulary is essential for learners of any language, and unfortunately, it has become clear recently the learners of English in a variety of contexts have not scored well on vocabulary tests. Low scores are problematic for language use and success in general, but they cause particular problems when it comes to the vocabulary needed…

Immersion programs have long been considered the gold standard for school-based language revitalization, but surprisingly little attention has been paid to the quantity and quality of the input that they provide to young language learners. Drawing on new data from three such programs (Kaqchikel, Western Subanon, and Maori), each with its own…

Synonymy is important but difficult for language learners to grasp. Using a forced-choice question instrument, along with corpus data as reference, this study examines the use of four sets of synonyms by intermediate/advanced Chinese EFL/ESL learners and native English speakers. The data analyses reveal several key findings, including a general…

"Although" is a frequently used subordinating conjunction in English. However, non-nativeness is often observed in Chinese EFL learners' "although" output during pedagogical practice. This paper aims at exploring the characteristics of Chinese EFL learners' "although" employment in Chinese EFL learners' writing. The…

This paper investigates uses of corpora in language learning ("data-driven learning") through analysis of a 600K-word corpus of empirical research papers in the field. The corpus can tell us much--the authors and the countries the studies are conducted in, the types of publication, and so on. The corpus investigation itself starts with…

This study tries to establish a baseline for the teaching of the French subjunctive in the United States and to encourage further scholarship by summarizing past activities. Distinctive subjunctive structures were extracted from 18 French newspapers and magazines and 15 recorded, non-directed interviews with native informants, thus providing…

This article describes a project-oriented approach to teaching language awareness at the college freshman level. It is emphasized that it is important for students to realize that language is dynamic and that it changes because people change. The study of slang can make the student aware of the changeableness of a living language. Students were…

This conference report of the second annual meeting of the Society for Applied Linguistics contains 38 articles grouped under the following headings: (1) technology and multimedia instruction, (2) theory of translation, (3) the didactics of foreign language instruction, (4) a description of present-day language and linguistics, (5)…

The greatest need of language teachers today is a workable approach to teaching vocabulary. This is essential if students are to be enabled to achieve communicative competence, that is, to make a transfer from the textbook to the real world of French, as reflected in the French media. An effective and comprehensive approach to teaching vocabulary…

This bulletin contains articles of interest to persons and institutions engaged in teaching English for special purposes (ESP) and allied activities. "Developments in ESP Courses and Centres" gives information on programs in specialized English and French. "Teaching and Learning Materials" presents techniques for teaching…

Languages for special purposes is the subject of this special issue. Seven articles are provided: "Special Courses in Russian" (Rasio Dunatov); "Learning to Read German: A Search for Relevant Models (Karl Fink); "The Comprehension of English for Science and Technology Arguments and Definitions" (John Lackstrom); "The Teaching of Pronunciation"…