Based on writing produced by second language learners at different proficiency levels (CEFR A1 to C1), we adopted a usage-based approach (Ellis, Römer, & O'Donnell, 2016; Tyler & Ortega, 2018) to investigate how German and Spanish learner knowledge of 19 English verb-argument constructions (VACs; e.g., "V with n," illustrated by…

This study investigated French and Spanish EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' preferred use of three-word lexical bundles with discourse or stance-oriented function with a view to exploring the role of first language (L1) frequency effects in foreign language acquisition. Word combinations were extracted from learner performance data…

This year's conference theme, "Be Seen, Be Heard," reflected not only our goal of celebrating our achievements but also represented our intent of making sure everyone's voices are heard, especially during 2017's difficult political climate. The conference opened with a motivating address from Dean Laura E. Lyons, followed by an…

There have been many studies on the acquisition of English unaccusative verbs which make use of learner corpora. Most of these studies have so far concluded that even advanced learners of English ungrammatically passivize unaccusative verbs and produce sentences such as "*The accident was happened" and "*The mobile phone was…

This study identified reasons to believe that one particular way of teaching writing is theoretically sound; explicated the use theory of meaning; defined a theory of rhetoric which was compatible with the use theory; presented a set of beliefs about the nature of thought and about how the mind learns; and presented exemplary classroom activities…

The conventions inherent to language are explored, and demonstrations, engagement, and sensitivity are discussed as factors present in all learning situations in which a person learns to master these complex conventions. (HTH)

Summary of author's doctoral dissertation, "Syntactic and Semantic Elements of Students' Oral and Written Discourse: Implications for Teaching Composition, Stanford Univ., 1967.

Report of an analysis of the prose of five British and five American authors which seems to refute Francis Christensen's contention that the cumulative sentence" is the typical sentence of modern English." (Author/RD)

An analysis of discourse focuses on argumentative strategies used in reply to a complaint. The complaint was in the form of a letter, in English, written to a breakfast cereal company, expressing concern about a stone found in the product. The response, also in letter form, is examined for its text strategy. These elements are discussed: the…

This paper describes the preliminary results of research currently underway concerning sex-based differences in written composition. Sixty themes written by college-age native speakers of English were chosen for study. The themes were typed exactly as they had been written. No corrections were made. They were numbered alphabetically by the names…

THE CLOZE PROCEDURE WAS USED TO INVESTIGATE THE PREDICTABILITY OF LANGUAGE MATERIALS AND TO EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE WRITTEN PRODUCTION OF LANGUAGE AND READING TO STRUCTURAL AND LEXICAL CONSTRUCTS. FIFTY-SIX SOPHOMORES RANDOMLY SELECTED FROM 152 STUDENTS ENROLLED IN INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY COURSES AT CAMPBELL COLLEGE WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED…

Report of research findings on productive language differences in beginning fifth grade Black children living in Philadelphia, as evidenced by their use of nonstandard syntactic forms in both speech and writing. (RB)

The occurrence of Black English Venacular (BEV) dialect features in the writing of 42 inner-city college students was studied using such sociolinguistic methods as variable rule analysis, computer programs, and implicational scales. A comparison of the patterns found in the subjects' writing with those found in spoken BEV revealed that sometimes,…

This paper argues for the legitimacy of a paragraph as a linguistic unit. The arguments are based on: (1) the rule of pronominalization that makes crucial use of the paragraph; (2) establishment of surface constituent structure of the paragraph as evidenced in an analysis of the structures of recipe and medical discourses; and (3) postulation of…

A review of the literature and research concerning the language processes of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and an analysis of the findings regarding the characteristics of these processes and their relationship to the second-language learner led to the following conclusions: (1) the circumstances under which the first language is…