This study used a dynamic approach to explore bidirectional sequential relations between the real-time language use of teachers and students in naturalistic early elementary science lessons. It also compared experienced teachers (n = 22) with novice teachers (n = 8) with respect to such relations. Verbal interactions were transcribed and coded at…

This article looks at question forms in everyday language usage from a functional point of view. Question forms are used more often in classrooms than in other situations. The advantages and disadvantages of exploiting question forms in the language classroom are examined. (CLK)

Test results for final-year French students in Canadian universities show they have not mastered the gender of some of the most frequent French nouns. Two recommendations are to continue to seek simplification of the learning of gender and to require students to use the full range of syntactic transformations. (MSE)

A discussion of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teaching focuses on the relationship of lexical items to the syntactic situations in which they may occur, and the importance of teaching this relationship to language learners. First, common errors made by ESL students that are attributable to lack of syntactic context knowledge are identified.…

A checklist for teachers of English as a Second Language who are teaching the expression of comparisons is presented. It is intended to assist in the systematic classroom presentation of features of comparison, with adaptation for any proficiency level. Broadly, it addresses how both the units being compared and the points of comparison need to be…

The use of poetry in the second language class is explored as a means of gentle, non-threatening communication. Techniques for using poetry to teach intonation, using adjectives, verbs, pronunciation, and syntax, as well as for offering the student another means of expressing feelings, are explored. Sample poems and lessons are discussed, and…

This study investigated English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) teachers' patterns of verbal behavior concerning student errors, the relationship between error type and teacher treatment, and the effect of error treatment on subsequent student outcome. Subjects were students in seven EFL classes in Japanese high schools, taught by native Japanese…

Papers from the 1998 Hispanic Linguistics Symposium include: "Patterns of Gender Agreement in the Speech of Second Language Learners"; "'Nomas' in Mexican American Dialect"; "Parsing Spanish 'solo'"; "On Levels of Processing and Levels of Comprehension"; "The Role of Attention in Second/Foreign Language Classroom Research: Methodological Issues";…

Discourse analysis has provided a methodology for the study of conversational interactions between language learner and native speaker. This study examines the verbal and nonverbal strategies that native speakers use when communicating with second language learners in natural, non-academic, "survival type" settings. The areas discussed include:…

This paper argues that formal and explicit instruction and learners' prior knowledge play a crucial role in teaching and learning English as a second language (ESL), and that a pure communicative approach is inadequate in achieving optimum results. The discussion is presented in two parts. The first outlines the issues under consideration,…

This paper focuses on the current developments in regard to the assessment of language proficiency in children who are from non-English speaking backgrounds. Instruments currently used to assess language proficiency for placement in English programs usually fail validity and reliability tests. These tests usually measure formal aspects of language…

Techniques for integrating English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction and mathematics instruction, particularly the language of mathematics, are discussed. Focus here is on mathematics instruction for limited-English-speaking students in the mainstream classroom. First, examples of the academic language of mathematics that students must…