Many studies have found EFL/ESL learners over/under/misuse linking adverbials. Because their use is specific to genre and register (Biber et al., 1999), and news writing is a compulsory course for EFL journalism majors at many Chinese universities, this study investigates their usage patterns in news and suggests teaching material design for the…

The recognition of second language (L2) development as a dynamic process has led to different claims about how language development unfolds, what represents a learner's linguistic system (i.e., interlanguage) at a certain point in time, and how that system changes over time (Verspoor, de Bot, & Lowie, 2011). Responding to de Bot and…

A model is proposed for analysis of the patterns of language usage among lawyers. The model accommodates any sample of legal language from any type of legal document and can be applied to lexical and syntactic elements as well as whole documents. One example of legal language is illustrated. (MSE)

English as an international language (EIL) has spread through development of autonomous registers that guarantee specialist communication within global expert communities. Most people learn English for this, not for social conversation with native speakers. Therefore, EIL is English for special purposes. Rather than emphasize "authentic" usage,…

A response to a Henry Widdowson article on the English language and its teaching focuses on three issues: the importance of the political context of language use; the notion of language as a weapon; and the recommendation in favor of teaching English for special purposes rather than general English in many cases. (MSE)

Presents a survey of English usage for various communication purposes in different types of Brazilian business organizations. The objectives of the survey are to identify the major uses of business English/Portuguese in international/national settings, to identify the varieties widely used in transactions, and to study the types of documents used…

Analyzes the use of imperatives in five scholarly journal articles (main text and notes) in each of ten disciplines, and follow-up interviews with authors using imperatives within main text indicate specific patterns and purposes of usage and field-specific expectations and conventions. Discusses implications for instruction of non-native-speaking…

A study investigated communication patterns in written English and the prevalent corporate culture, the relationship between a British corporate office and its subsidiary in the Netherlands. Survey respondents were senior-level employees at 107 companies. Results indicate corporate culture plays an important role in the level of English skills…

Papers on the role of language in the work environment include: "Institutions, Writing and Talk in Environmental Discourse" (Greg Myers); "Negotiating Training: Shifting Participant Frameworks in the Workplace" (Kristina Bennert); "Relational Management in Chinese-British Business Meetings" (Helen Spencer-Oatey,…

Papers on applied linguistics and language pedagogy include: "Non-Exact Quantification in Slide Presentations of Medical Research" (Ron Howard); "Modality and Point of View: A Contrastive Analysis of Japanese Wartime and Peacetime Newspaper Discourse" (Noriko Iwamoto); "Classroom Transcripts and 'Noticing' in Teacher Education" (Tony Lynch);…